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Topic 2: Crime and Deviance

Deviance
-activities that do not conform to the norms of a particular community;
-a relative concept; (deviance is culturally defined)
-social reaction: positive sanction, negative sanction, toleration without formal sanction;

Crime
-activities that break the legal norms of a society and are punishable by law;
-social reaction: negative sanction applied if found/ reported, & convicted;

Non-sociological Explanations
Biological and psychological explanations look for the source of deviance in the biological or
psychological nature – pathology (病態)- of the individual. On the contrary, sociological
explanations look for the source in the nature of society.

Sociological Perspectives
(a) Structural-Functionalist Perspective
l Functionalist theory
l Structural strain theory
l subcultural theory
(b) Interactionist Perspective: Labelling theory
(c) Conflict Perspective

I. STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE

Structure:
The sources of crime and deviance should be found in the structure of society.

Functionalism:
l Deviance is normal – it is a necessary part of all societies;
l Deviance is functional – it performs positive functions for society.

1.1 Durkheim: The Function of Crime & Deviance

a. Value Consensus – a set of shared values, beliefs and norms in society

b. Deviance (a certain amount of deviance) - a normal & inevitable aspect of social life;

-deviance is functional:
(i) Defining the boundary of morality & thereby creates social solidarity (unity)
(ii) Serving as a safety-valve (Cohen)
(iii) Serving as a warning device (Cohen)
(iv) Opening up a space for change (anticipation of a new morality)

[(i)-(iii) are functional in the sense that they help maintain social order or social stability
in reaffirming the boundary between normal/ acceptable and deviant/ unacceptable
behaviors, i.e. in reinforcing the social norms and values.]

[“Safety-valve”安全活塞– a relatively harmless outlet for discontent & pressure, without

which tension & pressure may lead to explosion. Why tension? There are certain needs in
society that cannot be satisfied within the existing system. Why relatively harmless? Such
a release of tension does not pose a fundamental threat to the existing system.]

Examples:
l protests

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c. Punishment:
-function: not so much to remove crime as to “heal the wounds done to the collective
sentiments” (Without punishment the collective sentiments would lose their force to control
behavior and the crime rate would reach the point where it became dysfunctional.)

Criticisms

-It leaves unanswered (a) why some people are more prone to deviance than others, and (b) why
certain forms of deviance are associated with particular groups etc.

1.2 Structural Strain Theory (Merton):

(a) value consensus (e.g. American value: money)

(b) social structure – people are located in different class positions, & therefore have different
access to institutionalized means to achieve socially shared goals

-Deviance: the result of discrepancy between social values/goals (culture) & institutionalized
means (social structure)

“the social and cultural structure generates pressure for socially deviant behavior upon people
variously located in that structure.”

Merton’s typology of personal adaptation

Adaptation types Cultural Goals Institutionalized Means Social Position
Conformity + +
Innovation + - Lower class
Ritualism - + Lower middle class
Retreatism - -
Rebellion +/- +/- (a rising class)

Query: Could Merton’s theory explain non-utilitarian crimes among the working class youths?

1.3 Structural & Subcultural Theories

l Structural theories: positions of individuals or groups in the social structure

l Subcultural theories: the subculture (values & norms) of a social group

-Deviance: the result of individuals conforming to the values & norms of a “deviant” group.
-Socializing into the deviant subculture (reward & punishment)

l Mechanism: differential socialization (differential association) – the differential processes of

being socializing into different subcultures with different norms and values

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1.3.1 Miller: the distinctiveness of the lower-class subculture

l For long the American lower class have had their own values and norms, passed on
from generation to generation, actively encourage lower class men to break the law.

l Focal concerns in the lower class culture: (a) toughness, (b) smartness, & (c)
excitement

l Peer pressure; status among the peer

l Reason: the work situation of the working-class people (low-skilled labor) is too
boring & unrewarding to generate a sense of satisfaction about their work;

Criticisms: with no reference to the mainstream culture

1.3.2 Cohen: a combination of structural & subcultural theories

l (drawing on Merton) social structure: unequal access to opportunity

l yet going beyond Merton’s views on working-class deviance:

(a) delinquency as a collective rather than individual response
(b) non-utilitarian crime e.g. vandalism

l Collective solution to ‘status frustration’- rejection & reversion of the mainstream culture

l A delinquent subculture: “Throughout there is a kind of malice apparent, an enjoyment of

the discomfort of others, a delight in the defiance of taboos.”

l Reward: recognition and prestige within the group

Unanswered question: Why are there different types of deviant subcultures & acts?

