Sociology Crime and Deviance

Behaviour which breaks laws of a society/country and is punished by the legal system.

Behaviour which goes against the norms and values of a  society or social group.

Criminal and deviant– Mass Murder, ****, Armed Robbery.

Criminal but not deviant– Parking on double yellow lines, Movie streaming, Speeding, littering

Deviant but not criminal– Drinking alcohol in the morning, Wearing pyjamas in public at midday.

Some deviant actions are known as “Situational Deviance” which means that the act could be defined as deviant or normal, depending on the circumstances.

Time– Drinking alcohol at 8pm VS drinking alcohol at 8am

Place-  Swimwear at the beach VS swimwear on a plane

Culture– Alcohol in England VS Alcohol in Arab States

Social situation– Shouting at a football match VS shouting at a funeral

Based on written rules and laws. It is usually associated with the ways the state regulates and controls peoples’ actions and behaviours.

The “agencies of formal social control” are those bodies in society which make the laws (Houses of Parliament), enforce them (Police) or punish people who break the law (The courts/ Judiciary).

Based on unwritten rules and processes such as the approval and disapproval of other people. It is enforced by social pressure (the reactions of others). These reactions may be in the form of positive or negative sanctions.

Positive sanctions reward those who comply with the norms and values, by praising.

Negative sanctions punish those who do not conform by ridiculing, ignoring and gossiping.

The study in 1876 claimed that criminal behaviour was a result of biological factors. Criminals could be identified through physical defects such as overly large ears and long arms.

Criticisms

Didn’t consider how the prison environment could lead to the inmates looking similar to each other

Didn’t test his theory on public to prove it.

Criminals’ personality traits were too heavily concentrated in one category: Psychotic, Extrovert, Neurotic.

Criticisms

Didn’t consider cultures.

Assumes all offending can be explained by one personality trait.

Criminals are made by socialisation. Experiences like: parental abuse, gang membership, poverty and poor environment will cause someone to become a criminal.

Children require an intimate relationship with their mother. Without this, the child would develop psychopathic traits, which would lead to criminal behaviour.

Capitalist society values materialism and consumerism and we are brainwashed by society to want possessions. Working class people may turn to crime to get material goods such as mobile phones. The laws favour the rich and crimes such as tax evasion is ignored. Therefore, the working class are more likely to get caught and crimes of the powerful are ignored.

Crime is normal, useful and inevitable.

Positive functions of crime

1.Re-marking social boundaries – affirms social norms and values.

2.Media coverage – as a warning to others.

3.Social bonds – strengthened as we unite in disapproval.

4.Safety Value – a little bit of deviance reduces more serious problems – Prostitution

5.Malfunctioning society – theft, drug use and truancy alert us to other social problems in society.

Society of saints (Crime is inevitable)

Imagine there was no crime or deviance, even the most slight slip like coughing without putting your hand over your mouth would become a crime.

This is an explanation of young people’s involvement in crime and deviance. It highlights the negative influence of home environment and the failure of parents to socialize their children adequately. They argue that children whose parents fail to take responsibility for socializing them to accept society’s norms and values correctly are more prone to crime.  This is referred to Single Parent Families.

A peer group that has distinctive deviant values. Young males, in particular, will join peer groups or gangs and commit deviant acts in order to be accepted. Albert Cohen argued that working class boys joined delinquent subcultures in order to gain status within the peer group.

Cicourel argued that a delinquent is someone who has been labelled as such. Being labelled deviant/criminal may result from the reaction of other people (such as the police) and may not be entirely due to an individual’s actions or behaviour. Labelling someone may help to create a self-fulfilling prophecy by pushing that person further towards deviance/crime. This links to police stereotyping.

Police have an idea of what a criminal looks like -> Target those who fit idea -> Eventually find someone who is a criminal -> Charge them, adding to the statistics proving them to be right.

People feel this when they see themselves as badly off relative to the living standards of the particular group that they may compare themselves to. For example, a bank clerk who wants a mansion with a pool like that owned by their regional manager may commit fraud to acquire the necessary funds because they could never afford it any other way.

Ask people about their experiences of crime.

Advantages of victim surveys

May uncover the dark figure of crime

 Focuses on the victims’ experiences of crime

 Identifies local crime figures (can show which areas have high crime rates)

Disadvantages of victim surveys

 Not all crimes will be reported by the victim.

They may be embarrassed to reveal that they have been a victim of something like ****

Participants may lie

 Victims may forget certain incidents

Asks the individual if they have committed criminal or delinquent behaviour in the last year. It is anonymous so their names are confidential.

Advantages:

The age and gender of the offender can be uncovered

May uncover the ‘dark figure’ of crime

Disadvantages:

People may lie

People may forget and this affects the validity of the survey

If a crime is not detected

Victim is scared of the criminal's response

Victim is scared of police

Crime is considered too private

Victim suffered no loss

Crime is considered too petty

Crime too sensitive

Crime in the workplace– employers will handle it themselves and not want to involve the police

The reported crime is seen as too trivial

The reported crime was not actually a crime

The complainant may choose not to proceed

Police decide that there is not enough evidence to proceed

People, normally young people, carry out behaviour that intimidates and makes people feel unsafe or uncomfortable. For example hanging around street corners, being loud, being drunk.

This is seen by some as a solution to deviant, antisocial behaviour, including vandalism, anti-social drinking and taking drugs. They can ban a person from visiting certain areas or spending time with certain friends.

