SOCI 102- Introduction to the Study of Society

Lecture 7: Crime and Deviance

Lyn R Keith
January 2018
Outcomes

At the end of this session students will be able to:

1. Distinguish between “deviance” and “crime”

2. Describe the characteristics “deviance” and
“crime”
3. Critically analyze the contemporary theories of
“deviance” and “crime”
4. Examine the application of the sociological
theories to crime and deviance.
Some Key Terms
Norms – rules of conduct that specify appropriate
behaviour in a given range of social situations. A norm
either prescribes a given type of behaviour or forbids it.
Norms are backed by sanctions in one form or another

Sanctions – a mode of regards or punishment that

reinforces socially expected forms of behaviour

Laws – a rule of behaviour established by political authority

and backed by state power

Collective conscience - a common social bond that is

expressed by the ideas, values, norms, beliefs, and
ideologies of a culture.
Sanctions and Social Control

Social control – refers to those techniques and

strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in
any society
When someone breaks an important norm, there is a
response, a sanction.
o Sanctions can be positive or negative, depending
on the breach
o Sanctions can be enacted formally or informally
o The degree of sanctions varies according to the
importance and type of norm broken
Crime: a definition

Crime
A crime is any deviant act that breaks the law of the land
(Mustapha 2009).
Any act that contravenes the laws established by a
political authority. Although we may think about criminals
as a distinct subsection of the population, there are a few
people who have not broken the law in one way or
another during their lives (Giddens et al. 2011).
o It includes anti-social conduct that is prohibited by law, with
sanctions that commit offenders into custody.
o At the heart of crime is the concept of protecting not only the
individual, but society.
o Punishment of crime was developed primarily as a means of
social control and as a means of protection for members of
society.
Crime: a definition
Crime and violence have become a major source of
concern for the population throughout Latin America and
the Caribbean, and it is being identified as an obstacle to
human development (UNDP 2011).

o Crime is an act that threatens the existing social arrangements

of society which are condemned or punished.
 Blue collar crime
 White collar crime (individual)
 White collar crime (political)
 Organized crime
 Crime against person
 Property Crime
 Victimless crimes (traffic offences, drug addiction)
 Professional crime (hackers)
Characteristics of Crime

What are the factors that determine whether some things are
illegal or not? One also needs to consider the process that
decides which crimes are most serious?
o Crime is any action that breaks the law of the land and is
punishable by formal controls
o While all crime constitutes deviant activities, not all deviant
behaviours are criminal
o Some deviant behaviours may cease to be criminal and
eventually cease to be deviant. Crime therefore is relevant to
time and place
o Power structures in society influence the decision as to what is
considered criminal
o Crime statistics are sometimes manipulated in order to serve
political ends
Deviance

Deviance is problematic, yet essential and intrinsic to any

conception of social order. It is problematic because it disrupts ; it
is essential because it defines the confines of our shared reality; it is
intrinsic to a conception of social order.
o Deviance is a phenomenon situated in power
o Deviance is negotiated order
o Deviance violates some group’s assumption about reality (social
order)
o It violates expectations
This definition of deviance preserves, protects and clarifies group
interests and, in so doing, maintain a sense of normality
 Difference Between Crime and Deviance
CRIME
Criminal acts are those that have been
defined as such by formal agencies of
social control, whereas deviance is
defined as violation of social norms
Crime is punishable by law, that is, by
formal sanctions
DEVIANCE
Deviance involves the breaking of social
norms and is determined in a more
informal manner. Deviance is culturally
determined; what is normal in one
culture may be seen as deviant in
another
Deviance on the other hand, is
punishable by informal sanctions such
as peer pressure, ridicule and media
reporting
 Biological View of Deviance
Some of the first attempts to explain crime emphasised biological
factors.

Italian Cesare Lombroso (1870) believed that criminal types could

be identified by the shape of the skull. He accepted that social
learning could influence social behaviour, but he regarded most
criminals as biologically degenerate or defective.