1.3.3 Cloward & Ohlin

l Agree with Merton that there is greater pressure on the working class to deviate because
they have lesser access to legitimate means for success

l Criticism of Merton: only explain the “legitimate opportunity structure”, but fail to
consider the “illegitimate opportunity structure”

l 3 different types of subculture « differential access to illegitimate opportunity structure:

(a) Criminal subculture
-access to illegitimate opportunity structure (organized adult crime/ utilitarian crime)
-socialization: skills, feelings, values, role models; criminal stratification

(b) Conflict subculture (e.g. gang violence)

-where adolescents have little access to both legitimate & illegitimate opportunity
structures

(c) Retreatist subculture (e.g. illegal drug use)

-where lower class adolescents fail in both the legitimate and illegitimate structures

Questions for further thoughts:

(1) Do the lower class share the societal goals & simply react to their failure or do they have their
own distinctive values such as toughness, smartness and excitement?
(2) Is there sufficient evidence that lower class people tend to commit more crime and deviance?

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Supplementary Reading: Excerpts from “Triadization of Youth Gangs in Hong Kong,” by T.

Wing Lo, Bristish Journal of Criminology. (2012) 52, 556–576

In the 2000s … concomitant to population increase and rise in commercial activities in the new
towns, youth gangs emerged and juvenile crime rates increased. Triad societies took root almost as
soon as residents moved into the new towns and recruited young people as gang members. Gang
activities were not limited to public housing estates, but occurred over the entire new towns (Hong
Kong Federation of Youth Groups 2000)… In the early 2000s, our study found that there were 297
youth gangs in Hong Kong; they were under the umbrella of 19 triad societies. There were
altogether 4,746 youth gang members, 94 per cent male and 6 per cent female …

(This article) focuses on how young people are socialized into a youth gang, and eventually become
triad members. I term this process ‘triadization’. It is argued that triadization, the submission of
youth gang members into triad subcultures and values, is achieved through three major channels:
gang structure, routine activities, and gang norms and controls…

(G)ang attachment mostly begins at junior secondary to secondary school stage (Lo 1984; 1992).
The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (1993) found that young people joined gangs as a way
to meet ordinary youth needs, such as having fun, seeking protection and making new friends, and
they maintained harmonious relationships with other members. Although they also engaged in
illegal activities, not many of them liked to commit serious offences. Lee and Lo (1994) found triad
domination in public housing estates, and a significant relationship between youth gang subculture
and triad societies. The involvement in gang activities weakened the social bonding between youths
and social institutions, leading them to commit crime (Wong et al. 1995) …

The concept of triadization sheds light on the relationship between gang membership and
delinquency. After youth gang members are triadized, they undergo a positive change in their
tendency to commit more serious crime as they move up the ladder in the triad society. Normally,
youth gang members are triadized in the following phases. To begin with, young people are
recruited into a youth gang and agree to follow the gang leader. They join the gang before or after
initiation into the triad society. They are then involved in street crime, spontaneous street violence
and occasionally truce talks led by triad office-bearers. Sooner or later, they operate their own minor
criminal rackets and are engaged in a wide variety of criminal activities. Those who survive this
phase will then be promoted to be triad office-bearers and commit other forms of organized crime,
such as drug-dealing, prostitution and loan-sharking (Fight Crime Committee 1986). As they
become more involved in illegal triad business, they will increasingly limit their use of
unjustified violence in order to avoid unnecessary police attention.

The triadization of youth gangs means that gang members are socialized from the conventional
youth culture to a gang subculture that is heavily influenced by triad values. The influence of triad
societies that spurs the triadization of youth gangs can be seen through, first, the structure of the
youth gang, particularly the Dai Lo–Lan Tsai relationship, as it ties a youth gang member to the
more complex triad society. The structure of a youth gang resembles that of a spider’s web and,
once the youth joins it, escape is difficult. Second, triad elements are also expressed in both legal
and illegal daily activities of the youth gangs. Frequently engaging in those activities socializes the
youths into the triad subculture. Third, the implied but very much enforced triad norms of a gang
along with the use of control mechanisms force the youths to conform to the triad principles of
brotherhood. These three aspects of a youth gang demonstrate triadization, through which a youth
member is assimilated to the triad subculture and hence gradually comes to acknowledge
delinquent and sometimes criminal practices as sane and rational. It is neither delinquent
predisposition nor curiosity that motivates young people to join a youth gang; rather, what motivates
them to be voluntarily involved in a gang is the notion that, by doing so, they will be granted
favours such as protection by the triad or fun generated in daily gang activities, both licit and illicit
(e.g. Sanders 2005).

