Crime and deviance

• Crime


  A action or behaviour that goes against the legislation of a particular country or state
• Deviance


  Actions which go against the norms and values of a society. These may not be against the law but are frowned upon by most in society
• Social Construction


  A social phenomena which is not naturally occurring but created by the society in which it is found
• Ways Crime and Deviance is socially constructed

  • Historically
  • Contextually
  • Culturally
  • Age
• Historically


  Criminal action and deviant behaviour changes over time. What was once acceptable may become illegal/deviant and what was once deviant/illegal may become acceptable
• Historically


  • Homosexuality – Deviant and illegal Acceptable
  • Taking Cocaine – Legal medicine illegal narcotic
• Contextually


  Behaviours that are acceptable in certain situations would not be in others
• Contextually


  • Bikini on the beach V bikini in centre of town
  • Drinking alcohol at 8am
• Culturally


  What is considered acceptable or rude varies depending on the culture you are in
• Culturally


  • Eating with your left hand in Arab nations is considered rude
• Age


  Some behaviours are acceptable from certain age groups and some activities are illegal for some age groups
• Age


  • Age restrictions on certain products
  • year old clubbing on a Friday night
• Psychological Explanations for why people commit crime

  • Maternal Deprivation
  • Personality Traits
  • Mental Abnormality
• Maternal Deprivation


  People who are deprived of a mothers love as a young infant are more likely to become juvenile delinquents which leads to a criminal career
• Maternal Deprivation is out of date - mothers are not the only primary caregivers, and not all delinquents come from a broken home
• Personality Traits


  Freud's Id, Ego and Super-Ego. Personality is a balance for three unconscious areas and when these are out of balance in favour of the Id, criminal behaviour occurs as the individual is controlled by basic desires
• Personality Traits lacks empirical evidence of these processes, and suggests that Criminals lack control so doesn't explain white collar crime
• Mental Abnormality


  This idea suggests that there is some sort of brain damage or mental illness suffered by criminals, which makes them commit crimes
• Mental Abnormality makes criminals the victims, and it is hard to prove in some cases
• Biological Explanations for why people commit crime

  • Lombroso
  • Genetics
• Lombroso


  Went into Italian prisons and measured the facial features of criminals. He suggested that criminals were a less evolved human and this was shown in certain features such as large foreheads, big ears, small eyes
• Lombroso only looked at criminals who had been caught, and these features could be apparent in non-criminals as well
• Genetics


  The Warrior Gene (MAOA) is present in all humans but in some the gene gets mutated which has been linked to more aggressive behaviour, risk taking and impulsiveness which can all be linked to criminal behaviour
• We don't know enough about how this gene works yet to conclusively link to criminal behaviour, and it can be seen as an excuse for criminal behaviour
• Positive functions of Crime

  • Boundary Maintenance & Social Cohesion
  • Warning Sign
  • Safety Valve
  • Adaption and Change
• Boundary Maintenance & Social Cohesion

  Crime always society to reinforce what is acceptable behaviour in society as the public nature of the punishments shows people what will happen for breaking the rules. Very serious crimes can also led to society coming together to condemn the perpetrators
• Warning Sign


  An increase in a certain type of crime or deviant behaviour can be an indication that something in society is not functioning as it should be and a change needs to occur
• Safety Valve


  Some minor crimes and acts of deviancy can actually prevent larger more serious crimes. For example Polsky suggests that accessing pornography can prevent more serious sexual crimes
• Adaption and Change


  Some social deviance is necessary to allow society to move forward and progress. Without some deviant and criminal behaviour society will become stagnant and die
• Types of Strain in Strain Theory

  • Conformity
  • Innovation
  • Ritualism
  • Rebellion
  • Retreatism
• Conformity


  Accepting the goals set out and agreed by society as well the means to achieve them
• Innovation


  Accepting the goals set out and agreed by society but choosing alternative means to achieve them
• Ritualism


  Following the means to achieve the goals of society but believing that you will never actually achieve them
• Rebellion


  Rejecting the goals of society and creating your own as well as the means of achieving them
• Retreatism


  Reject the goals of society and the means of achieving them but do not replace them with their own goals or means
• Evaluation of Strain Theory

  • Over exaggerates the importance of monetary success
  • Underestimates the amount of crime committed by those who have achieved societal goals
  • Doesn't explain why groups choose the response they do
  • Fails to explain non-utilitarian crime
• Evaluation of Positive Functions of Crime

  • Marxism – Ignores the role that the powerful have in shaping what is criminal and deviant as well as the role of social inequality
  • Durkheim ignores the impact that crime has on the individual victims instead focuses on the impact on society
  • Doesn't quantify how much crime is beneficial to society
  • Crime doesn't always lead to solidarity but can cause isolation of both victim and criminal
• Evaluation of Sub-Cultural Theories

  • Status Frustration – Ignores female delinquency, only discusses youth crime
  • Illegitimate Opportunity Structures – Assumes the official statistics on crime are accurate, Over exaggeration of the criminal opportunities available to the young
  • Focal Concerns – Not all W/C are criminals, Matza – Sub culture membership is often short lived
• Evaluation of Control Theory

  • Assumes all people are naturally bad and it is society that keeps people good, Doesn't explain why the bonds are weak or strong, or how they become so, You can have strong bonds but still be deviant – sexuality
• Evaluation of Marxist Theories of Crime and Deviance

  • Identifies other causes of crime besides inequality
  • Ignores the victims of the crime
  • Law makers in modern democracies are elected
  • Passive Working Class / Romanticises Criminals
  • Crime in communist states