Crime and Deviance

March 26, 2019

In this session we will explore:
• The concept of deviance
• Approaches to understanding crime
• Functionalist approaches
• Interactionist theories
• Labeling theory
• Conflict theories
• New criminology
• Left Realism
• Control theories
• Right Realism
• Situational Crime Prevention
 Biological and Psychological Approaches
• Biological approaches were adopted in the late 19th century, which tried to
link physical characteristics with the predisposition to commit crime.
• These were later discounted and replaced with psychological approaches.
• Psychologists tried to understand the mental states of criminals to understand
whether certain people were predisposed to crime. (e.g. psychopaths)
• Psychological theories can explain some aspects of crime, and it is unlikely that all
people who commit crime share the same psychological characteristics.
• Biological and psychological approaches assume that there is something
wrong with the individual rather than with society.
• How does their approach differ from that of sociologists?
• Sociologists argue that any satisfactory account of crime must take into
account the social institutions of society.
What is deviance?
• Deviance is defined as non-conformity to a given set of norms that are
accepted by a significant number of people in a community or society.
• There is no clear division between those who deviate from norms and those
who do not.
• All social norms are accompanied by sanctions promoting conformity. What
is a sanction?
• A sanction is a reaction from others to the behaviour of an individual or
group that is meant to ensure compliance with a given norm.
• Sanctions can be positive or negative and formal or informal.
• Informal sanctions are less organized and more spontaneous reactions to non-
conformity.
• Examples?
• Formal sanctions are applied by a specific body of people or agency to
ensure that a particular set of norms is followed.
• The law is a formal sanction in the form of a rule defined by the government.
• Deviance can be applied to individuals or groups (e.g. deviant subcultures).
• The concept of deviance is much broader than crime.
Criminology and the Sociology of Deviance

• Criminology is the study of criminal behaviour that is

sanctioned by the law.
• The sociology of deviance investigates conduct that is beyond
criminal law.
• Sociologists of deviance try to understand why some behaviours
are thought of as deviant in the first place.
• The study of deviance focuses on issues of power and social class.
• Who makes the rules? And who do these rules apply to?
Approaches to Understanding Deviance
• functionalist theories
• interactionist theories
• conflict theories
• control theories
Functionalist Theories
• Functionalist theories see crime and deviance as the result of structural
tensions and a lack of moral regulation in society.
• When the aspirations of individuals of groups for not coincide with
available rewards, the disparity between the desires and their
fulfillment will result in deviance.
• Which concept did Durkheim use to explain the condition in which
people lack clear standards to guide behaviour?
• Because there is more room for individual choice in modern societies, it
is inevitable that there will be some deviance.
• What functions does deviance perform for Durkheim?
• An adaptive function: introducing new ideas and challenges into
society.
• Boundary maintenance: drawing a line between ‘good’ and ‘bad’
behaviour.
• Subcultural explanations (Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin)
• Deviance as socially defined and redefined (Moynihan)
• What’s missing?
Interactionist theory: Labeling Perspectives

• Sociologists in this tradition focus on the socially constructed nature of

crime.
• They reject the idea that there are some forms of conduct that are
inherently ‘deviant’.
• Labeling theorists see deviance not as a set of characteristics but as a
process of interaction between deviants and non-deviants.
• Labeling is about power: people who represent the forces of law and
order are able to impose definitions of conventional morality on others.
• The rules are formulated by and large by the wealthy for the poor, by men for
women, by older people for younger people and by ethnic majorities for
minority groups.
• Howard Becker demonstrates how deviant identities are produced
through labeling processes rather than through deviant motivations or
behaviour.
• He studied marijuana smokers in the 1960s, which was a marginal activity
within subculture rather than a lifestyle choice.
Labeling Perspectives (cont.’d)
• Labeling affects how people see others and also people one sees
themselves.
• Lemert (1972) argued that deviance can either coexist or become
central to one’s identity.
• He argued that the initial act of transgression is the primary deviance,
and these acts generally remain marginal to one’s self-identity.
• Secondary deviance is when an individual comes to accept the label of
being a deviant. In these cases this becomes central to one’s identity.
• Chambliss’s (1973) study of deviant behaviour amongst upper middle
class families, the Saints, and poor families, the Roughnecks, found
that labeling processes were linked to the wider social structure.
• Labelling theorists also highlight the role of prisons and social agencies
in the process of ‘learning to be deviant’
• They call this ‘paradox of social control’ deviancy amplification.
Evaluating Labeling Theory
• Critics point out that focusing on secondary deviance can lead
theorists to ignore why people commit acts of deviance in the
first place.
• Furthermore, there are other factors beyond just being labeled
that must be taken into account if we are to understand deviant
behaviour.
• Also, it is not clear whether labeling does have an effect on
increasing deviant conduct.
• Deviant behaviour may increase after incarceration, but it is
unclear whether this is because of labeling or other factors such as
learning about new criminal opportunities.
Conflict Theories and the New Criminology