Another theory distinguish three types if human physique and

claimed that one type was directly associated with delinquency:
Muscular (active types) - mesomorphs were considered more likely
to become delinquent that those of thin physique (ectomorphs) or
more fleshy people (endomorphs).
Biological View of Deviance

Limitations
1. Most of the acts that are defined as deviant are
carried out my those who are quite physically normal.

2. Because a biological approach looks at the

individual, it offers no insight into how some kinds of
behaviour come to be defined as deviant in the first
place.
 Psychological View of Deviance
Like biological interpretations, psychological theories of crime associate
criminality with particular types of personality.

Some have suggested that in a minority of individuals, an amoral, or

psychopathic, personality develops.
Psychopaths - are withdrawn, emotionless characters who delight in
violence for its own sake

Limitations
1. Although some serious criminals are psychopaths, most serious crimes
are committed by persons whose psychological profiles are normal
2. It views deviance as traits of the individual, at the expense of
acknowledging that deviance has more to do with the organization of
society
Sociological Perspectives Sociological
Approach to Crime

o Criminal behaviour is learnt.

o Criminal behaviour is learned in interaction with
other persons.
o Principal part of learning of criminal behaviour
occurs within intimate social groups.
 Structural-Functionalist Perspective on Crime

The Necessity of Crime a According to the Functionalists

o Some crime is necessary to establish boundaries in society. It
promotes solidarity and reinforces right and wrong.
o When member of society share a common view about a
crime, they come together and share opinions, thus
strengthening social bonds among them.
o Boundaries must be made clear to everyone, publicity is
required.
o Criminals provide a test of boundaries.
o Some may feel sympathy for the criminal. In this case, the
law is out of step with the common feelings of society and
this may bring about reformation of laws.
Structural-Functionalist Perspective on Crime

Emile Durkheim
o Social order in society is reinforced by law and the
collective conscience – of these two law is the weaker,
but in periods of great social strain or change, the
collective conscience can be weakened.

o The weakened collective consciousness develops into a

state of anomie and society reverts to a state of greed
and self-interest, which leads to the collapse of order
and harmony.

Anomie – is defined as “the condition of normlessness, in

which values and norms have little impact and the culture
no longer provides adequate guidelines for behaviour”.
 Structural-Functionalist Perspective on Crime
Merton’s Strain Theory
o Strain develops between what people want (goals), what they can
realistically achieve, and how they attain their goals (means).

o Strain theories view crime and delinquency as a form of adaptive,

problem-solving behaviour, usually committed in response to problems
involving frustration and the undesirable social environment.

o Anomie involves the dysfunction between legitimate goals, which

everyone desires and socially approved means to success, which are
not equally available to all members of society.

o Crime and deviance are alternative means to success, when individuals

feel the strain of being pressed to succeed socially approved ways, and
when they lack the tools necessary for success.
 Structural-Functionalist Perspective on Crime

Merton’s Modes of Adaptation

Conformity – people accept legitimate goals set by society and
have access to approved means. They continue to accept
goals ad means, even though failure is the likely outcome.
Innovation – when a person accepts goals set by society but
rejects socially acceptable mean.
Ritualism – people conform to society as a means, but a person
may lose sight of goals. People may participate in socially
desirable means but lack interest in achieving goals.
Retreatism – a person rejects both the means and the goals and
‘drops out’ of the ‘rat race’.
Rebellion – rejection of both means and goals by people who
wish to replace socially approved goals and means with an
alternative system (for example, political radicals or terrorists).
Conflict Perspective on Crime
Conflict theories believe that ‘society is an arena in which
struggles over scare commodities take place’.
o They state that every society is made up of different classes or
interest groups and that no government regime will be able to
take into account all varying interests and goals.

o Each group in society posses different amounts of power,

wealth or influence.

