Crime and Deviance Final

• Origins of the Ecology Approach

  • Emergence of the Chicago School in the 1920s led by Albion Small, focusing on social issues
  • Influences included Durkheim's concepts of social solidarity, rapid population growth in Chicago, and societal changes post-WWI and industrialization
  • Departure from individualistic explanations of crime and deviance towards understanding community and neighborhood dynamics
• Nativism


  Collective action characterized by hostility aimed at preserving a particular culture (e.g., American culture) against perceived threats from immigrants or rapid social change
• Concentric Zones Model of Crime and Deviance

  1. Central Business District

  2. Transitional Zone (Recent immigrant groups, Deteriorated housing, Factories, Abandoned buildings)

  3. Working Class Zone (Single-family tenements)

  4. Residential Zone (Single-family homes, Yards/garages)

  5. Commuter Zone (Suburbs)
• Explanation: Social problems are concentrated in the transitional zone and lessen as one moves outward, irrespective of the ethnic composition of the area
• Stark's Hypotheses on Urbanization and Deviance

  • Greater neighborhood density correlates with increased association among deviant individuals
  • High density leads to higher levels of moral cynicism
  • Crowded homes in poor neighborhoods result in lower supervision of children
  • Transience in such areas reduces community surveillance
  • Dilapidation of neighborhoods due to stigma and fleeing of successful individuals
  • Stigmatized areas experience lenient law enforcement, reinforcing crime visibility and perception of safety
• Major Problems of the Ecological Approach

  • Lack of clear operationalization of social disorganization
  • Diversity and complexity within disorganized areas not adequately addressed
  • Lack of rigorous testing, especially concerning cause-and-effect relationships
  • Neglect of corporate crime and crimes in central business districts
  • Criticisms of isomorphism between ecological factors and deviant behavior
  • Robert Park's call for personal participation in research to truly understand social phenomena
• Deviant Service Centers


  • Areas in cities where crime and deviance flourish due to high specialization, coordination, and economies of scale
  • Cities offer opportunities for crime, but whether they directly cause crime remains debatable
  • Examples include prostitution clusters, raising questions about the relationship between city size and deviant activities
• Learning theory is referenced in the cultural deviance models, particularly in the ideas proposed by Downes and Rock, as well as Kornhauser's criticisms
• Main Principles of Learning Theory

  • Criminal/deviant behavior is learned through interaction with others
  • Learning occurs within intimate personal groups
  • Learning includes techniques of committing the crime, motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes
  • Definitions of legal codes (conventional norms) influence behavior
  • Delinquency arises from an excess of favorable definitions of law violation over unfavorable ones
  • Differential associations vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity
  • Learning criminal/deviant behavior involves mechanisms similar to other forms of learning
• Kornhauser's Criticisms of Learning Theory

  • Wo/man has no nature: Criticizes the assumption that human nature plays no role in deviant behavior, neglecting biological and psychological factors
  • Socialization is perfect and complete: Challenges the idea that socialization processes are flawless and entirely effective in preventing deviance
  • Sub/cultural variability is unlimited: Questions the notion that there are no limits to the variety of subcultures and their influence, suggesting a more nuanced understanding of cultural dynamics
• Techniques of Neutralization


  • Psychological mechanisms individuals use to justify deviant behavior
  • Significant to learning theory as they explain how individuals rationalize and normalize deviant actions learned through social interactions
  • Techniques such as denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties help individuals neutralize the guilt or social disapproval associated with deviant behavior
• Main Criticisms of Learning Theory

  • Oversimplification: Critics argue that learning theory oversimplifies the complexity of human behavior by reducing it to mere learned responses
  • Neglect of other factors: Learning theory tends to overlook biological, psychological, and structural factors that may contribute to deviant behavior
  • Determinism: Some critics argue that learning theory implies a deterministic view of behavior, neglecting the role of individual agency and free will
  • Limited explanatory power: Learning theory may not fully explain all forms of deviant behavior, particularly those that are spontaneous or irrational
• Control Theories


  • Propose that deviance results from an absence of control or restraint
  • They differ from other theories by asserting that criminals/deviants don't possess unique traits or experiences
• Components of Control Theory and Learning Theory

  • Control Theory: Attachment, Commitment, Involvement, Belief
  • Learning Theory (Differential Association): Frequency, Intensity, Priority, Duration
• Self-Control Theory


  • Gottfredson and Hirschi's theory suggests that low self-control, combined with aging, explains involvement in crime and deviance
  • It emphasizes the role of parenting in inculcating self-control
• Critiques of Control Theories

