Chapter 7Deviant Behavior and

Social Control

Normal v. Deviant

Eccentric Person

Creative/ Unique Person

Deviant Person

Role of Culture

Norms + values = MORAL CODE

“ The symbolic system in terms of which behavior takes on the quality of being “good” or “bad”, “right” or “wrong”.

Analyze Deviant Behavior

What a person did

Who the person is

The social and cultural contexts of the act

Deviant behavior: “Behavior that fails to conform to the rules or norms of the group in question.”

Making Moral Judgements

Universally accepted deviant behavior

Incest

Genocide

Improper drug use

Torture of humans

Do you agree?

Functions of Deviance

Durkheim- “[its] an integral part of all healthy societies”.

Helps reawaken society

Redefine moral order

Promote organization

Provides clarification

Prevents more serious instances of nonconformity

Dysfunctions of Deviance

Threaten social order

Causes confusion about the norms and values of society

Undermines trust

Diverts valuable resources from other needs

Police force

FBI

Mechanisms of Social Control

Internal Means of Control:

Consist of other people’s responses to a person’s behavior

Rewards and punishments

External Means of Control:

Sanctions: Are rewards and penalties that a group’s members use to regulate an individual’s behavior

Positive and Negative Sanctions

Positive Sanctions:

Actions that encourage the individual to continue acting in a certain way

Negative Sanctions:

Actions that discourage the repetition or continuation of the behavior

Formal and Informal

Formal Sanctions: Are applied in a public ritual, as in the awarding of a prize or an announcement of expulsion, and are usually under the direct or indirect control of authorities

Informal Sanctions: Involve things such as gossip or a congratulations

A Typology of Sanctions

Positive Negative1.Informal Positive: smiles, pats on back, and so on

2.Informal Negative: frowns, avoidance, and so on

3.Formal Positive: awards, testimonials, and so on

4.Formal negative: legal sanctions, and so on

Informal

Formal

Theories of Crime and Deviance

Medieval Law: “If two persons fell under suspicion of crime, the uglier or more deformed was to be regarded as more probably guilty”

Biological TheoriesCesare Lombroso Italian M.D. emphasized that deviant behavior was not of free will but of anatomical structures of the skull

Apelike structure

Primitive instinctual behavior

“Evolutionary throwbacks”

Tested the skulls and dissected the bodies of dead prisoners and determined that criminal crimes were made by people with animal-like bodies.

The chromosomal linkage for supposed criminals was XXY

Contemporary studies show that environment and social interaction determine behavior

Psychological Theories

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory: Our unconscious, which causes irrational thoughts, feelings we are not aware of

Causes deviant acts

Behavioral Theories

People modify behaviors in response to punishment or reward

Wilson and Hernstein claimed, that people choose to do things because the outcome would be more desirable then doing something else

Restating individual CHOICE

Techniques of Neutralization

Process that justifies deviant behavior

Denial of responsibility

Denial of injury

Denial of the victim

Condemnation of the authorities

Appealing to higher principles

Standards are greater

Labeling Theory- You carry the name then you continue the action

Affects socialization

The Importance of Laws

Laws are passed to give the state the power of enforcement

It is important not to confuse a society’s moral code with its legal code

The legal code consist of the formal rules, called laws, adopted by a society’s political authority

The Emergence of Laws

Consensus approach assumes that laws are merely a formal version of the norms and values of the people

It’s a functionalist model for explaining a society’s legal system

As the norms and values in society change, so will the law

Conflict approach to laws assumes that the elite use their power to enact and enforce laws that support their own economic interest and go against the interest of the lower classes

The laws change as the institutions change

Crime in the United StatesCrime: Is behavior that violates society’s legal code

Violent Crime: An unlawful event such as homicide, rape and assault that can result in injury to a person

Property Crime: An unlawful act that is committed with the intent of gaining property but that does not involve the use or threat or force against an individual

Felonies: Offenses punishable by a year or more in state prison

Crime Statistics

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

Began in 1929

How the FBI measures crime nationally. They receive monthly and annual reports from law enforcement agencies throughout the country

