Lecture 9 - Deviance and Crime Flashcards
Define deviance.
Breaking a norm/Violating an accepted rule of behaviour
Define crime.
Deviance that is codified in law
Define law.
A norm that is enforced by the government
How are deviance and crime similar?
- Both elicit a negative reaction
- Both are dependent on the social context + how power is distributed (Ex. Left-handedness being considered deviant)
How do types of deviance and crime vary?
- Severity of social response (can range from mild disappointment to capital punishment)
- PERCEIVED harmfulness
- Degree of public agreement (on the definition of the crime)
What are the shortcomings of crime statistics?
- Victimless crimes (violations of law that have no identified victims) tend to not be reported (Ex. SA, communicating for gambling/prostitution. etc.)
- Authorities + public decide what should be reported (Ex. War on Drugs put more emphasis on drug-related crimes)
What are self-report surveys?
- Surveys in which the responder reports their involvement in criminal activity
- Shows a funnelling system to officially being labelled a criminal (investigation + conviction needs to happen to be labelled as such)
Why has the crime rate declined since 1992?
NOT number of police
NOT number of prisoners
- Unemployment –> peak from 1991 - 1994, went from 10.3 - 11.4% down to 5.5%
- Fewer young men in the population –> 75% of crimes committed by men, 80% of inmates are under 40 (15 - 24 has the highest rate)
- (POTENTIALLY) Abortion legalization –> fewer unwanted children
Define power.
The probability that one actor in a social relationship can carry out their will despite resistance
- Powerful groups can usually create norms, have laws in their favour, evade/get a less severe punishment
How does class affect crime/deviance?
- Upper class commits white-collar/suite crimes (illegal acts committed by them in their jobs), which are in private + good legal representation can be afford
- Lower class commits street crimes (B&E. robbery, arson, etc.)
How does gender affect crime/deviance?
- SA was not prosecuted if the victim knew the perpetrator, but an increase in women’s power since the 70s has changed that
- Men account for 75+% of criminal court cases (Women account for a slightly higher percentage of arrests)
Why are Indigenous overrepresented in prisons?
- Many are poor –> poverty is associated w. elevated crime rates
- Young Indigenous population (more crime-prone)
- Indigenous tend to commit street crimes
- Discrimination within the justice system
- Western culture disrupted Indigenous social life –> weakened social control over community members
Why do Indigenous and Black populations have a high crime rate?
- Discrimination in education + employment (High poverty + unemployment level = high chance of illegitimate means of making money)
- High percentage of single-parent families (Due to last reason, less supervision/discipline for bad behaviour)
- Criminal justice system is biased against POC
- Black men in Toronto are 4x more likely than white men to be stopped by police while driving (Well-to-do Black men have even more of a chance)
- Black men are 24% more likely to get max. security rating (high risk posed in custody) in prison
- Indigenous men are 30% more likely to get the worst reintegration rating in prison
How do symbolic interactionists explain deviance/crime?
Labelling theory –> deviance is defined by the action of the deviant + the response of others (those who label the rule-breaker as such)
- Becker’s marijuana study in the 1940s had 3 stages
1. Learning to smoke in a way that produces real effects (Attempting to get high)
2. Learning to recognize the effects + connect them to drug use
3. Learning to enjoy the perceived sensation - Proved that learned deviance/crime needs a social context in which the experienced give novices the tricks of the trade
How do functionalists explain deviance/crime?
- Social dysfunction leads to criminal behaviour
- Durkheim –> deviance/crime benefits society, since the punishment is a reminder of shared values (reinforces social solidarity)
- Merton expanded on Durkheim’s idea –> strain (culture teaching ppl. to value material success, but society failing to provide opportunities for everyone to succeed), those who don’t fit in will conform to social norms
- Criminal subculture (Gangs share norms/culture, obedience within the subculture)
- Functionalists exaggerate the connection b/w class and crime (stronger connection w/ serious street crimes/white-collar crimes and class)
