The Sociology of Crime and Deviance

Here, we will explore the sociological study of deviance, a broad term including all
acts contrary to society’s rules for living. Crime is an example of deviance and is
specifically related to breaking the law. We can break society’s rules (deviance) but
not be guilty of breaking the law – being unkind to others comes to mind. The
sociological study of crime and deviance will alert you to the social causes of crime
and how those relate to the individual – a relationship known as the sociological
imagination. It is important to note that among sociologists there are many competing
theories about what causes crime or how it can best be studied. Even ‘what is a
crime?’ is up for dispute.

Information derived from Sociology for CAPE ® Examinations-Jeniffer Mohammed

11.1 Concepts Related To Crime And Deviance

Social Order and Social Control

Social order and social control are major sociological concepts which speak about the
‘needs’ of the society. These concepts originated in the dominant Functionalist
perspective, which sees society as having ‘needs’ which are then satisfied by certain
social arrangements.

For example, the society creates social institutions (education, health, religion, the
justice system) to address the needs they say that a social system must have in order
to function effectively. In other words, every society must have a justice system to
create and maintain social order – a fundamental ‘need’ of any society.

Crime and deviance are concepts that focus on the disruption of this order (rule-
breaking) that in various ways do not allow the society to attend to its needs. Social
control refers to ways devised by society to maintain order.

Previously, we encountered the idea that society exerts constraints on individuals.

These constraints are referred to as sociological principles and one of them is social
control. The purpose of social control is to maintain social order. Just think about
what havoc will reign if large numbers of people decide to stop observing the ‘rules’
relating to punctuality, turn-taking in a conversation, table manners and dressing
appropriately. These refer to some of the basic scenarios in social life – if any of them
were ignored by many persons the ‘order’ in society would be severely disrupted.

The arrangements in the society that seek to build social order encourage at the same
time conformity and consensus. A major claim of Functionalism is that society is
based on consensus and would not survive without it because shared understandings
about what is important and what is valued helps in meeting the needs of the society.
As a result, the government and people have a stake, through their everyday
behaviours, in constantly (re)-creating the attitudes, beliefs, norms and behaviours
accepted in that society. In this way they ‘model’ the norms for the benefit of new
members.

Social control is the avenue through which a society seeks to encourage consensus
and discourage dissent. Social control is necessary to build social order. The agents
and methods of social control include the processes of primary and secondary
socialisation that indoctrinate and educate younger members into the typical norms,
beliefs and behaviours expected in that society. Positive and negative sanctions, as
well as, informal and formal sanctions, are employed to exert social pressure on
groups and individuals to conform to society’s norms.

BOX 11.1 Positive and Negative Sanctions

Examples of positive sanctions
(rewards):
 in families and among friends:
praise, incentives, approval, honour,
appreciation, admiration (informal
sanctions);
 in schools: praise, awards, honour,
approval, acclamation, certificates,
credentials, citations, prizes and
medals attesting to achievement and
merit (informal and formal
sanctions);
 in the workplace: recognition, salary
increases, promotions, incentives,
positions of leadership (formal
sanctions);
 in the criminal justice system:
parole, reduced sentences, and
detention at minimum security
facilities (formal sanctions);
 between societies: increased co-
operation via collective trade
agreements and multi-lateral
arrangements (formal sanctions).
Examples of negative
sanctions(punishments):
 amongst friends, family and the
community when one is treated harshly
via insults, gossip, threats, name
calling, ostracism, and all types of
physical and emotional abuse (informal
sanctions);
 at school when one is scolded, spoken
to in a sarcastic manner, given a
detention or extra work (informal
sanctions); suspension, expulsion or
calling in parents (formal sanctions);
 in a group or organisation one can be
fined, publicly disgraced or expelled
from the group (formal sanctions);
 in the criminal justice system a person
could be punished via warnings,
community service, probation, fines,
imprisonment, and execution (formal
sanctions);
 between societies, there may be trade
embargoes, blockades, travel bans,
declarations of war (formal sanctions).
The social institutions of the family, religion and education, together with the justice
system and the media, are powerful agents of social control. Much of their power lies
in how completely they socialise members into accepting the importance of sanctions
as a consequence for observing the written and unwritten rules of the society.
However, socialisation is not an ‘even’ process and some persons may be more
thoroughly socialised than others.

For example, whilst respect for persons is a cardinal virtue upheld by most social
institutions, there are other messages also being sent via the media (e.g. that justice is
selective, or it is not fair to all). The intent of primary and secondary processes of
socialisation is to maintain social order and control but in reality this is not a uniform
experience for all individuals.

Deviance

To fully understand the concept of deviance, you have to have a good grasp of what is
meant by social norms. Norms are social constructs prescribing behaviours, so they
may be peculiar to a specific society and culture. For example, leaving home when
one is no longer considered a minor is a ‘norm’ in many developed countries. In the
Caribbean, members of a family may not leave home until much older and may even
bring their partners into the family home so that they don’t leave at all. The idea of a
social construct is easy to see here – no one ever laid down the law that this is what
family life should be like in either context. But the ways of life in each culture lead to
some strong beliefs and values about what a family is, how children are regarded and
how children should regard their elders.