National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

Crime Statistics

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

Began in 1973 to collect information on crimes suffered by individuals and households, wether they were reported to the police or not

Collects detailed information on the frequency and nature of the crimes of rape, sexual assault, personal robbery, aggravated and simple assault, household burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft

Kinds of Crime in the US

Juvenile Crime

Breaking of criminal laws by individuals younger than age 18

2/3 of serious crime

Typical serious juvenile offenders

Most common crime: Larceny- theft

Main difference from adult crime

Juvenile Courts

Courts are clogged, detention centers overcrowded

Violent offenders often receive little or not punishment

Are they helping?

Recidivism: Repeated criminal behavior after punishment

Violent Crime

What are they?

Low rate compared to other years

54% know their attackers

70% of rape and sexual assault victims know their attackers

US one of highest homicide rates

Property Crime

75% of ALL crime is against property

Examples: burglary, auto theft, larceny theft

2007 over 17.5 million households affected

White Collar CrimesActs of individuals who, while occupying positions of social responsibility or high prestige, break the law in the course of their work for the purpose of illegal personal or organizational gain

Examples: embezzlement, bribery, fraud, kickback schemes

Greater economic impact

Victimless CrimesActs that violate the laws meant to enforce the moral codes

Examples: narcotics, illegal gambling, public drunkenness, prostitution

Person them self may be the victim

Indirectly leads to other crimes

Some eventually become decriminalized

Victims of CrimeA person’s race, gender, age, and socioeconomic status affects whether they are more likely to be affected

Criminal Justice in the United States

Criminal Justice System- Personnel and procedures for arrest, trial, and punishment to deal with violations of the law

three main categories:

police

courts

prisons

The Police

Highly decentralized

3 levels federal

Federal

State

Local

The Federal Level:

US does not have a national police system

Congress enacts federal laws

FBI enforces these laws

The State Police:

patrol highways

regulate traffic

primary responsibility of enforcing some state laws

other services they provide:

criminal identification system, police training programs, computer-based records systems to assist local police departments

The Local Police:

Limited to the state, town, or municipality in which the officer was sworn into

63% of whites had confidence in police

26 % of african americans had confidence in police

35% of blacks have little no no confidence in police

Studies have shown that cities with high crime rates have the most police officers, so will it benefit a city to add more police to the streets?

Ways to determine if police presence is effective

The CourtsDual court system:

State

Federal

Some crimes can violate both state and federal statuses

State court system

Higher trial courts

All states have appeal courts

The Federal Court System

3 basic levels

US district courts

Supreme Court

PrisonsWe cannot imagine being without prisons

Represent a fundamental defense against crime and criminals

Before prisons

Goals of imprisonment:

Four goals:

Separate criminals from society

Punish criminal behavior

Deter criminal behavior

Rehabilitate criminal

Sociological theory

Labeling theory

Certain changes are needed

Halfway houses

If process of de-labeling were made available, former inmates will find it easier to win reentry into society

A Shortage of Prisons

State of crisis

Over crowding

National prison capacity has expanded but has not kept up with the growth of the criminal population

States

How much does each crime cost the public?

Women in Prison

Segregate women into sections of the existing institutions

Fewer woman inmates- justified not being provided with a matron

1873- first separate prison for women was opened

More aesthetic and less secure

In the past not considered high security risks or proved to be as violent as males

More likely to commit property crimes

Trend in crimes has changed

Institutions are are built and maintained with the view that their occupants are not great risks to themselves or to others

Inmates

Since 1995: The growth rate of women inmates has been greater than the growth rate of the male inmates

Females have a harder time adjusting to the absence of their families, esp. children

The Funnel Effect

Truth in Sentencing

Time spent in prison is always almost shorter than the time they are sentenced to serve by the court

Public-- in favor of longer sentences and uniform punishment

Crowding and reductions in prison time for good behavior have resulted in the release of prisoners well before they have served their assigned sentences

States enacted restrictions on the possibility of early release