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CRIME & OFFICIAL STATISTICS

l theories are mostly based on official statistics

l official statistics show that the working class, the young, males and members of some ethnic
minorities are more likely to commit crimes than the others

l unrecorded crimes

l white-collar crime underestimated e.g. bribery, professional misconduct, misuse of trademarks

l differential treatment of delinquents of different classes

II. INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE

2.1 Labelling Theories

Becker: “social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance,
and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders” – [the importance
of societal reaction];

Focus: not on motivations & causes; but on:

(a) The process of interaction between (a) deviants and (b) those who define them as deviant
(Agents of social control e.g. family, school, doctors, police, judges and probation officers)

The definition of deviance is not fixed and clear cut but negotiated in the interaction situation
by the actors involved (e.g. the definition of mental illness). The interactionist perspective
emphasizes the importance of meanings the different actors bring to and develop within the
interaction situation.

(b) The effects of labeling on self-conception ( ® more deviance? )

Lemert: (i) primary deviation; (ii) secondary deviation

Primary Deviation – deviant acts that are not (yet) publicly labelled (Lemert argues that
the search for the causes of primary deviation is largely fruitless and unimportant, having
little implications on the formation of an individual’s self-concept

Secondary Deviation – deviant acts that are “produced” by societal reaction (Lemert
argues that studies of deviance should focus on secondary deviation because it has major
impact on the individual’s self-concept, status in the community and future actions.)

(c) The definition of deviance itself -

l power is involved in the definition of rules & norms
l not possible to set up commonly agreed rules (in contrast to structural-functionalists);
l rules are set down by the powerful group

2.2 Criticisms & Evaluation (please consult the readings)

III. CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE

l Who makes the law? Who benefits?

l Who breaks the law? Who gets caught?
l Why break the law? Why enforce the law?

Marxism: In a capitalist society, laws are made and administered by the state which serve the
interests of the ruling class (i.e. the capitalists)

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Supplementary Topic: Sociological Theory

Sociology consists of different theoretical approaches to the study of society. A theory seeks to explain
or analyze society by constructing a framework, just like model-building, which presents a selective
interpretation of reality. Different theories co-exist that (a) complement one another or (b) compete
with one another in explaining social reality. Each has their relative strengths and weaknesses.

Sociological Approaches to the Study of Human Society

Macro (social structure) Micro (social action)

Consensus Approach Structural-functionalism; Symbolic
Conflict Approach Marxism, Feminism Interactionism

“Consensus” Focus : social order & stability

“Conflict” Focus: unequal distribution of social resources; social conflicts; who benefit & who suffer?
“Macro” Approach : social structure
“Micro” Approach: social action & social interaction

I. STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM

Main Concern: the origin and maintenance of order and stability in society.

How are societies created and sustained over time? Durkheim uses the term social solidarity to refer to
a state of unity or cohesion that exists when members of a society at large share the same moral rules
and practices. The key to social solidarity was FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION. (analogy: biology)

(1) Structure
Social relationships are therefore patterned and recurrent as they are organized in terms of rules.

(2) Function [Focus: how the structure functions.]

This involves an examination of the relationship between the different parts of the structure and their
relationship to society as a whole. At its simplest, function means effect e.g. the effect of the family
on other parts of the social structure and on society as a whole. In practice the term function indicates
the contribution an institution makes to the maintenance and survival of the social system. For
example, a major function of the family is the socialization of new members of society.

(3) Value Consensus: Functional integration among institutions is based largely on “value consensus”
(e.g. Materialism in modern society - functional integration among the economy, polity, education & family)

Criticisms

II. INTERACTIONISM

-Focus: the small-scale phenomena that make up everyday interaction. To understand how individuals
subjectively experience and understand their social worlds and how different people come to share a
common definition of reality (e.g. labelling theory)

-Assumption: It is people that exist and act; only through their social behavior that society can come
into being at all. Society is ultimately created, maintained, and changed by the social interaction of its
members.

l Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (Merton 1968)

(The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior
which makes the originally false conception come true. But the prophet will cite the actual course of events
as proof that he or she was right from the very beginning, hence perpetuating a reign of error.)

Example: How does a person come to be defined as a delinquent in the process?

III. MARXISM (to be discussed in the topic relating to economy and class inequalities)
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