Download I. WHAT IS DEVIANCE? Deviance is the violation of social norms

I. WHAT IS DEVIANCE?
A. Deviance is the violation of
social norms. Sociologists are
interested in understanding
and explaining behavior.
Deviance can be positive, but
is usually negative and
violates social rules. Positive
Deviance refers to when an
individual over conforms to
social expectations. Negative
deviance is behavior that falls
below social expectations
because people may not be
aware of the rules, reject them, or place a
higher priority on different norms.
B. Deviance is universal because it exists in every society. The characteristics include:
1. Deviance is not always a behavior. Sometimes it is a condition or a belief. Some groups
are branded as deviant due to their physical status, skin color, or their religion. Examples
might include overweight people, Christians in a Muslim neighborhood, or minorities.
2. Deviance is accompanied by social stigma or a negative label. Deviant people are
devalued and discredited. Stigmatized people may respond by altering their appearance or
joining a gang.
3. Deviance varies across and within societies. What is appropriate or tolerated in one
society may be deviant in another.
4. Deviance can be formal or informal. Formal deviance violates the law and informal
deviance is behavior that breaks customary practices.
5. Perceptions of deviance can change over time. Legal changes make behaviors that were
not deviant in the past deviant today and behaviors once deviant no longer deviant.
6. Most Americans now shrug off behaviors that were stigmatized in the past. Cohabitation and
out-of-wedlock births, seen as sinful and immoral only a few decades ago, are now widespread
and accepted by most Americans. Also, American support for legalizing marijuana rose from
12 percent in 1970 to 44 percent in 2006
C. What is deviance is defined by those in authority and power.
II. WHAT IS CRIME?
A. Crime is a violation of societal norms and rules, written into public laws and subject to
punishment. Many sociologists are criminologists, researchers who use scientific methods to
study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior. Measuring crime may seem
straightforward, but the task is not as simple as it appears. Criminologists use scientific methods
to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior.
1. There are several primary sources of crime statistics, but two of the most important are
official data and victim surveys. The best known and most widely cited source of official
statistics is the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which includes crimes reported to
the police and arrests made each year. Victimization studies have a 90 percent response
rate.
2. Nationwide, only 44 percent of violent crimes and 16 percent of property crimes are
cleared by arrest (a person has been arrested and turned over to the court for prosecution).
B. Of the almost 15 million arrests in 2006, there were more arrests for property crimes (19 percent)
and drug abuse violations (13 percent) than violence (4 percent). Violent crimes are most likely to
be covered by the media and, consequently, inspire the greatest fear. However, we are much more
likely to be victimized by theft and burglary than to be murdered, raped, robbed, or assaulted with
a deadly weapon. In fact, 88 percent of serious crimes are property crimes, such as auto theft and
burglary, rather than physical attacks.
1. Victimless crimes are acts that violate laws but the parties involved don’t consider
themselves victims. For example, prostitutes and pornographers argue that they are
simply providing services to people who want them. Substance abusers claim that they
aren’t hurting anyone but themselves. Examples include illicit drug use, prostitution,
drunkenness, and illegal gambling or other public order crimes.
C. Most crime victims are: male, African Americans, people under age 25, and those who are poor
and live in urban areas. Except for rape and assaults by intimate partners, such as spouses, exspouses, and boyfriends, men are almost twice as likely as women to be victims in violent crimes,
such as robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. About half of all homicide victims are black
men, a majority of them between the ages of 17 and 29. The higher the income, the less likely one
is to be victimized. However, Black and Latino household are 33 percent more likely to be
victimized than Whites or Asians. The younger a person is, the more likely they are to be
victimized.
D. Most offenders have never been caught, but arrest rates show patterns by age, gender, race and
ethnicity, and social class. Generally, the older that people get, the less likely they are to engage
in crime. Those ages 29 and under constitute 58 percent of all arrestees. At age 40 and older, the
number of offenders drops to 22 percent, and many of the crimes involve drug abuse violations
and driving under the influence.
Almost 70 percent of those arrested are white, 28 percent are black, and the rest are American
Indian or Asian American. The older people get, the less likely they are to engage in crime. Men
are more likely to commit crimes. Social class also affects crimes rates. Offense rates are higher
in poor inner-city areas than in suburban and wealthier areas, and prison statistics show
consistently that those incarcerated have low educational levels.
1. Because police devote more resources to poor neighborhoods, those at the lower end of
the socioeconomic ladder are more likely to be caught, arrested, prosecuted, and
incarcerated. Middle-class crimes are much more elusive. For example, intellectual
property theft (IP) is a crime that includes offenses such as software piracy, bootlegging
musical recordings and movies, selling company trade secrets, and copyright violations.
III. CONTROLLING DEVIANCE AND CRIME
A. Social control refers to the techniques and strategies that regulate people’s behavior in society.
The purpose of social control is to eliminate deviance, or at least reduce it. Formal social control
is administered by those in authority or power. Formal social control exists outside of the
individual. Informal social control is internalized from childhood.
