Week 6- Crime and Deviance Flashcards
(28 cards)
Shifting definitions of deviance
no act, belief or characteristic in inherently deviant; vary by time period, geography, groups/ social circles, age etc
BIG questions about deviance
- who are deviants?
- what counts as deviant?
- which rules are observed and which are broken?
- which rules tend to be broken more?
Responses to deviance (Sanctions)
sanctions- responses to a break in social norms. Varies: type of norm broken, culture, historical time period etc. Both positive (reward) and negative (punishment)
3 views of deviance
Biological, psychological, and sociological
Biological and psychological *form of deviance
locate deviance in the person, therefore criminals are made not born
sociological *form of deviance
locates deviance in the act, everyone is born innocent, criminals are made by sociological “flaws”
Sociological perceptions of deviance
functionalist, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionist
Functionalist theory of deviance- Durkheim
Durkheim’s influence: Anomie- modern societies, norms have been lost and NOT replaced, leaving people without a center. Crime and deviance viewed as normal and necessary
functionalist theory of deviance- strain theory
Strain theory- “strain” exist when society values one thing (i.e. nice car) but NOT everyone can achieve it in a socially accepted way
functionalist theory of deviance- strain theory Steve Baron
examined how the strain of unemployment affects criminal behaviour in 400 homeless youth of Vancouver.
Findings: unemployed youth are more likely to engage in property crime and sales of drugs BUT being unemployed had no link to the criminal behaviour. Degree of criminality was affected by individuals sense of financial dissatisfaction and relative deprivation
functionalist theory of deviance- strain theory Robert K Merton
5 different relationships between valued “ends” (nice car) and “means” of attaining it
strain theory Robert K Merton- conformist
accept culturally valued ‘ends’ and ‘means’ (education)
strain theory Robert K Merton- innovator
accept ‘ends’ but reject conventional ways of achieving it
strain theory Robert K Merton- ritualist
can’t achieve ‘ends’, but engages in conventional behaviour
strain theory Robert K Merton- retreatist
Reject culturally accepted ‘ends’ and ‘means’ i.e suicide bombers, social isolates
strain theory Robert K Merton- rebels
Reject culturally accepted ‘ends’ and ‘means’ - but substitute with their own ‘ends’ and ‘means’- might live off the grid
Social control theory (Hirschi)
focuses on the reasons people DON’T commit deviant acts, people are Less likely if they have a variety of social bonds. i.e unemployed, no fixed address, lack of family support are likely to engage in criminal activities
Conflict Theory
Focuses on WHY people commit crimes
deviance & the poor: deviance is something created by capitalist. The definition of deviance serves the interest of capitalist while adversely affecting the poor
deviance & the elite: great efforts are made by capitalists to legitimatize elite acts of crime ( white collared crime)
Symbolic interactionism
Labeling theory: well known approach- deviance is found in the response to the label applied rather then in the act itself. Connection with conflict theory: labels applied by those with Power onto those without
Crime
Any act forbidden by law
violent crimes
involve the threat or actual use of force
property crimes
offence that involves taking or destroying of property
indictable offences (felonies)
punishable by over one year in prison
summary convictions
punishable by fine or under one year of prision
