Polisci 230 Midterm Study Guide

Vago Chapter 5

Informal Social Controls

o Best exemplified by norms and common practices,
feelings of whats right and wrong
o More common and stronger in smaller, more
homogenous areas
o Comparing crime rates in a town in Uganda
(developing nation), studies showed that areas with
less crime showed greater social solidarity, more
interaction and homogeneity. Neighbors felt they
shared some responsibility for protecting their
neighbors
o Good example is the old lady network in China,
where an old lady watches over ~20 families and
helps resolves squabbles
Formal Social Controls
o More characteristic of complex, heterogeneous
societies
o Incorporated via institutions, characterized by the
explicit establishment of procedures
o Criminal Sanctions
Most highly structured formal system used by
society
3.3% of Americans behind bars in 2010, tons of
overcrowding in federal prisons. 7% of people
held in private prisons
Spending on jails is huge: $57 billion in 2005
America has more people in prison than
anywhere else, also has higher incarceration
rate
America spends more money constructing
prisons than universities
Sometimes public humiliation is used as an
alternation to incarceration (TV show that
broadcasts mug shots of prostitutes/men trying
to buy sex)
Punishment is supposed to have a deterrent
effect. Individual deterrence may be achieved
by intimidation o the person; general
deterrence results from the warning offered to
potential criminals by example of punishment
of the wrongdoer

The effectiveness of deterrence threats is

measured by: the severity of the punishment
for an offense, the certainty that it would be an
applied, and the speed with which it would be
applied
Research shows that certainty is more
important than severity
Deterrence may only deter some
crimes/criminals
Instrumental offenses (i.e.
embezzlement) are more likely to b
deterred than expressive acts (i.e. rape,
murder)
Those who commit crimes less frequently
(low commitment offenders) are more
easily deterred
o Discord over the Death Penalty
Most severe form of punishment
47% of countries have abolished it by 1993
Still widely practiced in China, more than all
other nations combined
Ehrlich did econ study in favor of the death
penalty, demonstrating that it deterred
thousands of people from committing crimes.
When certain data was omitted, however,
relationship between murder rates and
executions was not found to be statistically
significant. Basically, we dont know if
deterrence works with the death penalty. Most
murders are low-commitment murders, often
under the influence, who are unlikely to think
rationally in this situation. Not a deterrent for
female serial killers.
Bunch of studies find that DP is not a more
effective deterrent than long prison sentences
DP is fiscally more expensive. At least,
imprisoning an inmate for 50 years could cost
less than $20k a year
Another con of DP: executing innocent people
DP more likely to affect poor and minority
group members than more affluent whites
Despite all the cons, theres growing advocacy
for the DP in the US, yet, as a deterrent, it
remains ineffective and expensive
o Civil Commitment

Defining a behavior as a medical problem or

illnessdrug abuse, alcoholism, viewing
violence as a genetic of psychological disorder
Noncriminal process that commitments people
to some sort of institution/rehabilitation center
Crimes Without Victims
o Drug Addiction
Not until 1914 that the US regulated drug use
Huge increase in people being imprisoned for
drug use, comprised 1/3 of all person convicted
of a felony in state courts
Drug problem growing internationally, but the
US had the highest substance abuse rate in
2010
Only a fraction of inmates undergo serious
rehabilitation
War on Drugs cost a lot of $$$$
o Prostitution
Laws throughout the world discriminate against
women
In many European countries, and specifically in
the Netherlands, prostitution is legal, and sex
workers get basic labor rights, insurance,
disability, etc.
Decriminalization of prostitution would extend
the practice of official tolerance and allow
police agencies to deal with more important
matters. Opponents think that prostitution may
lead to drug addiction or even murder
o Gambling
70% of Americans gamble
Considered a consensual transaction and a
plantifless crime
Generally very low conviction rates for
gambling
Criminal law is ineffective in controlling and
preventing people from engaging in illegal
gambling
Penalties tend to be light
Illegal gambling provides the largest source of
revenue to organized crime
Attempts to control illegal gambling consume
large amount of law enforcement time and
resources