B. Positive sanctions are rewards for obeying norms, and negative sanctions are punishments for
violating a norm. Negative sanctions range from mild and informal expressions, such as frowns
and gossip, to more severe and formal reactions like fines, arrests, and incarcerations.
IV. FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVES ON DEVIANCE AND CRIME
A. Deviance and crime can be both dysfunctional and functional. Examples of dysfunctions include:
1. Crime can create tension and insecurity. Crime makes people uneasy. Any violation of
norms—a babysitter who cancels at the last minute or theft of your laptop computer—
makes life unpredictable and increases our anxiety.
2. Crime can erode trust in personal and formal relationships. Crimes such as date rape and
stalking make us suspicious of other people.
3. Crime can damage confidence in institutions. After the scandals of Enron and other
corporations, one of the founders of Intel, a high-tech company, said that he was
“embarrassed and ashamed” to be a corporate executive.
4. Crime is costly to society. Besides personal costs for victims (such as fear, emotional
trauma, and physical injury), deviance is expensive. All of us pay higher prices for
consumer goods and services (such as auto and property insurance), for prosecuting
criminals and for building and maintaining prisons.
5. Benefits of crime include affirming cultural norms and values.
6. Provide temporary safety valves. Society will tolerate some deviance.
7. Deviance can create social unity. For instance, the 9/11 terrorist attacks created solidarity.
8. Deviance can improve the economy. For instance, new prisons can revive a community.
9. Deviance can trigger social change. An increase in crime can cause new laws.
B. Anomie and strain theories explain why people commit crimes, even though they share the same
values of others who conform to norms in society.
1. Durkheim’s concept of anomie to a state of normlessness for an individual. Anomie can
occur when society goes through rapid social change and an individual has no guiding
principles.
2. Merton’s concept of social strain refers to a situation when an individual cannot obtain
the goals of a society, such as success, through institutionalized means. Individuals are
strained when they live in a society dedicated to success and they cannot reach it. Strain
theory posits that people may engage in deviant behavior when they experience a conflict
between goals and the means available to obtain the goals. Merton’s four modes of
adaptation are:
i.
Innovation occurs when people have endorsed the cultural goal of economic success,
but turn to illegitimate means, especially crime, to achieve their goal.
ii. Ritualism refers to a person who goes through the motion and gives up on succeeding
on personal goals.
iii. Retreatism refers to a person who rejects both the goals and the means for success.
iv. Rebellion refers to a person who is alienated and wants to change the social structure.
3. Critics see functionalism as Anomie and strain theories are limited because they overlook
the fact that not everyone in America (including your sociology professor) embraces
financial success as a major goal in life. These theories also don’t explain why women’s
crime rates are much lower than men’s, especially since women have fewer legitimate
opportunities for success. They also don’t explain why people commit crimes, like
murder among intimate partners, or “just for kicks” arson, that have nothing to do with
being successful. The most important critique is the class focus on street crime ignoring
white-collar and other middle- and upper-class crimes
V. CONFLICT PERSPECTIVES ON DEVIANCE AND CRIME
A. Conflict theorists focus on who makes the laws and ask “Why are some acts defined as criminal
while others are not?” The focus of the perspective is on the most powerful groups in society.
They argue those who control the legal system define what’s deviant and who will be punished.
Capitalism is a root cause of criminal behavior, according to conflict theorists.
1. White collar crime refers to illegal activities committed by high-status people in the
course of their occupation. There is a wide range of white-collar crimes, from individuals
who commit theft in a business enterprise to environmental and high-tech crimes.
2. Occupational crimes are illegal activities committed by individuals acting solely in their
own personal interest. Those in middle and upper classes are in positions of trust, have
many opportunities for theft, and have numerous rationalizations for committing crimes.
3. Corporate crimes (also known as organizational crimes) are illegal acts committed by
executives to benefit themselves and their companies. Corporate crimes include a vast
array of illegal activities that include conspiracies to stifle free market competition, pricefixing, tax evasion, and false advertising. The target of the crimes can be the general
public, the environment, or even a company’s own workers.
4. An example of corporate crime is the Enron fraud case between 2005 and 2006. Enron
CEO Jeffrey Skilling defrauded investors of billions of dollars. Claiming that he was
innocent, Skilling reveals what conflict theorist’s claim about corporate actors, that is,
they are pathological.
5. Organized crime refers to activities of individuals and organizations that supply illegal
goods and services for profit. Organized crime includes drug distribution, loan-sharking
(lending money at illegal rates), prostitution, illegal gambling, pornography, theft rings,
hijacking cargo, and laundering illegal money through legitimate enterprises.
B. Law enforcement and social class are an important focus for conflict theorists. They argue that
white collar crimes are not prosecuted because they are not criminalized; there is minimal
enforcement, because of privilege and corruption, and the unequal redistribution of resources due
to changes in criminal justice motives and problems such as immigration taking away from
corporate prosecution.
