Law and Social Control Flashcards
Informal Social Control
conformity to norms and values of society and adoption of a particular belief system; learned through SOCIALIZATION; enforced by rewards or sanctions
Formal Social Control
produced and enforced by state (govt.) and representatives of state that enforce laws (e.g., police, military, govt. agencies); enforced by sanctions or threat of
Durkheim - Mechanical and Organic Solidarity
Mechanical - small society, collective consciousness, crimes attack on society, social control through pressure of solidarity
Organic - division of labor, crimes are attacks on individuals, social control through legal institutions
Legal Control/ Why people obey the law
Self-interest (avoid consequences, make society run smoothly), Sanctions (fines, consequences), Social influence (avoid embarrassment/criticism), Conscience (against moral values)
Primary purpose of legal punishment
Deterrence
Criminal penalties
Confinement, porbation, parole
Deterrence founders
Cesare Beccaria - punishment should instill fear
Jeremy Bentham - punishment should incentivize people to obey the law
Requirements of Deterrence
(Most important) Certainty, Severity, Speed
(Others) Communication, Stigma, Procedural justice
‘common errors’ in deterrence evaluation
Aunt Jane’s Cold Remedy
Tiger prevention fallacy
Warden’s survey fallacy
Underreporting
Error of diminishing returns
Secondary effects fallacy
Instrumental offenses
committed for material gain, carefully planned
(ex: robbery, burglary) (more likely to be deterred by laws and consequences)
Expressive Offenses
based on emotional reaction, do not consider consequences; less likely to be deterred by the sanctions of the offenses
Application of the DP by states
Abolitionist states - completely prohibit the DP; mostly in the midwest and northeast
De facto abolitionist states - a small number of DP sentences, infrequently carried out, across the country
Symbolic states - a significant number of DP sentences, but carry out a relatively small percentage of them, California is one
Active DP states - Oklahoma and Texas, have DP on the books, regularly use the DP, and carry out these, mostly in southern states, and border states
5 frames that legitimize capital punishment
Rules - laws in the book make capital punishment constitutional
Crime - reduce crime, what greater deterrent than death? No evidence that DP deters crime than a life sentence
Retribution - punishment for punishment’s sake) (paying back in kind)
Healing - letting the victims heal, removing the offender from the community and existence)
Democracy - leave it to the will of the people and if the people support it is what it is, but the will is shifting)
Victimless crimes (and types)
criminal sanctions for these activities but people consider them victimless crimes bc they choose to do it
Prostitution
Gambling
Drug use
Vagrancy and homelessness
Some objections to criminalization of certain acts
