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Deviance

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any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs

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Crime

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a behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail terms, and/or other negative sanctions

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Juvenile delinquency

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refers to a violation of law or the commission of a status offense by young people

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Social Control

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refers to the systematic practices that social groups develop in order to encourage conformity to norms, rules, and laws and to discourage deviance

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Internal Social Control

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takes place through the socialization process: Individuals internalize societal norms and values that prescribe how people should behave and then follow those norms and values in their everyday lives.

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Status offenses

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are illegal only when committed by younger people

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External Social Control

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involves the use of negative sanctions that proscribe certain behaviors and set forth the punishments for rule breakers and nonconformists

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Criminology

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is the systematic study of crime and the criminal justice system, including the police, courts, and prisons

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Emile Durkheim

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believed that deviance is rooted in societal factors such as rapid social change and lack of social integration among people. He viewed deviance as natural and inevitable.

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Functionalism on Deviance

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1.Deviance clarifies rules 2.Deviance unites a group 3.Deviance promotes social change

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Strain Theory

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people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals (Merton)

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Strain Theory: 5 ways people adapt to cultural goals

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1) Conformity: Accepts culturally approved goals; pursues them through culturally approved means 2) Innovation: Accepts culturally approved goals; adopts disapproved means of achieving them 3) Ritualism: Abandons society's goals but continues to conform to approved means 4) Retreatism: Abandons both approved goals and the approved means to achieve them 5) Rebellion: Challenges both the approved goals and the approved means to achieve them

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Illegitimate opportunity structures

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circumstances that provide an opportunity for people to acquire through illegitimate activities what they cannot achieve through legitimate channels (Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin)

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Felix M. Padilla

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found that gang membership was linked to the members' belief that they might reach their aspirations by transforming the gang into a business enterprise

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Criminal Gang

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devoted to theft, extortion, and other illegal means of securing an income (Cloward and Ohlin)

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Conflict Gang

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emerge in communities that do not provide either legitimate or illegitimate opportunities (Cloward and Ohlin)

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Retreatist Gang

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are unable to gain success through legitimate means and are unwilling to do so through illegal ones (Cloward and Ohlin)

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Conflict Theorists on Deviance

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focus on power relations in society suggest that the lifestyles considered deviant by political and economic elites are often defined as illegal. According to this approach, norms and laws are established for the benefit of those in power and do not reflect any absolute standard of right and wrong

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Marxist/ critical theory

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views deviance and crime as a function of the capitalist economic system. The critical approach is based on the assumption that the laws and the criminal justice system protect the power and privilege of the capitalist class (proletariat vs bourgeoisie)

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Richard Quinney

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people with economic and political power define as criminal any behavior that threatens their own interests. The powerful use laws to control those who are without power.

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Freda Adler's Sisters in Crime and Rita James Simons's Women and Crime

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declared that women's crime rates were going to increase significantly as a result of the women's liberation movement (emancipation theory), refuted.

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Janet Davidson and Meda Chesney-Lind

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the authors conclude that sociobiographical variables such as a history of physical and sexual abuse are more predictive of female criminality than of male criminality

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Liberal feminist approach

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women's deviance and crime are a rational response to the gender discrimination that women experience in families and the workplace

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Radical feminist approach

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views the cause of women's crime as originating in patriarchy (male domination over females): Says that men are usually not punished for prostituting women but the women usually get the blame

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Marxist (socialist) feminist approach

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is based on the assumption that women are exploited by both capitalism and patriarchy. Because many females have relatively low-wage jobs and few economic resources, crimes such as prostitution and shoplifting become a means to earn money or acquire consumer goods

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Multicultural feminist approach

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have examined how the intersecting systems of race, class, and gender act as "structuring forces" that affect how people act, what opportunities they have available, and how their behavior is socially defined

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Social processes

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how people develop a self-concept and learn conforming behavior through socialization. Deviance is learned in the same way as conformity— through interaction with others.

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Edwin Sutherland

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people learn the necessary techniques and the motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes of deviant behavior from people with whom they associate

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Differential association theory

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states that people have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associate with individuals who are more favorable toward deviance than conformity

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Ronald Akers

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Criminologist; has combined differential association theory with elements of psychological learning theory to create differential reinforcement theory

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Differential reinforcement theory

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suggests that both deviant behavior and conventional behavior are learned through the same social processes

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Rational choice theory of deviance

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states that deviant behavior occurs when a person weighs the costs and benefits of non conventional or criminal behavior and determines that the benefits will outweigh the risks involved in such actions

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Situational factors

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such as the place of the crime, suitable targets, and the availability of people to deter the behavior

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Personal factors

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such as what rewards they may gain from their criminal behavior

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Control Theory

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based on the assumption that conformity is associated with a person's bonds to other people

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Walter Reckless

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society produces pushes and pulls that move people toward criminal behavior; however, some people "insulate" themselves from such pressures by having positive self-esteem and good group cohesion

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Inner containments

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such as self-control, a sense of responsibility, and resistance to diversions (Walter Reckless). control/social bonding theories have elements of functionalist and symbolic interactionist perspectives embedded within them because they focus on both social control and the bonds that tie people together

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Outer containments

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such as supportive family and friends, reasonable social expectations, and supervision by others (Walter Reckless)

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Travis Hirschi

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social control theory is based on the assumption that deviant behavior is minimized when people have strong bonds that bind them to families, schools, peers, churches, and other social institutions