C. Critics of conflict theory point out they exaggerate capitalism’s impact on corporate crime and
underemphasize crimes committed by the poor including murder, rape, and other street crimes.
Some critics say that conflict theory ignores the ways that crime is functional for society as a
whole. As you saw earlier, deviance provides jobs and affirms law-abiding cultural norms and
values. Finally, many contend, the most influential conflict theories focus almost entirely on men.
VI. FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON DEVIANCE AND CRIME
A. Feminists focus on the omission of women from criminal justice analysis. A key focus of the
feminist perspective on crimes is on women as victims. Patriarchy is a reason for female
victimization. This includes the effect of culture on gender roles. Certain crimes are predicated on
women. For instance, women and girls are commonly the victims of sexual assault, rape, intimate
partner violence, stalking, pornography, female infanticide, and other crimes that degrade women
and deny them basic human rights.
B. Women are also offenders when it comes to certain crimes. Less likely to commit violent crimes,
women are increasingly committing property and person crimes. Some argue that family
breakdown is the cause. Others see changes in the high school environment and economic
marginalization as important to the rising female crime rate.
C. Critics contend that feminist analyses have not gone far enough in showing how women’s
experiences as victims and offenders differ due to social class, race, ethnicity, and sexual
orientation. Some also maintain that because concepts such as patriarchy are difficult to measure.
D. An example of patriarchy and crime is the case of Josef Fritzl in Vienna, Austria. Fritzl had
children by his own daughter, raping and imprisoning her for 24 years in a basement dungeon.
Fritzl was considered a man of stature. The case is a recent example of the widespread physical
and sexual victimization of women and children.
VII. SYMBOLIC INTERACTION PERSPECTIVES ON DEVIANCE AND CRIME
A. Symbolic interaction perspectives argue that people learn deviant behavior in their everyday
lives. There are many symbolic interaction theories, but two of the best known are differential
association theory and labeling theory. Differential association theory concludes that people learn
deviance through interaction, especially with significant others like family and friends. Through
such interaction, we learn the techniques for committing criminal behavior, and the values,
motives, rationalizations, and attitudes that reinforce such behavior.
B. Labeling theories point out that defining a group as deviant has consequences and that society’s
reaction to behavior is a major factor in defining oneself or others as deviant.
1. Howard Becker argues that deviance is in the eyes of the beholder. Deviance is a
consequence of the application by others of rues and sanctions to an offender. Deviance
is creased by societal reaction.
2. According to Edwin Lemert, primary deviance, acts such as minor offenses, can lead to
secondary deviance where rule breaking becomes stigmatized. Once caught as a drug
user, a teenager may become a druggie, taking on the label.
3. Critics of these perspectives point out that they do not explain impulse crimes such as
murder or that deviant values can be unlearned. Labeling also exaggerates the role of self
in crime and that societal reaction the result rather than the cause of deviance.
VIII. THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND SOCIAL CONTROL
A. The criminal justice system refers to government agencies—including the police, courts, and
prisons—that are charged with enforcing laws, passing judgment on offenders, and correcting
criminal behavior.
1. Prevention and intervention programs include social service agencies and community
outreach programs. These programs are comprised of law enforcement professionals,
social workers, and non-profit groups. Because many crimes involve substance abuse, all
states have implemented a variety of intervention programs. The U.S. Department of
Justice, among other federal agencies, funds numerous initiatives that target youth
violence and delinquency, drug dealing, rape, robbery, prostitution, and domestic
violence.
2. Successful police prevention efforts include concentrating on hot spots of high criminal
activity. The effect of policing can be minimal especially since they cannot control macro
factors leading to crime such as poverty and unemployment.
B. The crime control model of punishment takes into account the idea that crime rates increase when
offenders don’t fear apprehension or punishment. This focus is based on protecting society and
assumes a get tough attitude toward crime in sentencing, imprisonment, incarceration, and capital
punishment.
1. Sentencing and incarceration refers to the sentence imposed for a criminal offense. Many
question the fairness of the system and view race and class variations as detriments to
sentencing fairness. Overall violent crimes have dropped 25 percent since 1987, yet the
U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world’s population and a quarter of the world’s
prisoners.
2. Capital punishment is supported 70 percent of Americans. Many believe it deters crime
while others believe executions are to slow and should be speeded up. Evidence suggests
that innocent death roll inmates are a large population due to DNA science.
C. Recidivism or repeat offenders have no changed since 1980. At fifty percent, many offenders will
go back into the system.
1. Rehabilitation is a view that appropriate treatment can change offenders into productive,
law-abiding citizens. Advocates argue that public assistance, educational opportunities,
job training, and crisis intervention programs can reduce recidivism. Rehabilitation
programs are found to be successful if they provide employment after release. Other
effective rehabilitation efforts have offered training for a trade while in prison, earning
high school or college degrees while in prison or after reentry, and services that address
several needs.