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Ch. 9 Deviance and Crime
DEFINING DEVIANCE
"Deviance is not a quality of
the act... The deviant is one
to whom that label has
successfully been applied;
deviant behavior is behavior
people so label".
- Howard Becker, "The Outsiders", 1963
Defining Deviance
• many attempts to establish a definition of
deviance.
• many have failed or have been seriously
flawed.
• inability to accommodate various cultural
standards and political beliefs into a
universal definition.
Main Types of Definitions
 Deviance
as objective reality
(normative or absolutist perspective)
◦ Used in positivist theories
 Deviance
as subjective experience
(relativistic perspective)
◦ Social constructionist theories
Textbook definitions…

Deviance: The recognized violation of
cultural norms
Crime: The violation of a society’s formally
enacted criminal law
 Social control: Attempts by society to
regulate people’s thought and behaviour
 Criminal justice system: a formal response
by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged
violations of the law

The Overlap Between Crime
and Deviance
Biological and Personality Factors

In past, deviant and criminal behaviour thought to
be the result of biological factors:
◦ Early studies tried to link head shape (Lombroso) and
body size (Sheldon) to criminality


But studies show people’s overall genetic
composition in combination with social influences
account for only some crime
Personality factors: having the ability to cope with
frustration and identifying positively with cultural
norms and values are related to fewer problems
with police – “good boys” vs “bad boys”
◦ “Containment Theory” (Reckless and Dinitz)
Phrenology Map
Sheldon’s Somatypes (1949)
Personality Types (Eysenck, 1958)
Other Explanations
The XYY male: Chromosomal
abnormalities.
Genetic Loading:
Heredity(Genetic Loading) + Biological
Process + Environmental Stress =
Deviance
Sociological Definitions of Deviance
Stresses social context, not individual
behavior.
 Recognizes that not all behaviors are
judged similarly by all groups.
 Recognizes that established rules and
norms are socially created.

Emile Durkheim on Deviance
Functions of deviance:
1. Deviance affirms cultural values and
norms
2. Responding to deviance clarifies
moral boundaries
3. Responding to deviance brings
people together
4. Deviance encourages social change
Sociological Theories of Deviance
Deviance creates social cohesion.
Structural Results from structural strains in
Functionalism society and when attachment to social
bonds is diminished.
Symbolic
Interaction
Conflict
Theory
Deviance is learned behavior.
Results from social labeling when
the powerful assign deviant labels.
Dominant classes control the
definition of deviance.
Results from inequality in society
Elite deviance goes largely unpunished.
Structural Functionalism:
Merton’s Strain Theory
Traces the origins of deviance to the tensions
caused by the gap between cultural goals and the
means people have to achieve these goals.
 Culture establishes goals for people; social
structures provide, or fail to provide, the means
for people to achieve those goals.
 Imbalance between cultural goals and structurally
available means can compel individuals into
deviant behavior.

Merton’s Strain Theory
Type
Conformity
Cultural
Goals
Accept
Conventional
Means
Accept
Innovation
Accept
Reject
Ritualism
Reject
Accept
Retreatism
Reject
Reject
Rebellion
Replace
Replace
Social Control Theory: Hirschi
Travis Hirschi developed social control theory
to explain the occurrence of deviance.
 According to social control theory, deviance
occurs when a person’s (or group’s) attachment
to social bonds is weakened.
 Most of the time people internalize social
norms because of their attachments to others.
 When that bond is broken, deviance occurs.

Symbolic Interaction
Theories of Deviance
Differential Association
 Deviant behavior is learned through
interaction with others.
 People pass on deviant expectations
through their social groups and
networks.
Symbolic Interaction
Theories of Deviance
Labelling Theory
 Responses of others is most
significant in deviance.
 A person may become deviant
because of a label, even if he/she did
not engage in deviant behavior.
Social Stigma (Erving Goffman)
A stigma is an attribute that is socially
devalued and discredited.
 People with stigmas are defined in terms
of their presumed deviance.
 In hiding their stigma, they isolate
themselves from communities where they
can find support.