Pros

Good deterrent against anti-social behaviour.

Sanctions offenders without actually incriminating them.

Cheaper than prison

Cons

Some young people see them as a badge of honour.

Could be seen as a breach of a person's human rights.

Certain ones are very difficult to police and enforce.

In an attempt to prevent anti-social behaviour, there has been an introduction of CCTV. The UK has more CCTV surveillance than anywhere else in the world.

Pros

Cheaper than police officers

Good deterrent

Can catch criminals

Cons

Invasion of privacy

Could facilitate labeling theory

Relocates crime, doesn’t prevent it

Police Cautions– acts as an official warning to deter from getting involved further in crime1.There are two types of caution.

                    formal: counts towards a criminal record (usually given to adults who admit they are guilty of  first time minor offences such as vandalism or petty theft)

                    Informal: verbal warning – not counted towards criminal record

A reprimand is a formal verbal warning by a police officer to a young person who admits they are guilty of a minor first offence

Community service is in place of a prison sentence and the person has to perform beneficial services for the local community.

Probation is the suspension of a jail sentence. A criminal might be allowed to live in the community but with certain conditions set by the court under the supervision of a probation officer.

ASBO

What’s Happening… Disproportionally more low class in prison.

Why…

Poor socialisation – New Right

Educational Underachievement

Working class crime is more detectable. Eg: Robbery, Assault

But… Crime is also carried out by the middle classes and higher classes.

Occupational crime - fraud, theft from workplace – unreported as they are usually dealt within the workplace or are victimless

Corporate Crime - tax avoidance, selling harmful products – carried out by company bosses to make more profit.

Computer Crime - scamming, financial transactions—very hard to detect.

Relates to Class

Poor parental supervision

Harsh disciplining

Parents disharmony

Rejection of children

Low parental involvement

Large family size

All link to criminality

Relates to Class

New Right

Welfare policies -> Keep people out of labour pool -> Creates welfare state

Women knowingly become pregnant to secure welfare

Violence is for young expression.

Relates to age

Young working class men commit crime because they have their own set of norms and values. These are:

Toughness - They must be strong and brave

Smartness - Includes skills like sleight of hand, card sharp and con man attributes.

Excitement - Partying/clubbing, nights out, spending time with mates.

Fate - Believe they are stuck where they are and can’t move up class ladder

Trouble - Won’t back away from a fight.

These values lead to criminal behaviour

What’s Happening

Young people appear to commit more crime. Crime rate is at optimum between 16-25.

Why

Miller’s theory

Cohen

Murray

Labelling

Younger crime is more detectable. Eg. Fighting, robbery.

But

Older people’s crime is less detectable. Eg. Corporate, white collar crime.

What’s Happening

Men are more likely to be victims of crime, except for domestic violence.

Men are more likely to be perpetrators of crime, except for low level crime.

Why

Gender Socialisation – Boys are taught to0 be aggressive

Opportunity – Boys tend to have more freedom

Bedroom culture theory (MacRobbie)

Social Control - Women are restrained by their roles

Chivalry Thesis (Pollack)

But

Youth girl crime is rising - Laddettes - Large disposable income, Targeted by companies

What’s Happening

Afro-Caribbeans over represented in criminal justice system.

Ethnic minorities more likely to be victims of crime.

Why

Lea and Robbie’s theory

But

Institutional racism could be in the criminal justice system - Stephen Lawrence

Canteen Culture (Reiner)

Labelling (Bowling and Phillips)

White people less likely to be charged (Sharpe and Budd)

Relates to gender

Male dominated police force and courts are a lot easier on women than men, e.g. male might be prosecuted while a woman may be cautioned, for the same crime

Relates to gender

Girls more likely to stay in a house to socialise with friends whereas boys would go out to socialise.

Relates to ethnicity

Acknowledge that black people are not simply victims of a racist police force and criminal justice system but are actually more likely to be in involved with street crime than whites.

Reasons

Marginalisation - Pushed out by society eg Educational system doesn’t cater for ethnic minorities

Relative Deprivation - Most ethnic minority families are working class

Sub cultural response - Black rap artists have created a culture which encourages “BLING, VIOLENCE, AND CRIMINALITY”

Relates to ethnicity

Culture amongst the police include:

Suspicion

Macho Values

Racism

This encourages racist stereotypes  and mistrust of those from non-white backgrounds

Relates to ethnicity

Higher levels of robbery among black people could be the product of labelling that arrives from the use of regular stop and search

Relates to ethnicity

Black offenders are most likely to have contact with criminal justice system. They are more likely to be charged than white people. This suggests that they are treated unfairly

Relates to Age

Young working class create a delinquent sub-culture that flips the norms and values of their society in response to their social frustration.

Young working class want nice things but can’t afford them -> Creates status frustration -> Create a delinquent sub-culture that flips the norms and values of their society.

Definitions

Folk Devil - A group that is seen as a threat  to society’s values.

Moral Panic - A media –fuelled over-reaction to a social group ( Such as hoodies) this process involves the media exaggerating the significance of a social problem.

Deviancy Amplification

Police arrest young peope/muslims/girls for minor offences.

The media sensationalise these stories and thus have their ‘folk devil’ and begin to generate  a Moral Panic about them

In response to these stories, the police crack down even harder on these ‘Folk Devils’.

Those labelled may react with a ’self-fulfilling prophecy’, leading to an increase in deviance.

...And Repeat.