Most of the problems with gambling control

stem from corruption of police and the courts
in related to these offense (i.e. Canadian cop
rigging evidence to put suspects behind bars in
Toronto)
Serious gambling problems amongst senior
citizens (~11%) and those under 21 (as high as
15%)
Strong arguments that legalizing gambling
could bring jobs and capital development,
however activities thought to be associated
with pathological gambling, like excessive
borrowing and crime, would probably increase
White-Collar Crime
o Crimes of privilege
o Usually committed by people of high status
o Some think these crimes constitute a more serious
threat than traditional types of crime
o Examples include stock manipulation, copyright
infringement, false advertising, and outright
swindling
o Recent example of white collar crime is Robert
Madoff, who developed networks across Jewish
charities, universities, etc. and managed to steal
billions
o Incorporate both occupational and corporate crimes
Occupational: connection with their occupation,
generally benefit the individual (i.e. doctor
giving out illegal prescriptions for narcotics)
Corporate: benefit usually for the organization
(i.e. executive bribes a public official to secure
favors for his corporation)
In the 2010s, corporate crime is on the rise,
thought that CC through corruption, faulty
goods, etc. costs the consumer over $65 billion
annually
CC impose an enormous financial burden on
society, and some workers are exposed to
dangerous chemicals because of corporations
not following safety laws
CC controlled by a variety of agencies
May be prospective, when control is
exercised before deviant acts occurred
Processual, as in inspection thats
continuous

Retrospective, when a lawsuit is brought

or damages after deviance has occurred
Generally, penalties imposed on corporations
are lenient in compared with the penalties of
ordinary offenders. Few members of corporate
management ever go to prison, even if
convicted, and if they do, its usually for a short
amount of time. White collar crime
Social Control of Dissent
o Universal and pervasive government activity
o Example: In Islamic countries, fundamentalists
regularly ban books
o One way of controlling dissent is through the various
selection processes used to place people in desirable
social positions (i.e. government influencing budgets
and examinations reduce total # of people going
to college squash student moment and population
of unemployed graduates)
o Manipulation of the structure of material benefits (i.e.
welfare programs as a social control mechanism)
o Coercive social-control apparatus to deal with crime,
enforce the law, etc. (i.e. CIA screening letters, illegal
break-ins; FBI; IRS, which can seize the assets of any
taxpayer suspected of contemplating flight, became
an instrument for social control, making its own
judgments about what political views and cultural
preferences were acceptable)
o Army intelligence and NSA
o Ex of social control: state legislation committee spied
on 20,000 Californians, document their social lives
Administrative Law and Social Control
o Law isnt just criminal and civil law, theres law that
deals with everything
o Licensing
Requiring and granting licenses to perform
certain activities is a classic control device
(license for several different occupations, i.e.
pilot, Hawaii licenses tattoo artists, in DE,
bowling-alley operators)
Control exerted through the revocation or
suspense of a license, too
o Inspection

Inspection is a way of monitoring ongoing

activities. Inspections determine whether cars
can move, planes can fly, etc.
U.S. FDA finds botulism in soup
Primary tool of administration supervision and
control
o Threat of Publicity
Can have significant effect on changing
behavior, especially in small communities
Power not confined to public officials
1970s federal air-pollution legislation, told the
public which car manufacturers complied with
the standards set by the government,
government informing the public of impure
food
Firms that have a monopoly on their products
are not likely to be hurt by adverse publicity

Vago Chapter 7

Reciprocity between Law and Social Change

o Controversial
o One view states that law is determined by the sense
of justice and the moral sentiments of the
populations, and legislation can achieve results only
by staying relatively close to prevailing social norms
(Social norms law)
o Second view: Law, and especially legislation, is a
vehicle through which a programmed social evolution
can be brough about (Lawsocial change)
o In big, urbanized societies like the US, law plays a big
part in social change and vice versa. For example, as
a result of technological change, the relation of
personal property owners to other individuals has
become more personal and frequently more likely to
lead to injury. As a result, there have been alterations
in the legal definition of fault, which in turn has
changed the American insurance system.
o Its a reciprocal relationship
Social Changes As Causes of Legal Changes (Social
Change Law)
o Big example is technology
Technology moves so quickly we cant keep up
with it

