Chapter 7 - Deviance and Crime Flashcards
Deviance
occurs when someone departs from a norm and evokes a negative reaction from others
Laws
norms specified and enforced by government bodies
Crime
deviance that breaks the law
Informal Punishment
involves a mild sanction that is imposed during face to face interaction, not by the judicial system
Stigmatized
people are negatively evaluated because of a marker that distinguishes them from others and that is labelled as socially unacceptable
Formal Punishment
the judicial system penalizes someone for breaking a law
Social Diversions
minor acts of deviance, generally perceived as harmless. they evoke (at most) a mild societal reaction
Social Deviations
non-criminal departures from norms that are subject to official control
Conflict Crimes
illegal acts, many find harmful to society, yet some people don’t. punishable by state
Consensus Crime
illegal acts that almost everyone agree are bad in themselves, and harm society greatly. state inflicts severe punishment for these crimes
Self Report Surveys
respondents are asked to report their involvement in criminal activities, either as perpetrators or victims
Victimless Crimes
involve violations of the law of which no victim steps forward and is identified
Victimization Surveys
people are asked whether they have been victims of crimes
Street Crimes
include anon, break and enter, assault, and other illegal acts disproportionately committed by people of lower classes
White-Collar Crimes
illegal acts committed by respectable, high-class and high status persons in the course of their work
Labelling Theory
deviance results not so much from the actions of the deviant as from the response of others, who label the rule breaker as deviant
Strain Theory
people may turn to deviance when they experience strain. strain results when a culture teaches people the value of material success and society fails to provide enough legitimate opportunities for everyone to succeed
Subculture
a set of distinctive values, norms, and practices within a larger culture
Control Theory
the rewards of deviance and crime are sufficient, therefore nearly everyone would engage in deviance and crime if they could get away with it. from this point of view, the degree to which people are prevented from violating norms and laws accounts for variations int he level of deviance and crime
Social Control
the ways in which a social system attempts to regulate people’s thoughts, feelings, appearance, and behaviour
Internal Social Control
regulates people through socialization and shapes people’s minds so they come to regard deviant actions as undesirable
External Social Control
regulates people by imposing punishments and offering rewards
Panopticon
prison design that allows inmates to be constantly observed without their knowledge
Surveillance Society
uses all-encompassing surveillance technology to optimize social control
Moral Panic
an extreme over-response that occurs when many people strongly believe that some form of deviance or crime poses a profound threat to society’s well-being
Recidivism Rate
the rate at which convicted offenders commit another crime
Examples of Informal Punishment
gossip, raises eyebrows, shaming, stigmatization
Examples of Formal Punishment
sentences for prison time or community service
4 Types of Deviance and Crime
- Social Diversions
- Social Deviations
- Conflict Crimes
- Consensus Crimes
4 Explanations for Decline in Canadian Crime Rates
- growing number of well-trained law enforcement officers are fighting crime
- young men are most prone to committing crimes, however the number of young people int he population is declining
- the unemployment rate is strongly correlated with the crime rate, however Canada’s economy has grown
- legalization of abortion
3 Stage Process to Regular Marijuana Usage
- learning to smoke the drug in a way that produces real effects
- learning to recognize the effects and connect them with drug use
- learning to enjoy the perceived sensations
Symbolic Interactionist Approaches to deviance and Crime (2)
- learning deviance
- labelling theory
Functionalist Theory Approaches to Deviance and Crime (3)
- society benefits from deviance and crime (durkheim)
- strain theory (merton)
- criminal subcultures
Conflict Theory Approaches to Deviance and Crime (2)
- social control
- the rich and powerful impose deviant and criminal labels on others
In what year was capital punishment abolished in Canada?
1976
Rationales for Imprisonment
incapacitation, rehabilitation, deterrence, revenge
Alternatives to Imprisonment
community service, fines, victims-offender reconciliation
What are the main trends in social control and regulation?
surveillance society, deviance has become medicalized, imprisonment has become a favoured means of social control, moral panics help increase the incarceration rate
Who benefits from Moral Panic and why?
Mass media: allows them to rake in hefty profits
The criminal justice system: allows them to increase spending on crime prevention, control, and punishment
Politicians: some base their entire careers on get-tough policies.
Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
listing of the number of criminal offences occurring in each police service’s jurisdiction. every police service is required to report the number of criminal offences monthly, data forwarded to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS)
According to Travis Hirschi, who is most prone to deviance and crime (1) and what are they most likely to lack (4)?
- adolescents are most prone to deviance and crime.
- social attachments to respectable role models.
- legitimate opportunities for education and a good job.
- involvements in conventional institutions.
- beliefs in traditional values and morality.
Bill C10 - ‘Tough on Crime’ (5)
- build more prisons
- put more criminals in prison
- increases to maximum prison sentences
- new mandatory minimum sentences
- police empowered to make more arrests
What are the possible outcomes to Bill C10 - ‘tough on crime’
- once in ‘the system’ - come into contact with ‘real hardened’ criminals (reintegration back into society?)
- restorative justice (e.g. family group conferences / healing circles) will be compromised / terminated altogether