When a behaviour is vested with strong positive values to the extent that it becomes
expected, we see a norm being socially constructed. In the minds of people in that
society, behaving in any other way is a cause for concern,
comment and even intervention.

However, society is not static. Caribbean society has been strongly influenced by the
foreign mass media which continually portray lifestyles in developed countries. Thus,
the idea of young people leaving home to live nearer their place of work, for instance,
while not considered ‘ideal’, now has general acceptance. A social construct, such as
a norm, can undergo change and it may be held strongly or weakly.

Deviance refers to the breaking of social norms – going against the rules for
behaviour in a society. It too is a social construct – it lives and has its strength in the
minds of the people.

Homosexuality was once regarded as extremely deviant, against the laws of God (and
in some countries it was illegal). The norms regarding homosexuality however
changed over time to see it as a form of mental illness. Today, the more neutral
position – that it is a sexual orientation which people choose or towards which they
are naturally inclined – is struggling to gain acceptance. All three social constructs of
homosexuality co-exist today but, the normative view in the Caribbean is still that it
is a deviant form of behaviour. Box 11.2 lays out some concepts of deviance in more
detail.

BOX 11.2
1. Primary And Secondary Deviance
These concepts were developed by labelling theorists. Primary deviance refers to
acts of law-breaking that everyone commits – a variety of acts in all manner of
circumstances.
Secondary deviance occurs when persons take on the mantle of the label attached to
them and persist in deviant behaviours using the label as the reason why they
continue to be deviant.
If, for example, a teenager becomes involved in stealing, that is primary deviance.
However, when that teenager, through interactions with police officers, social
workers and others, understands her/himself to be a ‘juvenile delinquent’, then
subsequent acts of deviance will arise from how s/he now self-identifies. The label
then is powerful enough to convince someone that s/he is such a person.
2. Legal and Illegal Deviance
These concepts call attention to the laws of the land and places emphasis on the act,
not the person. Legal deviance refers to an act which breaks social norms and
standards but is not against the law, e.g. divorce. Illegal deviance describes an act
which breaks society’s norms and standards and is also against the law. Murder,
bigamy, rape, theft, and assault fit this category.

An interesting aspect of deviance is that the rules do not apply equally to everyone.
This underscores its social nature. Here are some examples.

 A poor person caught shoplifting is regarded with pity or condemnation but

someone like Winona Ryder’s exploits are treated with excitement and even
glee. In other words, her glamour and high status seem to whittle down the
stigma attached to her shoplifting habit.

 Sometimes we see evidence that wealthy persons or those of a dominant

ethnicity, who are accused of major forms of deviance such as murder or rape,
go free because of the expertise of expensive lawyers.

 In co-educational schools, while girls are merely reprimanded boys receive

more severe punishment for the same offences. Hence, there is a gender divide
in attributing deviance. Working against girls, though, are the gender norms
associated with sexuality – boys are hailed for their sexual conquests whereas
girls are harassed and called names if they exhibit similar behaviours.
Concepts of Deviance

Very common are the norms which call into question the behaviours of older persons
who may go out dancing regularly, or maintain a fashionable appearance or have a
romantic relationship – and there are gender differences here as well.

The social nature of deviance is reflected in other ways. For example, bungee
jumping is a high-risk sport and poses much danger to the individual but it does not
break any rules; smoking has been linked time and time again to cancer both in the
smoker and those who live with him and her and inhale smoke (passive smoking) but
it is not illegal (only restricted).

On the other hand masturbating, burping in public, transvestism (men dressing up in

women’s clothes), participation in nudist beach parties, and tattooing one’s body are
all relatively harmless acts but are viewed negatively on the part of society and may
even be strongly condemned.

Hence, the sociological definition of deviance stresses the social context, that is, acts
considered to be against prevailing norms and rules in a particular society. This leads
us to another significant aspect of deviance. Those rules that construe someone or
certain groups as deviants were created by the elites or those holding power in a
society, whether social, political or religious. Consider these two examples:

1. Students in school who alter the uniform or who do not wear the correct
uniform are penalised because they have broken the school rules and are
therefore deviant. If there was no uniform in the first place such acts of
deviance would not arise and these same students would be considered to be
law-abiding (unless they were deviant in other respects too!).
2. In the 19th and early 20th centuries in Trinidad & Tobago the Spiritual Baptist
religion was outlawed by the colonial government. Members were periodically
rounded up and jailed for performing their religious rites. These laws were
repealed in March 1951 and today there is a national holiday (30 March)
celebrating their contribution to religious life in the country.

The social context of deviance is also important because punishment acts as a

deterrent. By dealing with law-breakers in a very public way, e.g. in newspaper and
television reports and open trials, the society is making important statements about
staying away from deviant acts. In the past this was accomplished through public
hangings and beatings and putting offenders in the stocks in full view of everyone.

According to Durkheim, deviance has a part to play in the maintenance of social

order because the publicising of deviance and the punishments associated with it
serve to convince the general membership of society to observe the consensus that
brought the laws into existence in the first place. Durkheim thought that deviance was
functional for the society because it served to bring the law-abiding citizens closer
together in denouncing deviant acts. In short, deviance helped to strengthen social
solidarity. The function of deviance then is to help members of society to know what
the boundaries of acceptable behaviour are.