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3 Social Interactionism, Crime and Deviance

11.3
Social Interactionism, Crime and
Deviance

Social Interactionism
Social interactionism views society as created through everyday
interactions; we create symbols that create meanings based on our
interactions with one another. Interactionists would focus on how people
become labelled as deviant and learn how to become criminals through their
interactions with others. 

Labeling theory attributes its origins to French sociologist Émile Durkheim

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Durkheim)  and his 1897 book, 
Suicide (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_(Durkheim_book)) . Durkheim
found that crime is not so much a violation of a penal code as it is an act that
outrages society. He was the first to suggest that deviant labeling satisfies that
function and satisfies society's need to control the behavior.​

Labelling theory argues that some groups or individuals have the power to force
the deviant label on the less powerfully. Thus, deviance is not about the act itself,
but the label that is applied to it. Labels have consequences and can become a
self-fulfilling prophecy as the criminal or deviant label (e.g., ‘problem child) results
in a person acting in ways that confirm this expectation. In the area of criminology,
labelling theory helps us understand how moral rules come to be in society and
how people come to internalize these perceptions in ways that leads them to fulfill
these expectations. There are four key points:
Crime and deviance is socially constructed. Any act only becomes ‘criminal’ or
‘deviant’ if it is socially constructed through consensus, rather than because of any
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‘objective’ reality.
(Negative) labels – of ‘criminal’ or ‘deviant’ are imposed onto the less powerful by
those who have the power to do so.
Labels matter – labels have consequences and can become self-fulling
prophecies.
Limit labels – Initial labels ‘stick’ and can follow people over time and create
conditions by which people have no choice but to engage in more serious acts. We
should make a concerted effort to reduce labels for minor acts to limit the possibility
for ‘deviant careers’. 

(Thompson, 2016)

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(Linden, 2016)

Central to the symbolic interactionist approaches to crime is the deviant career

as individuals move through the stages of one or more deviant identities. The
deviant career is like any career: there are stages through which people in an
occupational sector might move, and this is the same for the deviant career.
People learn criminal behaviour like they learn other kinds of behavoiur. A person
learns to be a more skillful forger or con artist over time, just like a person can
learn to be and then become a better doctor or accountant or store manager.

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There are turning points and important events in people’s lives (and their careers)
that make people more or less likely to continue on that path. Edwin M. Lemert
(1951; 1967) differentiated between primary deviance and secondary
deviance.
Primary deviance: Early in a career, the offender commits deviant acts
infrequently​. These tend not to be serious acts and vary by culture and context. For
example, having a few drinks means something different in Western culture than it
does in other cultures; occassionally smoking marijuana might be a sign of
deviance to some people but it generally doesn’t affect people’s routines or
lifestyles. In this context, people are committing deviant acts but don’t see
themselves as a deviant. They haven’t internalized it.​
Secondary deviance: Deviance becomes a way of life--this is where the individual
accepts the label of deviant and adopts a deviant self-identity that confirms and
stabilizes a deviant lifestyle.

Secondary deviance arises when moral rules and social stigma are

applied against a person, and that application of moral rules and stigma
substantially modify a person’s lifestyle. Being labelled as a thief, murderer, rapist,
etc., and sanctioned for such behaviour, forces the deviant to change his or her
lifestyle (jail, but also probation, or being on parole)​.

Youth Criminal Justice Act Canada

The Youth Criminal Justice Act is, in part, an attempt to balance the rights of
the victim, while reducing the labels that may encourage a ‘deviant career’.
The following are the main principles of the Act:

The Declaration of Principle provides that:

The youth justice system is intended to protect the public by (i) holding
young persons accountable through measures that are proportionate to the
seriousness of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the young
person, (ii) promoting the rehabilitation and reintegration of young persons,
and (iii) supporting crime prevention by referring young persons to
programs or agencies in the community to address the circumstances
underlying their offending behaviour.

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The youth justice system must be separate from the adult system and must
be based on the principle of diminished moral blameworthiness or
culpability.
The youth justice system must reflect the fact that young people lack the
maturity of adults. The youth system is different from the adult system in
many respects: measures of accountability are consistent with young
persons’ reduced level of maturity, procedural protections are enhanced,
rehabilitation and reintegration are given special emphasis, and the
importance of timely intervention is recognized.
Young persons are to be held accountable through interventions that are
fair and in proportion to the seriousness of the offence.
Within the limits of fair and proportionate accountability, interventions
should reinforce respect for societal values; encourage the repair of harm
done; be meaningful to the young person; respect gender, ethnic, cultural
and linguistic differences; and respond to the needs of Aboriginal young
persons and young persons with special requirements.
Youth justice proceedings require a recognition that young persons have
rights and freedoms in their own right and special guarantees of these
rights and freedoms; courtesy, compassion and respect for victims; the
opportunity for victims to be informed and to participate; and that parents
be informed and encouraged to participate in addressing the young
person’s offending behaviour.

(Government of Canada, 2021)

References
Government of Canada (2021). The Youth Criminal Justice Act Summary and Background. Government of Canada.
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/yj-jj/tools-outils/back-hist.html

Lemert, Edwin M. (1951). Social Pathology: A Systematic Approach to the Theory of Sociopathic Behavio.r. New York:
McGraw-Hill.

Lemert, Edwin M. (1967). Human Deviance, Social Problems, and Social Control. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Linden, R. (2016). Chapter 13. In Criminology: A Canadian perspective (8th ed.). (pp. 357–379). Nelson Education. 

Stebbins, R. (2016, February). Interactionist theories.

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Thompson, K. (2016, August 20). The Labelling Theory of Crime.

ReviseSociology. https://revisesociology.com/2016/08/20/labelling-theory-crime-deviance/

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