What is Stigma?
 Erving
Goffman defined stigma as, “an
undesired differentness from what
we had anticipated’ (Goffman, 1963:5)
 Three classes of stigma
◦ abominations of the body (e.g., physically
disabled)
◦ blemishes of individual character preceived as
weak (e.g., alcoholism, mental illness,
unemployment, homosexuality).
◦ tribal stigma (e.g., race, gender, religion, or
nationality)
Historical Context
a stigma was a sign, cut or burned into the
body, indicating status of a discredited
individual (e.g. slave, traitor, criminal)
 The word stigma originates from the Greeks,
who used the term to refer to a branded mark
on the skin that signifies something
undesirable about the bearer of the mark
(Goffman, 1963).

Modern: 7 stigma clusters
physical disability,
 mental disability,
 economically disadvantaged,
 social deviants,
 physical appearance,
 sexual identity,
 racial identity.

Goffman said…

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Within our society, we ‘normals’ hold notions
of what it means to be ‘normal.’
By normal, in this context, we mean conforming
to the present standard of behaviour or
appearance within our society (Goffman,
1963).
When individuals deviate from those
expectations of what it means to be normal in
terms of physical attributes, personality traits,
and so forth, these individuals often are
stigmatized.
Stigma and Prejudice
Blacks, Aboriginals, the obese, people with
disabilities, the mentally ill, the homeless,
the physically unattractive, and car-crash
victims are all examples of stigmatized
groups.
 Stigma occurs when an individual is
identified as deviant, linked with negative
stereotypes that engender prejudiced
attitudes, which are acted upon in
discriminatory behaviour

Deviance Theories and Stigma
 Societal
Reaction Theory:
◦ Primary deviance –individual outside the
norm who requires social control
◦ Secondary deviance –individual changes
his/her behaviour and self-definition to
adapt to society’s stigmatizing reaction to
his/her deviance; person then begins to
behave in “expected deviant" fashion
The Stigmatization Process
1.
2.
3.
An attribute is deemed salient by society,
such that individuals with this characteristic
are grouped together and labelled.
Labelled characteristics are linked with
negative stereotypes, making it easy to see
labelled individuals as fundamentally
different from the rest of society.
Differentiation of “us" and “them" occur;
Stigmatized individuals are seen to “be” and
are referred to by their label (e.g. “a manicdepressive” or “a schizophrenic”).
4.
5.
Individuals experience status loss and
discrimination as a result of their label.
Discrimination occurs on both a
personal and structural level.
The stigma process is entirely dependent
on the social, economic, and political
power necessary to impose
discriminatory experiences on the
labelled individual or group.
Theories of Deviance applied to
Mental Illness
Structural
Functionalism
By recognizing mental illness, society
upholds values about conforming
behavior.
Symbolic
Interactionism
Mentally ill are victims of societal
reactions to their behavior.
Labelling and
Conflict theory
People with few resources are most
likely to be labeled mentally ill.
Which explanation fits mental
illness best?
To think about….
 Thomas Szasz, American psychiatrist (the
Myth of Mental Illness) said “mental
illness is a myth, whose function it is
to disguise and thus render more
palatable the bitter pill of moral
conflicts in human relations.”
 He calls it “problems in living”
 “mental illnesses are counterfeit diseases”
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from https://www.cchrint.org/about-us/co-founder-dr-thomasszasz/quotes-on-his-book-the-myth-of-mental-illness/
Moral Entrepreneurs
Moral entrepreneurs use their own
views of right and wrong to establish rules
and label others as deviant, and then these
rules are enforced on persons with less
power.
 Moral entrepreneurs often create moral
panics and moral crusades to help create
public and political support for their cause .
 Reefer Madness (1936) Trailer
 Reefer Madness Full Video

Deviance and Crime

Deviance differs from crime because
◦ (a) crime always involves violating a law but
deviance does not
◦ (b) crime is the violation of a formal norm,
while deviance is a violation of a informal
norm that derives from a popular belief
◦ (c) the number and varieties of deviance are
infinitely greater than those of crime
◦ (d) some crimes are not deviant due to their
acceptance throughout society
Crime, Laws, and Social Order
Crimes occur as the result of the
intentional violation of criminal laws
 Laws are formal rules that help create
social order by showing which behaviours
are acceptable and by producing
predictable behaviour in the community

