Download Deviance and Crime -Chap 7

Chapter 7
Deviance And Crime
George Ritz
Presented by Rolande D. Dathis
What is deviance?
 Deviance is any act, belief, or individual trait that
members of a society or a social group view as a
violation of group norms and for which the
violator is expected to be condemned or
penalized.
 Deviance is relative and it differs from one culture
to another.
 Deviant acts in a society at a specific location and
time may not be viewed as deviant at some later
time.
Deviance and Criminalization
Deviance and Criminalization
Criminalization
Deviance
Theories of Deviance
Explanatory
Theories
Constructionist
theories
Social
Inter/
Control
Actionists
Theory
Theories
Structural/
Functional
Theories
Brown
windows
Strain Theory
Adaptation to Strain
Conformists
innovators
Self
control
Deviance
And poor
Conflict/
Critical
Theories
Deviance
And Elite
Ritualists Retrealists
Theories of Deviance
Explanatory theories- explain that deviant
actions are derived from a number of facts,
such as the biological composition of the
deviant and the social structure of the bigger
society.
Explanatory theories- “ theories of deviance ( or
some other social phenomenon) that try to
explain why it occurs “(Ritzer 2015p 220)
Theories of Deviance cont’d
Constructionist theories- are concerned with the
procedure by which individuals describe and
categorize some actions as normal and others
as deviant.
Structural/ Functional Theories - Emile
Durkheim believed that deviance allows
members of societies or groups to describe
and make clear their collective ideas- their
norms and values.
Theories of Deviance
Strain theory- developed by Robert K. Merton
as an extension of the functionalist approach.
This theory based on the belief that the gap
between the larger structure of society and
the means available to individuals to reach to
what the society believes to be of value
fabricates strain that can lead a person into
deviant acts.
Adaptations to Strain
Conformists- Individuals who consider both cultural
goals and the conventional means of
accomplishing those goals.
Innovators – People who consider cultural goals but
discard traditional means of accomplishing
success.
Ritualists- People who recognize that they will not
be capable to accomplish cultural goals, but who
nevertheless continue to engage in the traditional
Adaptations to Strain
Retreatists- People who decline both cultural
goals and the conventional routes to their
realization; they have entirely given up on
achieving success within the system.
Rebels- People who decline both conventional
means and goals and as an alternative replace
nonconventional goals and means to those
goals.
Conflict / critical Theories
 According to conflict theorists inequality in a
society leads some of the less unfortunate
people to engage in deviant and criminal acts.
 According to the conflict approach of deviance
those in power make the laws and rules to
protect themselves and reduce opportunities
for those who are deficient in power in the
society.
Conflict / critical Theories
 Deviance and the poor
- Elites in power viewed the poor as a group to
offer the needed work at small cost and made
vagrancy laws.
- Contemporary conflict theorists influenced by
Marxian theory hold that deviance is a result
of the capitalist economic system.
Conflict / critical Theories
Deviance and the Elite
- Elite deviance is likely to get away with
deviant and criminal acts.
- Elites have a broad range of means at their
removal to cover up their actions.
Inter/Actionists Theories
Labeling
Symbol
Social
Control
Agents
Key Ideas in
Labeling
process
Interaction
Labeling
Theory
Moral panic
Social control
Rule creators
Rule Enforcers
Primary
Deviance
Secondary
Deviance
Moral Entrepreneurs
Stigmas
Sigma
Discredited
sigma
Discreditable
sigma
Inter/actionist- Labeling theory
Labeling
1- Symbolic Interactionism examines deviance
and help fill in numerous of the gaps in
understanding left by structural / functional
and conflict critical theories( Ritzer 2015).
2- One particular of Symbolic Interactionism,
labeling theory, states that people become
deviant when two things happen:
Inter/actionist- Labeling theory cont’d
- A symbol / label:” In the realm of deviance, a
number of labels are particularly powerful
negative symbols: alcoholic, drug addict,
pedophile, adulterer, and so on”(Ritzer
2015,p229)
- Interaction: A social engagement between two or
more people who identify, and orient their
actions toward one another. Those who label an
individual as deviant are known as “social control
agents”.
Inter/actionist- Labeling theory cont’d
- Labeling theory asserts that people become
deviant when a deviant label is effectively
applied to them.
Inter/actionist- Labeling theory cont’d
There are two types of deviant acts connects
with labeling theory.
• Primary deviance : “Early, nonpatterned acts
of deviance, or an act here or there that is
considered to be strange or out the
ordinary”(Ritzer 2015p230).
• Secondary deviance: “Deviant acts that
persist, become more common, and
eventually cause people to organize their lives.
Inter/actionist- Labeling theory cont’d
and personal identities around their deviant
status”(Ritzer2015p230).
Inter/actionist- Labeling theory cont’d
Key ideas in the Labeling Process
-Social control: the procedure by which a
group/or society imposes conformity to its
demands and expectations.
- Rule creators: people who create society’s
rules, norms, and laws.
- Rule enforcers: people threaten to, or in fact,
apply the rules.
Inter/actionist- Labeling theory cont’d
• Moral entrepreneurs : People or groups who
have the power to describe an act as a moral
outrage and also have the resources to have it
defined as deviant and to have it made illegal
and therefore subject to legal enforcement
(Ritzer 2015).
Inter/actionist- Labeling theory cont’d
Moral Panics: “ A widespread , but
disproportionate, reaction to a form of
deviance”( Ritzer 2015p 231).
Stigma: A trait that individuals find, describe,
and most of the time label as strange,
distasteful, or deviant.
Discredited stigma: A stigma that the affected
person presumes that his/her differentness is
known by others or is noticeable on the spot.
Inter/actionist- Labeling theory cont’d
Discreditable stigma: A stigma that the affected
person presumes is neither known about nor
immediately identifiable.
Crime
Criminology
Criminal Justice
System
Parole
Probation
Specific
deterrence
d
Deferential
Association
Types of crimes
Violent
crime
Property
crime
Felonies
General
Deterrence
Misdemeanors
Recidivism
Organized crime
Globalization
And
crime
Political crime
White-collar crime
Hate crime
Cybercrime
Consumer crime
Concepts of crime
What is Crime?
 A type of deviance that violates the law
which is subject to punishment. It is the fact
that it breaks the law that distinguishes crime
from other types of deviance.
Criminology is the field dedicated to the study
of crime.
Cesare Lombroso (1876-2007)
Cesare Lombroso and Criminology
- “Father of Criminology”
- rejected the early criminologists perspective
which claimed that crime was a characteristic
feature of human nature.
- Focus on the “born criminal”. This approach
explained that a born criminal could be
recognized by physical and psychological
attributes.
Edwin H. Sutherland (1883-1950)
Edwin H. Sutherland and Criminology
 Known for his differential theory of crime.
 Differential association: “ A theory that
focuses on the fact that people learn criminal
behavior and therefore that what is crucial is
whom a person associates with” (Ritzer 2015
p 234) .
Criminal Justice System
•
•
•
•
•
Parole
Probation
Specific deterrence
Recidivism
General deterrence
Types of Crimes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Violent crime
Property crimes
Felonies
Misdemeanors
White-collar crimes
Corporate crime
Organized crime
Political crime
Types of crime cont’d
• Hate crimes
• Cybercrime
• Consumer crimes