• In The New Criminology (1973), Taylor, Walton and Young argued that deviance
is deliberately chosen and often political in nature.
• They argued that people choose to engage in deviant behaviours as a response to
the inequalities of the capitalist system.
• Stuart Hall and others at the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural
Studies took these ideas further.
• They argued that the state was creating a moral panic in order to deflect attention
away from rising unemployment, declining wages, and deep structural flaws in
society.
• Others argued that the law was created by members of powerful groups in
order to protect their interests.
• Laws become more important in maintaining social order as class inequalities grow.
• This can be seen in the workings of the criminal justice system, which target poor,
minority populations.
• This is also exemplified by the lack of conviction for ‘white collar crimes’, which
arguably cost more to society than petty theft or burglary.
• New criminology was important in highlighting the relationship between crime
and social inequality.
Left Realism
• Built on new criminology, but argued that crime rates were indeed on the rise
and that there was a need to worry.
• Left realism drew attention to the victims of crime, who they argued were by
and large members of marginalized communities, particularly in impoverished,
inner-city areas.
• Left realists argued that criminal subcultures develop in inner city areas.
• These subcultures are the result of political marginalization and relative
deprivation.
• What is relative deprivation?
• Recently, these processes have been described as social exclusion:
• the processes that operate to effectively deny some social groups full citizenship
within society.
• E.g the fact that rates of crimes amongst black populations has increased is viewed as
the result of failed racial integration policies.
• Left realists argued that law enforcement should be more responsive to
communities rather than relying on military policing tactics.
• Marxists are critical of Left Realists for focusing too much on visible, individual
level crimes and ignoring crimes committees by the state or by large
corporations.
Control Theories
• Control theorists argue that crimes occur when there is an
imbalance between impulses towards criminal activity and the
social or physical deterrents that control it.
• Theorists of this school argue that all people will commit crimes if
given the opportunity.
• Hence, crime is the result of ‘situational decisions’ – a person sees an
opportunity and is motivated to take advantage of it.
• Travis Hirschi (1969) argued that there were four types of social
bonds linking people to society:
• Attachment
• Commitment
• Involvement
• Belief
• Delinquency occurs when these bonds are weak.
Right Realism
• Emerged in the late 80s during the period of Thatcher and Reagan’s rule.
• Centred on vigorous ‘law and order’ approaches to crime.
• Proponents of this approach saw crime as the result of moral degeneracy, the
decline of individual responsibility due to dependence on welfare and liberal
education, the collapse of the nuclear family, and the erosion of traditional values.
• Deviance was portrayed as individual pathology, a set of destructive behaviours,
which are the result of individual selfishness and a lack of self-control and morality.
• This approach dismisses class-based approaches to understanding crime.
• Under this approach, police powers were extended, funding for the criminal justice
system expanded, and long prison sentences were relied upon as a deterrent for
crime.
• E.g. the three strikes you’re out law
• An expansion of crime surveillance methods is also part of this approach.
• E.g. the physical exclusion of certain categories of people from common spaces in an
attempt to reduce the perceived risks of crime.
• Large public spaces such as libraries and parks are becoming ‘security bubbles.’
• Such approaches call for increased policing, but what is the role of the police in
controlling crime?
• There is no direct link between increased numbers of police and a decrease in crime.
• Under this approach, police powers were extended, funding for the
criminal justice system expanded, and long prison sentences were
relied upon as a deterrent for crime.
• E.g. the three strikes you’re out law
• An expansion of crime surveillance methods is also part of this
approach.
• E.g. the physical exclusion of certain categories of people from common
spaces in an attempt to reduce the perceived risks of crime.
• Large public spaces such as libraries and parks are becoming ‘security
bubbles.’
• Such approaches call for increased policing, but what is the role of
the police in controlling crime?
• There is no direct link between increased numbers of police and a
decrease in crime.
Controlling Crime
• Crime prevention has increasingly been focused on limiting
opportunities for the occurrence of crime—what is known as
situational crime prevention (SCP).
• Surveillance and target hardening are central to such approaches.
• Surveillance involves communities policing themselves via CCTV
cameras and neighbourhood watch schemes.
• Target hardening involves strengthening the security of potential
targets, making them more difficult to steal.
• E.g. car alarms, vehicle immobilisers, personal home security systems.
• Rather than reforming the criminals, this approach focuses on
taking practical measures to control the environment within which
criminals commit crimes.
Criticisms?
• Critics argue that target hardening and zero tolerance approaches
to crime do not tackle the underlying causes of crime.
• Rather these approaches protect certain social groups.
• ‘The growing popularity of private security services, car alarms, house
alarms, guard dogs and gated communities has led some people to feel
that we are headed towards an ‘armoured society’, where segments of
the population feel compelled to defend themselves against others.’
(Giddens, p. 954)
• This is occurring in the US, the UK as well as in the former Soviet
Union, South Africa and Brazil, where income inequality is
increasing.
• Such approaches run the risk of displacing crime from well-
protected areas to more vulnerable areas (i.e. poor communities)
Conclusions
• Because crime is such a diverse phenomenon, it is unlikely that one
theory will be able to cover all forms of crime.
• Sociological theories emphasise the continuities between ‘normal’ and
criminal behaviour.
• All agree that social context is important in understanding criminal
activities.
• Labeling perspectives are probably the most widely used in studies of
crime and deviant behaviour.
• The way in which crime is understood directly affects the policies
developed to combat it.
• E.g. if crime is understood as being a symptom of deprivation or social
disorder, policies might be targeted at reducing poverty or increasing social
services.
• If crime is viewed as being the result of opportunities freely chosen by
individuals, then policies might concentrate on changing environments.
Discussion
• What is leading people to engage in the illegal economy in El
Barrio?
• Which theories would be useful in explaining this
phenomenon?
• What are some possible solutions to this problem?