Crime and Society

A violation of a law is an expression of
group conflict and interest
◦ Design of laws in influenced by a class bias
◦ What a crime is depends on current law

What is criminal at one time in history or
society may not be considered criminal in
a different time or place
Violence
An act of force perceived by the powerful
as threatening to the status quo
 Crime can be violent or non-violent

Crime in Canada
Crime in Canada is measured through
official statistics, which are based on
police records of crime
 Other methods of measuring crime
include self-reporting measures and
victimization surveys

Official Crime Statistics

Overall, crime in Canada has decreased
◦ 47% were property crimes

But, problems with official crime statistics
◦ Focus on traditional crimes
◦ Omit white-collar crimes, organized crimes, and
political crime
◦ Underreport extent of crime
◦ Data collection inaccuracies
Crime Statistics (cont.)
Official statistics: from Uniform Crime Report:
reported crime substantiated by police
investigation
◦ Table below shows 12% decline in (Criminal code)
crime from 1994-2004 (source: Kendall et al. 2008)
Victimization reports: from the General Social
Survey: indicates more crimes are committed
than reported, e.g., 88% of sexual assaults and
64% of all incidents are not reported (2004)
Crime Rates, Canada 1962-2013
(http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-630-x/11-630-x2015001-eng.htm)
Homicide Rates, Canada, 1962-2013
Violent vs. Non-violent Crime
Violent crime: 11% of all crime
 Includes homicide and assault (all types)
 Stalking a relatively new crime in Canada
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Non-violent crime includes:
◦
◦
◦
◦
Property crimes like theft, B&E and vandalism
Drug-related crimes
Vice crimes like illegal gambling, prostitution
White collar and corporate crime
Key Crime Demographics
85-90% of all crimes committed by males
 But gender gap closing amongst younger
groups
 Differential socialization a factor
 Younger groups more likely to commit
crimes
 Aging population: crime rate down
 Females and elderly more often victims

Crime Rates and Socioeconomic
Trends in Canada
Crime rates are linked to socioeconomic
trends in larger society
 Stats Canada studies looking at homicide,
robbery, break and enter and motor vehicle
theft rates show that unemployment, alcohol
consumption/capita, changes in age structure
and inflation rate significantly associated with
crime rates.

Unemployment 1976-2012
Inflation, Unemployment and
Alcohol Consumption
Increases in unemployment and in the
alcohol consumption rate/capita are
significantly associated with an increase in
homicide rates
 Inflation (rather than unemployment)
associated with higher rates of financially
motivated crimes such as robbery, break and
enter, motor vehicle theft
 Social problems lead to higher crime rates

Criminal Victimization Patterns
vary according to daily routines
 Routine activities theory (Felson and Cohen, 1980)
predicts that victimization requires the
convergence in space and time of likely offenders,
suitable targets, and the absence of capable
guardians
 Suitable targets are people who are routinely
exposed to criminal activity or who for other
reasons have heightened vulnerability
 Hot spots are locations such as prisons and public
places that put suitable targets at greater risk.

Types of Crime

Violent crime: actions involving force or
threat of force against others:
◦ Homicide: unlawful, intentional killing
 Mass: 4+ people
 Serial murder: 3+ people > I month
◦ Sexual Assault: 3 levels from touching to
aggravated assault, including date rape
◦ Gang violence
Types of Crime (cont.)

