Theories of Crime and Deviance

Psychological
• They see the deviant as different from the rest of
the population
• They have an ‘abnormality’ that predisposes
them to deviance
• In the past, psychological theories have led to
harsh physical practices
• These range from trepanning (drilling to let out
evil spirit) to lobotomies (carving out pieces of
the frontal lobes)
 Psychological- Neurology
• Excess Dopamine (drug like chemical in the
brain) causes inappropriate behaviour
• This behaviour includes garbled speech and
visual hallucinations both indicators of
schizophrenia
• Recently, explanations of deviance have
included environmental stressors
 Psychology- Maternal Deprivation
• John Bowlby claims that humans are predisposed
to form a deep and emotional attachment to one
person most likely a mother
• Any disruption in this relationship will produce
anxiety and grief
• This may influence later development and lead to
the development of a psychopathic personality
• Psychopaths act impulsively with no regard to
consequences
 Psychological- Personality
• Hans Eysenck identified two types of
personality; extrovert and introvert
• A balanced personality is one that falls
between the two extremes
• Anyone who falls into the extremes is
considered deviant
 Sociological Theories- Functionalism
• Durkheim argued that in Mechanical Solidarity the
limits of acceptable behaviour were known to all
• Anyone breaking the law expected punishment;
‘retribution is mechanical’
• Organic solidarity is maintained by a moral
conscience
• A sense of right and wrong is internalised
• Any transgression is blamed on poor socialisation
 Functionalism- Merton
• Statistics show that criminal behaviour is more
apparent in the working classes
• Merton offered an explanation for this
• Deviance is born as a reaction to the values and
norms of society
• Major societal value is success (financial) and the
norm to achieve this is hard work
• He referred to his ideas as ‘Modes of Adaptation’
 Merton (1949)
Modes of Adaptation Cultural Goals Institutionalised Means
Conformity Accept Accept
Innovation Accept Reject
Ritualism Reject Accept
Retreatism Reject Reject
Rebellion Reject and introduce new Reject and introduce new
 Merton
• Lower classes most likely to innovate
• The lower middle class produces the ritualist
deviant
• The retreatists are the ‘outcasts, drunkards,
tramps, drug addicts’
 Theories- Marxism
• Marx did not have a theory of crime and
deviance
• In his writing he referred to criminals as the
‘lumpenproletariat’
• He defined these as, “peripheral and
unproductive working class who find ways of
avoiding selling their labour to the
bourgeoisie…they are parasitic on the working
class.”
 Marxism
• Quinney, a marxist, argued that the source of
crime lay in the unequal distribution of wealth
• Because of the structure of capitalist society,
the crimes are crimes of control eg police
brutality, price fixing and deliberate pollution
• The lumpenproletariat direct their crimes
against the capitalist system
 Theories- Interactionist
• Howard Becker argues that it is not the act that is
deviant but rather the response of society that
makes it deviant
• What is deviant in one culture is acceptable in
another
• Labelling theory works according to self fulfilling
prophecy
• Lemert distinguishes between primary and
secondary deviance
• Primary- the act itself
• Secondary- when the act is revealed to society
 Issues of Deviance
• Drug abuse
• Juvenile Delinquency
• Domestic Violence
• White-collar crime
• Corporate Crime
 Drug Abuse
• This issue is a global problem
• Has created problems with public health and
affected the socio economic status of the region
• Young people are being imprisoned for drug
use, drug trafficking and drug related crimes
• Eg in Guyana, there is a three year sentence
imposed for smoking or being in possession of
only one cigarette
 Juvenile Delinquency
• Defined as criminal behaviour committed by
minors
• Young people who have spent time in juvenile
detention are likely to end up in prison as
adults
• Institutionalisation does not act as a deterrent
• Custodial punishment is socially damaging
• Custody is costly
 Domestic Violence

• Physical Abuse: legal definition includes

causing or threatening physical harm,
harassing someone, forcing or attempting to
engage in a sexual act or holding someone
against their will
• Emotional Abuse: placing someone in fear of
imminent serious bodily harm by threat of
force (Mustapha, 2006). This includes threats
or any other conduct which will cause
emotional distress.
• Child Abuse: any physical injury, sexual abuse
or emotional harm inflicted on a child. This
would include sexual abuse, fondling or rape.
 White-Collar Crime
• Sutherland ‘crime committed by a person of
respectability and high social status in the
course of his occupation.’
• Many are difficult to prosecute because the
criminals are sophisticated in their crimes
• Does not fit the stereotype or ‘real’ crime
• The media does not give this type of the crime
the coverage it gives other types of crime
 Corporate Crime
• Environmental damage
• Unsafe or unhealthy workplaces
• Tax evasion
• Defective or dangerous merchandise
• Fraud
• Government bribery