Automobile is an example of an intense

amount of new law: traffic rules, drunk driving,
etc.
Brazilian Senate allowing consensual divorces
to be filed and resolved on the Internet
New devices in crime detection (DNA use) and
their admissibility in court
Cybercrime
Space law (space tourism?!)
o Change in law may be induced by a gradual shift in
community values and attitudes
People thinking poverty is bad and laws should
be created to reduce it in some way
o Alterations in social conditions, technology,
knowledge, values, and attitudes may induce social
change
o Law is reactive and follows social change But
depending on the situation/how you look at it, can be
considered reactive and proactive. Talk about
proactive next.
Law as an Instrument of Social Change (Law Social
Change)
o In the US, the law has been used as the principal
mechanism for improving the political and social
position of blacks
o Eastern bloc countries used law as an instrument to
transform society after WW2 from a bourgeois
society to a socialist one
o Law exerts an indirect influence on social change in
general by influencing the possibilities of change in
various social institutions
o Social change through litigation is an American
phenomenon
California Supreme court destroyed the legal
basis for the system of financing schools in the
state
o The Efficacy of Law as an Instrument of Social
Change
The extent to which the law can provide an
effective impetus for social change varies
according to the conditions present in a given
situation (i.e. must emanate from a prestigious
source)
Other factors that affect the efficacy of law:
amount of info available to the public, clear

legal regulations, and the responsiveness of

enforcement agencies (i.e. During Prohibition
law enforcement werent too willing to enforce
the rules so it didnt have as much of an effect)

Advantages of Law in Creating Social Change

o Attributed to the fact that law in society is seen as a
legitimate,
o Legitimate Authority
Following Max Weber, there are 3 types of
legitimate authority
Traditional: bases its claims to legitimacy on an
established belief in the sanctity of traditions
and the legitimacy of the statues of those
exercising authority
Charismatic: bases its claim on the devotion to
the specific and unusual sanctity, heroism, or
character of an individual and the normative
patterns that are revealed or ordained (i.e.
Moses, Jesus)
Rational-legal: bases its claims to legitimacy on
a belief in the legality of normative rules and in
the right of those elevated to authority o issue
commands under such rules
Acceptance of LA can minimize the possibility
of cognitive dissonance. The law, consequently,
not only represents accepted modes of
behavior but also enforces and reinforces those
accepted modes of behavior
o The Binding Force of Law
Because most people in society consider it to
be so
Can be seen as a compelling obligation, the law
to command obedience
Even when laws go against morality, theyre
often obeyed (Holocaust)
Another possibility: people might prefer order
over disorder
o Sanctions
One of primary reasons that laws have binding
force
In primitive societies, take the form of cruel
punishments or social ostracism
In developed legal systems, can be punishment
by fine or imprisonment, etc.

Positive policy making usually involves

negative sanctions as well as positive rewards
(federal subsidies)
Limitations of Law in Creating Social Change
o Individuals with the control of ownership of material
goods are generally favored by laws
o Powerful tend to use the law to protect their position
in society
o Many times, those who are supposed to be coerced
or oppressed by a system of laws dont realize it
o Law as a Policy Instrument
o Morality and Values
If a laws enacted, it is probable that certain
changes will follow, but the degree in which it
proceeds is contingent on circumstances
In general, when the law is used as instrument
of social change, it needs support of society.
Issues arise when laws try to deal with what
may be called moral issues in society, like
prohibiting adultery. Similarly, laws against
homosexuality and prostitution have been
relatively ineffective.
Marijuana laws
Resistance to Change
o Social Factors
Vested interests: people who fear loss of
power, prestige, wealth, etc. may resist
change. (Physicians opposing various forms of
socialized medicine)
Social Class: Rigid class patterns tend to hinder
the acceptance of change (middle and upperclass tend to oppose govt intervention)
Ideological resistance: good example is
Catholic Church and abortion
Organized opposition: organizations like the
NRA
o Psychological Factors
Habit
Motivation
Ignorance
Selective Perception
Moral Development
o Cultural Factors
Fatalism:

Ethnocentrism: ppl who feel like theyre better

are more unreceptive to the ideas used by
other groups
Incompatibility
Superstition
o Economic Factors
Limited economic resources constitute a barrier
to changes that might otherwise be readily
adopted
When costs and benefits are widely distributed
(like social security), there is minimal
resistance to programs
Although a particular change through the law
may be desirable, limited economic resources
often act as barriers to change such efforts
(universal healthcare)