Deviance & Crime (week 8)

Question 1

what is deviance?

Answer 1

the recognized violation of cultural norms that is culturally constructed

Question 2

what is crime?

Answer 2

the violation of formal criminal laws that is culturally constructed

Question 3

what is the connection between deviance and crime?

Answer 3

all crime is deviant but not all deviance is considered crime

Question 4

what is the function of social control?

Answer 4

social control attempts to regulate people’s thoughts and behaviour

Question 5

what type of culture impacts norms and laws?

Answer 5

the dominant culture is refelected in the norms and laws. Their values and position of power are influential. How deviance is defined shows how society is organzied

Question 6

How is agency connected to deviance?

Answer 6

the agentic view is that acts of deviance and/or crime are the product of ratinional calculations people make

Question 7

what are the social foundations of deviance?

Answer 7

1. deviance varies according to cultural norms
2. people become deviant as others define them
3. norms and rule breaking involve social power

Question 8

how does deviance vary depending on culture?

Answer 8

because nothing is inherently deviant in itself, deviance is the violation of norms that are culturally constructed. Deviant norms are a product of cultural conditioning (interprovincial or international)

Question 9

Why do people become deviant as others define them?

Answer 9

People are subject to deviant labels that label both the act and the individual. These labels create a deviant person, not just a deviant act. The position of power of the labeller is influential.

Question 10

how do norms and rule breaking involve social power?

Answer 10

the way we uphold norms tells us about the power positions in society (the norms themselves and the way they are enforced - e.g. gambling in different settings)

Question 11

How is deviance conditioned by culture?

Answer 11

culture determines what is seen as deviant.
e.g. tattoos are deemed as deviant by the dominant culture in canada, however, for inuit peoples tattoos are a cultural symbol therefore not deviant. *deviance is contested because it is conditioned by culture

Question 12

What is the structural functionalist view on deviance? What individuals are associated with this approach?

Answer 12

deviance is a necessary part of social organization.
emile durkheim
1. affirms values & norms
2. clarifies moral boundaries
3. reponses create cohesion/reaffirms ties between people
4. encourages social change
Robert Merton
Merton’s strain theory - deviance typology explains how particular people become deviant
1. accept both cultural goals and institutional means: confomity
2. reject cultural goals means but accept institutionalized means: ritualism
3. accept cultural goals but reject institutionalized means: innovation
4. reject both: retreatism or rebellion (create new goals and new means)

Question 13

what is the symbolic interactionist view on deviance? who are the individuals associated with it?

Answer 13

deviance and conformity is an interactive process and people define deviance in everyday life
Howard Becker
labelling theory: deviance results not from what people do, but how others respond to it - label can become a status/master status
process of deviance
1. primary deviance: initial acts of deviance with minor consequences to realtionship with society
2. secondary deviance: deviance occurs in response to society’s reaction and labelling
PD –> deviant label applied –> internalization –> SD
Travis Hirchi
social control theory states that devience happens as a result of weakened social bonds - 4 types
1. attachment: weaker bonds –> more likely to be subject to anti-social influences
2. opportunity: less access to opportunities –> turn to deviance
3. involvement: less involvement in pro-social activities –> turn to deviance
4. beleif: less beleif in society/respect for authority –> turn to deviance
deviance is mediated by control mechanisms e.g. family/privilege

Question 14

what is the social conflict view on deviance?

Answer 14

norms and laws reflect interests of the rich and powerful
* if the behaviour of the powerful is called into question, they have the social and economic resources to resist deviant labels
* the belief that nroms and laws are natural and good mask their political character

Question 15

what is the definition of crime? what are the types of crimes?

Answer 15

crime: measured as harm done to society and how we respons to it with punishment
* summary: less serious type and punishment (e.g. cause disturbance) - held primarily in provincial court
* hybrid: can be prosecuted as summary or indictable (e.g. impaired driving)
* indictable: more serious type and punishment (e.g. homocide)

Question 16

what is the difference criminal law and civial law?