o The ‘haves’ will always try to preserves and improve their

positions while the ‘have-nots’ will be attempting to survive

Thus conflict will be present in all areas of society

Conflict Perspective on Crime
Summary
o In contrast to the structural functionalist theories, which
stress a broad value consensus is society, conflict
theories focus on the conflict between different sets of
group values
o They examine the role of government in controlling the
elites in society. Instead of labelling people as criminals,
conflict theories identify inequality and governments as
the real culprits and the cause of crime
o ‘pure’ conflict theorists recognize that friction between
the haves and the haves-not is inevitable in any social
system
o Conflict theorists agree that it is the rich and powerful
who define the behaviour of the poor as criminals
Conflict Perspective on Crime
Summary
o They demonstrate connections among social class,
crime, and social control.

o They also say that states create laws and rules to

maintain power and to preserve the position of the
powerful and the elite. Conflict therefore uncovers bias
in the criminal justice system and explains crime within
an economic, political and social context.
 Gender and Deviance
Feminists have been correct in criticizing criminology for
being a male-dominated discipline in women are largely
invisible in both theoretical considerations and empirical
studies.

Feminists draw attention to the way in which criminal

transgressions by women occur in different contexts from
those by men and to how women’s experiences with the
criminal justice system are influenced by certain gendered
assumptions about appropriate male and female roles.

They also focus on the prevalence of violence against

women, both at home and in public.
Interactionist on Crime
Interactionist perspectives takes a micro (small-scale) view
of society and social order and analyses social interactions
accordingly.
o The main idea behind this approach is that the definition
of what is deviant is socially negotiated.

o Person’s experience may lead to a deviant career, that

is, there is a social process which takes certain people
down a path that eventually leads to rejection by
society.

o Social process theories are interested in the social

institutions, such as families and peer groups, that may
cause a person to engage in criminal activity
Interactionist on Crime
Labelling Theory
No behaviour in inherently deviant on its own. Instead it’s
the reaction to the behaviour that makes it deviant or not.

Labelling theory helps to explain why a behaviour is

considered negatively deviant to some people, groups
and cultures but positively deviant to others.

E.g. Batman or Spiderman

Person responsible for the death or another - (war, self-
defense, accident, murder)
Reactions are based on cultural norms or values.
Interactionist on Crime
Retrospective and Projective Labeling
The consequences of being stigmatized can be far-
reaching. A stigma operates as a master status,
overpowering other aspects of social identity.
Unfortunately, once people stigmatize an individual, they
have a difficult time changing their opinions of the labeled
person, even if the label is proven to be untrue.

They may also engage in retrospective labeling,

interpreting someone's past in light of some present
deviance.

Similarly, people may engage in projective labeling of a

stigmatized person. Projective labeling is using a deviant
identity to predict future action.
Interactionist on Crime
Stigma

Once a person has been labeled by others through

secondary deviance, it is common for that person to
incorporate that label into his or her own self-concept.
They develop a stigma, or a powerfully negative label
that greatly changes a person's self-concept and
social identity.

E.g. Someone in high school that has been labeled as

a nerd, for example, may begin to think of himself or
herself as a loser due to other people's opinions and
treatment.
Interactionist on Crime
Summary
o It focuses on the reaction of other people and on the
subsequent effects of those reactions that create deviance
o When it becomes known that a person has engaged in
deviant acts, he or she is then segregated from society and
thus labelled…
o This process of segregation creates ‘outsiders’, who are
outcasts of society, and who then begin to associate with
other individuals who have also been cast out
o Labelling may lead to a self fulfilling prophecy as the rule-
breaker enters a career of deviance or becomes what others
expect
o Labelling brings into play power differentials and have further
detrimental consequences for those that are labelled
 Tutorial
1. How does Merton’s and Durkheim’s definition of anomie differ?

2. What does biological and psychological research add to your

understanding of crime? What are the limitations of this
approach?

3. Using the approach illustrations explain how sociologists define

deviance? Is all crime deviant? Is all deviance criminal? Why?

4. Outline the major assumptions of the interactionist perspective on

deviance

5. What are the root causes of crime according to the conflict

theorists?

6. According to the sub-cultural explanations, how does criminal

behaviour get transmitted from one group to another?