Transcript Aristotle (384

Crime and Deviance
Deviance
• Deviance: Behavior that violates social
norms
– Murder
– Rape
– Arson
– Graffiti
– Fighting
– Picking your nose
– Cross-dressing
– Drunk Driving
– Cheating on a test
Deviance Across Cultures
• Deviance is culturally relativistic; it varies from
society to society
• It also varies within societies
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Murder is deviant
Police officer killing an armed suspect is not deviant
Rebel flag in Ohio is deviant
Rebel flag in Alabama is not deviant
HIV / AIDS is deviant if you got it through drug use or
sexual contact
• Not deviant if you acquired it through blood transfusion
Why Does Deviance Happen?
I. Cultural-Transmission or Differential
Association Theory (Sutherland)
– Deviance is learned through interaction with
others
– Differential association: if you interact more
with deviant people, you will be deviant
– A deviant person is socialized into deviant
norms
– Interactionist perspective
II. Structural-Strain Theory
(Durkheim and Merton)
• Deviance is a natural outgrowth of values,
norms, and structure of society
• Certain people can’t meet goals of
society: Anomie
• Functionalist perspective
III. Control Theory (Hirschi)
• Similar to Structural-Strain theory
• Deviance occurs in people who do not
have close ties to the community
– People with close ties are controlled by other
community members
• People without close ties have less to lose
• Consequences of deviance determine
behavior
IV. Conflict Theory
• Competition and social inequality lead to
deviance
• Power struggle
• Deviance is defined by the group in
power—anything threatening their power
is “deviant”
• Group in power establishes ideologies that
explain deviance as a lower-class
phenomenon
V. Labeling Theory (Lemert and
Becker)
• Focuses on how people become labeled
“deviant”
• All people commit deviant acts, but not
everyone is deviant
• Primary Deviance: nonconformity that
goes undetected
• Secondary Deviance: deviance that results
in a person being labeled
How Would Each Theory Explain
the Columbine Shootings?
The Columbine Massacre
April 20, 1999
• Littleton, CO
• Eric Harris and Dylan
Klebold
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Both had a criminal record
Both were bullied at school
“Trenchcoat Mafia”
Both listened to “violent”
music
– Both were classified as
“Goths”
• 12 students and 1 teacher
killed
• 21 students injured
Why is Deviance Good for Society?
1. Unifies the Group “Us vs. Them”
-Gives a Sense of community
2. Clarifying Norms
-Defines boundaries of behavior
3. Diffusing Tension
-Minor acts of deviance are a “safety valve”
4. Identifying Problems
-Tells which parts of society need change
5. Provides Jobs
-Judges, lawyers, police, prison guards, etc.
Crime
• Crime: An act prohibited by law and
punishable by a governing body
• Who is committing crimes?
1. Mostly Male: Generally more aggressive
than females
2. Mostly White in numbers, mostly Black
by percentage
3. Mostly under 25: More laws for those
under 18-21
Types of Crime
1. Violent Crime: Murder, rape, robbery
-physical violence or threat of violence
2. Crime against property: Burglary, arson
-No person is physically harmed
3. Victimless Crime: Prostitution, gambling, drug use
-No harm to anyone except the perpetrator
4. White Collar Crime: Fraud, tax evasion, toxic pollution
-By people of high social standing
5. Organized Crime: Drug trafficking, gambling, black
market
-large scale and professional
Stigma
• A mark or sign to label a criminal
• http://www.familywatchdog.us/
The Criminal Justice System
1. Police: Make arrests
-few crimes prevented by police
2. Courts: Determine guilt or innocence—issue sentences
3. Corrections
-Recidivism: repeated criminal behavior
65% in US—the highest in the world
76% juvenile recidivism—also highest in the world
-Approaches to correcting deviance
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Retribution
Deterrence
Rehabilitation
Societal Protection
-Are we too nice?
-Do we not rehabilitate?
4. Juvenile Justice System: Different punishments for similar crimes
-focus in on rehabilitation
The US Prison System
• The US has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of
the world’s inmates
• 1 in 5 inmates is sexually assaulted
• 25% of all inmates are gang members
• 35% of inmates are drug addicts
– 80% are drug users
• 25% of all prison beds are occupied by people who are
mentally insane
• Only 12 of 5000 prisons have higher education programs
• 700,000 inmates are released each year
– 2/3 are back within three years
The Death Penalty
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History and Statistics
The Death Penalty has existed since before Christ
Punishable offenses have ranged from blasphemy to
murder
The Death Penalty was strongly questioned by
Enlightenment philosophers of the 1800s
In the US, the rate of capital punishment has changed
In 2002, 71 people in 13 states were executed
– Texas had the most with 33
– 70 were by lethal injection, 1 by electrocution
– 38 states use the death penalty
• In 2002, there were 3,557 inmates on death row (all for
murder)
• There was a moratorium in the US from 1967-77
Arguments
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Arguments For
Deterrent
Punishment fits the
crime
Criminals forfeit their
rights
Recidivism rate is so
high
Economical
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Arguments Against
People still commit
crimes
Chance of innocence
“Cruel and Unusual”
Immoral / Human
Rights
Economical