Answer 16

criminal law: deals with violations of the criminal code or other federal statutes like war crimes act or controlled drug & substances act
civil law: deals with matters between private parties

Question 17

what does the justice system have to prove in court?

Answer 17

mens rea: criminal intent/guity mind
actus reas: criminal act/guity act

Question 18

how are youth dealt with in the criminal justice system?

Answer 18

the criminal justice act deals with youth atleast 12 to under 18 (past acts include the juvenile delinquents act and young offenders act)
* consideration for youth because of “diminished moral blameworthiness” - frontal lobe is not fully developed
principles of the act
1. accountability (proportionate to seriounesses of crime)
2. rehabilitation/integration
3. crime prevention (of future crime)
wants to avoid incarceration

Question 19

can youths be give adult sentences?

Answer 19

youths can be given adult sentences with a few conditions
* must be over 14
* must be charged with a serious violent offence (e.g. aggravated assault, sexual assault, homocide)
* prosecution rebuts the diminished moral blameworthiness and youth sentence would not be a sufficient length to be held accountable for actions

Question 20

what are extrajudicial measures?

Answer 20

measures that try keep youth out of prisons
* are a more efficient type type of judical system
* non-court responses to less serious crimes
* discretion of the police since outside of court proceedings
* primarily for first time offenders but can be used for second time offenders too/others

Question 21

what are the extrajudical measures prior to charges being laid?

Answer 21

*in order of less serious to most serious measures
1. no further action
2. warning
3. police caution (more serious warning)
4. referrals (police refers youth to community program or agency if they consent - if not then formal charges)

Question 22

what are the extrajudicial measures subsequent to charges being laid

Answer 22

1. crown caution (prosecutor has discretion so formal caution from prosecution office)
2. extrajudicial sanctions - most serious!!! (requires youth to accept responsibility for offence e.g. formal restitutions, compenstating victim, community work, curfew, attending specializied program) - only used if other forms not sufficient

Question 23

how are crime reported? what are crime statistics?

Answer 23

crime reporting is distuigished by violent (against people) and non-violent (property and drug related)
* crime severity index tells us how much crime is coming to police attention and the seriousness of crime
* crime is up for the second year in a row after the drop during covid for both violent and non violent crime
* violent crime is highest since 2007 but nonviolent crime is not yet as prepandemic levels
* crime stats reported by stats can by uniform crime reporting survey

Question 24

what is the dark figure of crime?

Answer 24

all statistsics hinge on reported crime, therefore, doesn’t include nonreported crime
* the gap in reported vs actual number of crime
* ICEBERG!!!
* unreported crime may account for the majority of criminal incidents

Question 25

how is the dark figure of crime trying to be improved?

Answer 25

surveys asking about victimization can start to capture crime that isn’t reported to police
* GSS asks about victimization 8 crimes (sexual assault, robbery, physical assualt , theft of perosnal proprty, break and enter, thefts of vehicle/parts, theft of houshold proprty, vandalism

Question 26

what are rationales for not reporting GSS crimes?

Answer 26

1. crime was minor
2. inchident was not important enough
3. nobody was harmed
4. belief that police could not help recover stolen property

Question 27

what are rationales for not reporting hate crimes?

Answer 27

1. victims fear re-victimization
2. apprehension of CJS (won’t be taken seriously)
3. sentive nature of crime = fear of stigma on basis on social location

Question 28

what types of punishment are there?

Answer 28

1. retribution
2. deterence (speciefic to that individual or in general)
3. rehabilitation (not too effective because one deviant label imposed it is internalized)
4. social protection

Question 29

what is restorative justice?

Answer 29

tailored to healing and rehabilitation
*not a retibutive system
appropriate when:
* offender admits guilt and accepts resonsibility
* victim freely agrees to participates
* mediation is conducted by trained facilitators following a RJ program