  • Limited explanatory power: Control theories may not fully explain the diversity of criminal behavior, such as variations in criminal acts
  • Invariant self-control: Critics question whether self-control remains stable throughout life
  • Lack of intervention strategies: Control theories offer few suggestions for reducing crime beyond proper parenting techniques
• Alternative Explanations and Criticisms

  • Power-control theories by John Hagan address gender differences in offending
  • Critics question the ability of control theories to explain the prevalence of certain types of crime, such as drug dealing or violence
• Control theories have gained prominence in criminology but face criticism for their simplicity and limited explanatory power
• Difference Between Cases


  • Westray mine disaster resulted in more deaths and injuries compared to the Li case
  • Premeditation was involved in the Westray disaster due to safety violations, while Li didn't know the victim
  • Li is in a high-security mental health facility, whereas no one was criminally charged in the Westray incident
• Handling of Preventable Deaths

  Workplace deaths due to law violations are handled by regulatory law, while individual illegal actions are addressed under criminal law
• Labelling Theory Criticisms by Liazos


  • Labelling theory focuses on street criminals, neglecting corporate crimes
  • Biases within labelling theory include attempts to humanize deviants, sensationalism, and neglect of powerful actors
• Impact of Capitalism and Ownership of Means of Production

  • Marx argued that capitalism created inequality between the bourgeoisie and proletariat, leading to deviance
  • Conflict perspective emphasizes that the bourgeoisie derives power from wealth accumulation
• Willem Bonger's Perspective


  • Bonger argued in 1905 that economic conditions caused crime
  • Capitalist surplus led to selfishness, generating crime opportunities, yet those most affected by inequality are punished
• Postmodern Perspective


  • Postmodernists focus on meaning, social difference, discourse analysis, and deconstruction
  • They emphasize that language structures thought and power exists within language
• Key Ideas of Postmodernism


  • Language shapes thought and interpretations of the social world
  • There are no objective truths, only different interpretations
  • Social theories are viewed as "grand narratives" and social change must expose controlling elements disguised by language
• Conflict Approach


  • Emphasizes the economic context of crime and deviance
  • Economic context generates societal values and power dynamics impacting definitions and labeling of deviance
• Thorsten Sellin: 'Culture Conflict and Crime discusses how culture conflicts arise from processes of social differentiation, resulting in diverse social groupings with their own interpretations of social values. Crime and deviance are, to an extent, caused by these culture conflicts.'
• Shaw and McKay: 'Differential Systems of Values elaborates on their ecological theory of crime, emphasizing the dissemination of values. They note the similarity of values in middle-class and upper-class areas, contrasting with the diverse values in areas of low economic status. This diversity generates a lack of stable, normative order, contributing to crime.'
• Shaw and McKay: 'Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas emphasizes that the consistency of crime and deviance in the transition zone results from disorganization, regardless of ethnicity. This underscores disorganization as the primary cause of crime and deviance, aligning with ecological theory.'
• Albert Cohen: 'The Content of the Delinquent Subculture highlights the values of the delinquent subculture, including hedonism, nonutilitarianism, maliciousness, and negativity. These values contribute to deviant behavior, as illustrated by the example of a student defecating on a teacher's desk.'
• Miller: 'Lower Class Culture as a Generating Milieu of Gang Delinquency explores how street corner groups in lower class communities adhere to their community's standards, fostering a culture conducive to crime.'
• Sykes and Matza: 'Techniques of Neutralization discuss how individuals rationalize deviant behavior through various neutralization techniques, influenced by peer pressure and socialization.'
• Edwin Sutherland: 'Differential Association argues that crime is learned through social interactions and associations with others.'
• Burgess and Akers: 'A Differential Association-Reinforcement expands on Sutherland's propositions, suggesting that behavior is reinforced through environmental factors, positively or negatively.'
• Cloward and Ohlin: 'Delinquency and Opportunity highlights the role of criminal opportunity in shaping involvement in criminal behavior within society, emphasizing the importance of opportunities for conformist or illegitimate behavior.'
• Cohen and Felson: 'Social Change and Crime: A Routine Activities Approach emphasizes rational choice and environmental influences in crime, highlighting the role of motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians.'
• Brantingham and Brantingham: 'Environmental Criminology focuses on how urban architecture influences criminal conduct, emphasizing the importance of turning targets hard and implementing strategies to reduce criminal opportunities.'
• Sampson and Laub: 'Crime and Deviance over the Life Course advocates for understanding crime over the life course, emphasizing the importance of social bonds at different life stages in preventing or promoting criminal behavior.'
• Moffitt's work highlights the interplay between biological factors and environmental influences in shaping levels of self-control and propensity for antisocial behavior.