Property crime: the taking of money or
property from another without force or
threat of force:
◦ Breaking and entering is serious because of
possible confrontation
◦ Theft $5000 & under is the most reported
◦ Auto theft statistics are accurate
◦ Shoplifting accounts for $billion losses
Types of Crime (cont.)
Occupational (white-collar) crime:
crime committed by people in the course of
their employment or business activity, e.g.,
fraud, insider trading, and kickbacks
 Corporate crime: illegal acts committed
by corporate employees on behalf of the
corporation and with its support, e.g.,
selling defective products, pollution, and
obstructing justice
 Organized crime

Organized Crime in Canada
Eg. the Chinese Triad, the Colombian Mafia,
the Russian Mafia, and some motorcycle
gangs
 This type of crime prospers especially in
Capitalist societies
 Organized crime relies on secrecy and
patronage, and operates at the intersection
of legitimate and illegitimate business,
family, and formal organization

Youth Crime

Youth crime: violation of law or
commission of status offences by a person
12-17 years of age
◦ 10% of population, but 20% of all charges
◦ Governed by the Youth Criminal Justice Act
◦ Youth crime is down
YCJA Effects 2003 - 2010
Is Youth Violence a Problem?
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“any intentional physical, sexual or
psychological assault on another person (or
persons) by one or more young people aged 12
to 19 years”
Official statistics show youth crime rate down,
but much violent activity is not reported
Public Health Agency, Canada categorizes youth
violence into three forms: emotional, physical,
and sexual abuse and notes that emotional
most common.
Also, some violence turned inward (i.e. suicide)
Youth Violence and Risk Factors
Socio-demographic factors: poor, male,
ethnic youth at higher risk
 Family factors: youth who experience
abuse in the home, receive harsh
parenting, and are exposed to criminal
activity at home
 School factors: poor academic
performance affects self-esteem
 Cultural Factors: patriarchal values, and
peer group values can influence youth

Deviance and Crime in a Global
Perspective: Terrorism
Motivated by political conflicts, often involving
ethnic and religious conflict, terrorism has
caused some of the world’s most violent
incidents.
 These expressions of extremist political beliefs
stem from the many international conflicts of
our current world events.
 Sociologists look to the social structural
conflicts from which terrorism emerges as the
cause of such criminal and deviant behavior.

Deviance and Crime in a Global
Perspective: Technology
Technological developments that ease
communication for legitimate business activities
also enable illegitimate activities to thrive.
 Money acquired through illegal activity in one
country can easily be transferred to another
country.
 Transportation systems critical to the
international exchange of illegal goods—drugs,
weapons, or sexual services— link places that
were once distant and inaccessible.

Deviance and Crime in a Global
Perspective: Drugs
Some nations, including the United States,
Canada, Australia, and parts of western Europe,
are vast markets for the consumption of illegal
drugs.
 Other nations, such as Colombia, are known as
major drug producers.
 Still others, such as China, Brazil, and Mexico,
play a role as conduits for drug traffic and
production.

The Global “Fix”
The Criminal Justice System
Network of organizations including the police,
courts and corrections, involved in law
enforcement and administration of justice
 Police have discretion (use of personal
judgement), which leads to different stop and
arrest rates for different groups
◦ Toronto Black officers have noted differential
enforcements
◦ Racial profiling is also a social problem
◦ Community policing: integrating officers into
community problem solving
Criminal Justice System (cont.)

Courts have discretion, but are overloaded
◦ plea-bargaining: sentence reduction for a guilty
plea. It can be oppressive or inadequate sentencing.

Punishment and prisons have four functions:
◦
◦
◦
◦
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Retribution
Social protection
Rehabilitation
Deterrence
Indigenous people are overrepresented in prisons
Criminal Justice System (cont.)

A recent decline in incarceration has occurred
◦ decline in crime rates
◦ use of conditional sentences

Restorative justice focuses on repairing the harm
caused by crime by holding moderated meetings of
victims, offenders, and others affected by crimes
◦ Sentencing circles for Indigenous peoples since they are
integral to many cultures
◦ But accused must accept responsibility for crime
Criminal Justice System (cont.)

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The death penalty was abolished in Canada in
1976, and extradition of a criminal depends on
guarantee that death sentence will not be used
Solution is not in more prisons:
◦ Few who commit crimes end up in prison
◦ Little deterrence for white-collar crime
◦ High rates of recidivism show rehabilitation is lacking
Crime Severity Index
CTV News has put together a series of
infographics showing crime severity
across Canada in 2012
 Statistics are weighted by the seriousness
of the reported crime.
 Go to CBC News at
http://www.ctvnews.ca/maps/crimestatistics