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Social bond theory

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holds that the probability of deviant behavior increases when a person's ties to society are weakened or broken

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Travis Hirschi social bonding

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(1) attachment to other people, (2) commitment to conformity, (3) involvement in conventional activities, and (4) belief in the legitimacy of conventional values and norms

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Michael R. Gottfredson and Hirshi

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modified the earlier theory that strong social bonds minimize criminal conduct and focused instead on the importance of self-control as a determinate of who will be likely to commit crime

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Labeling theory

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deviance is a socially constructed process in which social control agencies designate certain people as deviants and they, in turn, come to accept the label placed upon them and begin to act accordingly (based on Cooley and Mead's symbolic interacionism)

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Moral entrepreneurs

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are often the ones who create the rules about what constitutes deviant or conventional behavior

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Primary deviance

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refers to the initial act of rule breaking

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Secondary deviance

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occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant accepts that new identity and continues the deviant behavior

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Tertiary deviance

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occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant seeks to normalize the behavior by relabeling it as non-deviant

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William Chambliss

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studied two groups of adolescent boys in a high school: the "Saints" and the "Roughnecks." Members of both groups were constantly involved in acts of truancy, drinking, wild parties, petty theft, and vandalism. The Roughnecks were more likely to be labeled as deviants because they came from lower-income families, did poorly in school, and were generally viewed negatively, whereas the Saints came from "good families," did well in school, and were generally viewed positively.

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Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish

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Foucault examines the intertwining nature of power, knowledge, and social control. Foucault found that many penal institutions ceased torturing prisoners who disobeyed the rules and began using new surveillance techniques to maintain social control. Surveillance brought greater power to the officials

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Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

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has been compiled since 178 1930 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation based on information filed by law enforcement agencies throughout the country

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Violent crime

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consists of actions—murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault—involving force or the threat of force against others

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Property Crime

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include burglary (breaking into private property to commit a serious crime), motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft (theft of property worth $50 or more), and arson

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Public order crimes

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involve an illegal action voluntarily engaged in by the participants such as prostitution, illegal gambling, the private use of illegal drugs, and illegal pornography

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Victimless crimes

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involve a willing exchange of illegal goods or services among adults

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Occupational (white collar) crime

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crime comprises illegal activities committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs

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Corporate Crime

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illegal acts committed by corporate employees on behalf of the corporation and with its support

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Internet Crime

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consists of FBI-related scams, identity theft, advance fee fraud, non auction/nondelivery of merchandise, and over payment fraud

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Organized Crime

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a business operation that supplies illegal goods and services for profit

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Political Crime

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refers to illegal or unethical acts involving the usurpa- tion of power by government officials or illegal/ unethical acts perpetrated against the government by outsiders seeking to make a political statement, undermine the government, or overthrow it.

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Four Types of Political Deviance

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(1) secrecy and deception designed to manipulate public opinion (2) abuse of power, (3) prosecution of individuals because of their political activities, and (4) official violence, such as police brutality against people of color or the use of citizens as unwilling guinea pigs in scientific research

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National Crime Victimization Survey

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this annual survey collects information on nonfatal crimes reported and not reported to the police against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households

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Terrorism

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is the calculated, unlawful use of physical force or threats of violence against persons or property in order to intimidate or coerce a government, organization, or individual for the purpose of gaining some political, religious, economic, or social objective

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Male v Female arrests

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Males are arrested for significantly more crimes than females. In 2012 about 74 percent of all persons arrested nationwide were male

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Arrest rates are highest for which age group?

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13 to 25

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African American crime rates

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African Americans made up over 13 percent of the U.S. population in 2012 but ac- counted for 28 percent of all arrests

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Criminal justice system

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refers to the local, state, and federal agencies that enforce laws, adjudicate crimes, and treat and rehabilitate criminals

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Racial profiling

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the use of ethnic or racial background as a means of identifying criminal suspects—remains a highly charged issue

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Sworn officers

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those who have taken an oath and been given the powers to make arrests and use necessary force in accordance with their duties (only 25 percent are women and minorities)

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Community-oriented policing

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an approach to law enforcement in which officers maintain a presence in the community, walking up and down the streets or riding bicycles, getting to know people, and holding public service meetings at schools, churches, and other neighborhood settings

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Determinate sentencing

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determinate sentence sets the term of imprisonment at a fixed period of time (such as three years) for a specific offense

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Mandatory Sentencing

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established by law and require that a person convicted of a specific offense or series of offenses be given a penalty within a fixed range

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Parens patriae

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the official purpose of juvenile courts has been to care for, rather than punish, youthful offenders

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Punishment

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any action designed to deprive a person of things of value (including liberty) because of some offense the person is thought to have committed

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Goals of Punishment (4 Goals)

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1) Retribution is punishment that a person receives for infringing on the rights of others. 2) General deterrence seeks to reduce criminal activity by instilling a fear of punishment in the general public. 3) Incapacitation is based on the assumption that offenders who are detained in prison or are executed will be unable to commit additional crimes. 4) seeks to return offenders to the community as law-abiding citizens by providing therapy or vocational or educational training

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Restorative Justice Perspective

answer

states that the criminal justice system should pro- mote a peaceful and just society; therefore, the system should focus on peacemaking rather than on punishing offenders

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