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3. Social Conflict Theory and Deviance

3. Social Conflict Theory and Deviance. Social Conflict Theory. Based on Marxism. Says that those with more power create norms and punish deviance of those norms. Lower classes/minorities are treated unequally

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3. Social Conflict Theory and Deviance

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  1. 3. Social Conflict Theory and Deviance

  2. Social Conflict Theory • Based on Marxism. Says that those with more power create norms and punish deviance of those norms. • Lower classes/minorities are treated unequally • Ex: ½ of homicide victims are black, but most criminals are death row earned that sentence for murdering a white victim

  3. Victim Discounting • Reduces the seriousness of crimes against people of lower statuses • Murder of a child is more serious to us than the murder of a homeless adult

  4. White-collar crime • Job related crimes committed by high-status people • Cost an estimated $100 BILLION per year • BUT, are usually punished with fines or short sentences in minimum security facilities (Martha Stewart)

  5. 4. Crime and Punishment

  6. Crime • Any violation of a law • Statistics are officially recorded by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) • Tracks 9 types of crime: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and hate crimes

  7. Fallacies in the UCR Stats • 2/3 of crime are never reported • Minor crimes are less likely to be reported as compared to major crimes • Drug/alcohol/prostitution crimes are difficult to monitor as they tend to occur in private places • White collar crime is rarely accounted for in these stats

  8. Juvenile Crime • Crime committed by youth • Has dropped significantly • Reasons for the drop: decline in youth crack abuse; decline in juvenile access to guns; stiffer sentences for repeat juvenile offenders; extreme crimes can result in offender being tried as an adult

  9. Criminal Justice System and Crime Control 4 ways to control crime: • Deterrence • Retribution • Incarceration • Rehabilitation

  10. Deterrence • Threat of punishment discourages criminal actions • Most punishments are shown to deter crime • The Death Penalty is NOT shown to act as a deterrent • 73% of whites support the death penalty; 58% minorities support it

  11. Retribution • Punishment where you have to pay compensation for criminal act • Drunk drivers have to speak at school • Speeders pay fines • Community service is assigned for some crimes

  12. Incarceration • Prison sentence • 3 strikes law = increase in prisoners (over 2.1 million)

  13. Rehabilitation • Attempt to socialize criminals and reintroduce them into society • Combine prison and probation • Use community based programs • Diversion strategies (institutions/rehab centers instead of prison) • Recidivism: return to criminal behavior

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