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8. DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL. Section 1 - Deviance Section 2 - Crime. Section 1: Deviance. What is Deviance? Deviance Deviance is behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society . Examples of deviants: alcoholics - bald
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8 DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL Section 1 - Deviance Section 2 - Crime
Section 1: Deviance • What is Deviance? • Deviance • Deviance is behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society. • Examples of deviants: • alcoholics - bald • gamblers - homeless • mentally ill - “close-talkers” • cheaters - loud people
Deviance • What is Deviance? • Sociologically, we are all deviant from time to time. • Each of us violates common social norms in certain situations. This causes a distinction between social and criminal deviance. • Deviance involves the violation of group norms which may or may not be formalized into law.
Deviance • What is Deviance? • Standards of deviance vary from one group (subculture) to another. • Deviance varies over time. (ex. tattoos) • Deviance is subjective - subject to social definitions. * Therefore, deviance is “socially constructed.”
Deviance • Sociology on Campus: College Binge Drinking Source: Wechsler et al. 2002:208.
Deviance • What is anomie? • Situation that arises when the norms of society are unclear or are no longer applicable. • Stuck on an Escalator
Deviance Is deviance always bad? NO ! Social Functions of deviance: • Helps to clarify norms • Unifies groups • Diffuses tension • Promotes social change • Provides jobs
Deviance- an example • How does the NHL deal with fighting in their sport? • What purpose does fighting have in hockey? • How does this compare to other sports? • What impact does this deviance have on others?
Deviance • Explaining Deviance • Functionalist Perspective • Deviance is a part of human existence and has positive and negative consequences for society. • Durkheim introduced the term anomie, defined as a state of “normlessness” that occurs during periods of profound social change.
Deviance • Explaining Deviance • Functionalist Perspective (continued) • Merton examined how people adapted to the acceptance or rejection of a society’s goals. Merton’s Anomie Theory of Deviance examines how people conform to or deviate from cultural expectations.
Deviance • Explaining Deviance • Interactionist Perspective • Focuses on everyday behavior and why or how a person comes to commit a deviant act. • Control Theory - Our bonds to members of society lead us to conform to society’s norms. • We are bonded through: • Family, friends, peers
Deviance • Explaining Deviance • Interactionist Perspective (continued) • Cultural transmission theory - one learns criminal behavior through interactions with others. • Differential association - deviance is determined by the frequency & closeness a person has with deviant or non-deviant people – especially within primary groups
Deviance • Explaining Deviance • Interactionist Perspective (continued) • Labeling theory • attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants while others are not • emphasizes how a person comes to be labeled as deviant and how some accept this label • Analyzes how being “labeled” may impact interactions with others (teachers, police, parents, employers, etc)
Deviance • Labeling • Deviance and Social Stigma • The term stigma describes the labels society uses to devalue members of certain social groups. • Once members are assigned deviant roles, they have trouble presenting positive images to others.
Deviance- real people, real deviants Why was each labeled deviant? Who labeled them? Have they accepted the label? What impact has it had on them?
Deviance • Explaining Deviance • Conflict Perspective • people with power protect their own interests (power, wealth) and define deviance to suit their own needs. • the criminal justice system of the U.S. treats people differently on the basis of their racial, ethnic, or social class background. • deviance is a natural result of unfair competition
Deviance • Social Inequality: Race and the Death Penalty Source: Based on Bureau of the Census 2002a; Dieter 1998:13; Snell and Maruschak 2002:10, 11.
Section 2: Crime • Crime - A violation of criminal law for which some governmental authority applies formal penalties • Statistics: • Violent crimes have declined significantly nationwide following many years of increases. • Crime committed by women has increased.
Section 2: Crime - statistics • About 2/3 (66%) of people arrested are white. • 70+% of people arrested are under the age of 35. • Crime statistics are not as accurate as social scientists would like. Why?
Flaws in crime statistics • Police discretion at the scene • Less reporting if it involves family or friends • Studies shoe police are more likely to file a report if the victim is of a higher social class. • Attitude of the complainant.
Crime • Discretion within the Criminal Justice System Source: Adapted from Department of Justice, 1988:59.
Crime • Figure 8.3: Victimization Rates, 1973 to 2001 Source: Rennison 2002:12.
Crime Source: United States Bureau of Justice Statistics, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm#ncvs
Crime Source: U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm#ncvs
Crime Source: U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.http: //ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm#ncvs
Crime Source: U.S. Bureau of Justice. 2001. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bsj/cvict.htm#ncvs
Crime • Types of Crime • Laws divide crimes into categories based on: • severity • age of offender • potential punishment • jurisdiction • Violent Crime: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault. • Crime against property: stealing property or intentionally damaging it.
Crime • Types of Crime • Professional Crime:Crime pursued as a person’s day-to-day occupation. • Organized Crime:The work of a group that regulates relations between various criminal enterprises. • White Collar: Illegal acts committed in the course of business activities, often by affluent people. • “Victimless” Crimes: The willing exchange among adults of widely desired, but illegal, goods and services. Such a thing?
Crime • Criminal Justice System: • Police • Courts • Corrections
Crime • Functions of corrections: • Retribution: revenge for the victim and/or society. • Deterrence: discourage future criminals and crimes • Rehabilitation:resocialization • Social protection: removes criminal offenders from society for the good of the whole.
Crime • Issues involving corrections: • recidivism: repeated criminal behavior • Just under 67.5% return within 3 years • Source: D.O.J – 1994 • Deterrence & Rehabilitation – do they work? • Prison socialization
Crime Doesn’t work or not used enough?
Public Issues and Social Control • Decriminalizing the use of drugs. • “Tried as an adult” • Torture & the war on terror • Post-911 surveillance • Prison v Rehab • Character / Affective Education. • “Three strikes and you’re out” laws • Megan’s Law • Death v Life in Jail - costs