SOC1023G Social Problems: Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence

1. SOC1023G Social Problems:Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

2. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence References Braithwaite, J. (1995). Crime, shame, and reintegration. New York: Cambridge University Press. Mooney, L. A., Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (1997). Understanding social problems. Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth. Mooney, L. A., Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (2000). Understanding social problems (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth. Robinson, M. (2004). Why crime? An integrated systems theory of antisocial behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

3. Devotions Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. Philippians 2:4 (NIV) “. . .You shall have the same law for the foreigner as for the home-born citizen, for I am Jehovah your God.” God is speaking, Leviticus 24:22 (The Living Bible) A just king gives stability to his nation, but one who demands bribes destroys it. Proverbs 29:4 (The Living Bible) © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

4. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence According to the general U.S. population, CRIME is the worse problem facing the country today. The majority of the U.S. population are “truly desperate” about PERSONAL SAFETY. © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

5. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Structural-Functionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm) According to Durkheim and other structural-functionalists, crime is functional for society. One of the functions of crime and other deviant behavior is that it strengthens group cohesion: The deviant individual violates rules of conduct which the rest of the community holds in high respect; and when these people come together to express their outrage over the offense . . . they develop a tighter bond of solidarity than existed earlier. © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

6. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Structural-Functionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm) There are some studies that indicate that high crime rates produce social isolation instead of social cohesion -- in my opinion Durkheim would have responded by saying crime contributes to social cohesion when the accused are given speedy trials and the guilty are given swift and appropriate punishment. © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

7. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Structural-Functionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm) • Strain theory (Robert Merton) • Built on Durkheim’s concept of anomie or normlessness • When legitimate means (for example, a job) of acquiring culturally defined goals (for example, money) are limited by the structure of society, the resulting strain may lead to crime © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

8. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Structural-Functionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm) Merton’s Five Types of Adaptation Culturally Defined Structurally Defined Goals Means 1. Conformity + + 2. Innovation + - 3. Ritualism - + 4. Retreatism - - 5. Rebellion +/- +/- © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

9. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Structural-Functionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm) • Subculture theories • Certain groups or subcultures in society have values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence • Elijah Anderson explains that many inner-city African-American youth live by a survival code on the streets that emphasizes gaining the respect of others through violence--the tougher you are and the more others fear you, the more respect you have in the community © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

10. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Structural-Functionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm) • Control theory (Hirschi) • Built on Durkheim’s concept of social solidarity--it is what keeps all members of high risk groups from turning to crime • Built on four elements of social bonding • Attachment to significant others • Commitment to conventional goals • Involvement in conventional activities • Belief in the moral standards of society © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

11. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Symbolic Interactionist Perspective (Pluralist Paradigm) • Labeling theory (Howard Becker) • Social groups create deviance by making rules whose infractions constitute deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders. From this point of view, deviance is not a quality of the act a person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an “offender.” The deviant is one to whom the label has successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label. © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

12. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Symbolic Interactionist Perspective (Pluralist Paradigm) • Primary deviance • Deviant behavior committed before a person is caught and labeled as an offender • Secondary deviance • Deviance that results from being caught and labeled • Stigmatized as a criminal • Deviant label dominates social identity of individual • Primary basis on which the person is defined by others (master status) © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

13. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Symbolic Interactionist Perspective (Pluralist Paradigm) • Differential Association theory (Edwin Sutherland) • Through interactions with others, individuals learn the values and attitudes associated with crime as well as the techniques and motivations for criminal behavior • Children who see their parents benefit from crime, or who live in high crime neighborhoods where success is associated with illegal behavior, are more likely to engage in criminal behavior © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

14. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Symbolic Interactionist Perspective (Pluralist Paradigm) Do your parents regularly exceed the interstate speed limit by 10 + miles per hour? Do you imitate the same behavior on a regular basis? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

15. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Conflict Perspective (Conflict Paradigm) Those in power define what is criminal and what is not, and these definitions reflect the interests of the ruling class. Laws against vagrancy, for example, penalize individuals who do not contribute to the capitalist system of work and consumerism. © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

16. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Conflict Perspective (Conflict Paradigm) Conflict theorists argue that law enforcement is applied differentially, penalizing those without power and benefiting those with power. For example, female prostitutes are more likely to be arrested than are the men who seek their services. © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

17. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Conflict Perspective (Conflict Paradigm) “There are two criminal justice systems in this country. There is a whole different system for poor people. It’s the same courthouse--it’s not separate--but it’s not equal.” Paul Petterson Public defender © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

18. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • The problems of violating social norms (crime and violence) are impacted by changes within social trends. • Braithwaite (1995) presented some facts about crime as related to social trends. • This is an excellent example of how social trends impact the creation, increase, decrease, or demise of a social problem. (Robinson, 2004) © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

19. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis Braithwaite’s Facts about Crime • Crime is committed disproportionately by males. • What would happen to the crime rates in societies that would allow couples to select the gender of their babies via biotechnology? Currently, throughout the world, which gender is considered more desirable? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

20. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • Crime is committed disproportionately by 15- to 25-year-olds. • If the average age of the members of a society is increasingly becoming older, how would this impact the overall crime rate of that society? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

21. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • Crime is committed disproportionately by unmarried people. • In developed countries, such as much of Western Europe, there is a growing social trend to never marry. How might this social trend impact crime rates within those countries? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

22. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • Crime is committed disproportionately by people living in large cities. • Most of the population growth throughout the world is concentrated in urban areas (cities). This is a social trend that at the moment shows little sign of changing. How might this social trend impact future crime rates? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

23. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • Crime is committed disproportionately by people who have experienced high residential mobility and who live in areas characterized by high levels of residential mobility. • How would the mobility patterns of a small town in rural Kansas compare to the mobility patterns of Phoenix, AZ? Which would have a lower crime rate if the ONLY factor/social trend was mobility of residents? Why? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

24. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • Young people who are strongly attached to their schools are less likely to engage in crime. • There has been a social trend in the United States to consolidate schools for efficiency (economic, personnel, extra-curricular programs, busing, etc.). Everything else being equal, how might this social trend impact the crime rates? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

25. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • Young people who have high educational and occupational aspirations are less likely to engage in crime. • In most developed and developing countries, there is an increasing rate of educational attainment among the young. How might this social trend impact crime rates? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

26. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • Young people who do poorly at school are more likely to engage in crime. • It has been shown that children from nontraditional homes have more problems with academic achievements. How might the growing social trend (in the United States) of single unmarried parents (usually mothers) impact future crime rates? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

27. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • Young people who are strongly attached to their parents are less likely to engage in crime. • In the United States, there is a growing trend of nontraditional families. This often (not always) involves less contact with one of the biological parents. How might this social trend impact future crime rates? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

28. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • Young people who have friendships with criminals are more likely to engage in crime themselves. • The fact does not have a specific social trend impacting it. © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

29. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • People who believe strongly in the importance of complying with the law are less likely to violate the law. • There has been a subtle social trend within Western Culture to lessen the importance and reverence of authority. How might this social trend impact future crime rates? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

30. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • For both women and men, being at the bottom of the class structure, whether measured by socioeconomic status, socioeconomic status of the area in which the person lives, being unemployed, or being a member of an oppressed racial minority (e. g., blacks in the United States), increases rates of offending for all types of crime apart from those for which opportunities are systematically unavailable to the poor (i. e., white-collar crime). • For certain minorities (e. g., black and Hispanics), there has been a social trend of a growing middle class for these groups. While it is far from being universal, how might this social trend impact the crime rates among these groups? © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender

31. Problems of Violating Social Norms: Crime and Violence: Social Tend Analysis • Crime rates have been increasing since World War II in most countries, developed or developing. The only country that has been clearly shown to have had a falling crime rate in this period is Japan. • What social trends might be contributing to Japan’s falling crime rates? Your reading material for this unit does not give the answer. © 1998-2004 by Ronald Keith Bolender