ot i, The Sociology of Crime and Deviance In this chapter we will explore the sociological study of deviance, which is a broad term that includes all acts that are contrary to society's rules for living. Crime is an example of deviance and is specifically related to breaking the law. We can break society's rules (deviance) but not be guilty of breaking the law - being unkind to others comes to mind. ‘The sociological study of crime and deviance will alert you to the social causes of crime and how those relate to the individual - a relationship we studied in Chapter 1 known as the sociological imagination. It is important to note that among sociologists there are many competing theories about what causes crime or how it can best be studied. Even ‘what is a crime?’ is up for dispute. In Chapter 3 we first looked at the basic principles of sociology, which includes deviance. It will be helpful if you can revise that section (63.2) before beginning this chapter. 1 bE Concepts Related to Crime and Deviance [EEEY Social Order and Social Control Social onder and social control are major sociological concepts which speak about the ‘needs’ of the society. These concepts originated in the dominant Functionalist perspective which sees society as having ‘needs’ which are then satisfied by certain social arrangements. For example, the society creates social institutions (education, health, religion, the justice system) to address the needs they say that a social system must have in order to function effectively. In other words every society ‘must have a justice system to create and maintain social ‘order ~ a fundamental ‘need’ of any society. Crime and deviance are concepts that focus on the disruption of this ‘order (rule-breaking) that in various ways do not allow the society to attend to its needs. Social control refers to ways devised by society to maintain onder. In Chapter 3 you encountered the idea that society exerts cominaints on individuals, These constraints are referred to as sociological principles and one of them is social control. The purpose of ocial controls to maintain social order. Just think about what havoc will reign if large numbers of people decide to stop observing the ‘les’ relating to punctuality, turn-taking in a conversation, table manners and dressing appropriately. These refer to. some of the basic scenarios in social life ~ if any of them ‘were ignored by many persons the ‘order’ in society would be severely disrupted. The arrangements in the society that seek to build social order encourage, at the same time, conformity and ‘consensus. A major claim of Functionalism is that society is based on consensus and would not survive without it ‘because shared understandings about what is important and what is valued help in meeting the needs of the society. As a result, the government and people have a stake, through their everyday behaviours, in constantly (¢e)-creating the attitudes, beliefs, norms and behaviours accepted in that society. In this way they ‘model’ the norms for the benefit of new members. Social control is the avenue through which a society seeks to encourage consensus and discourage dissent. Social control is necessary to build social onder. The agents and methods of social control inchide the processes of primary and secondary socialisation that indoctrinate and educate younger members into the typical norms, beliefs and behaviours expected in that society. Positive and negative sanctions, as well as, informal and formal sanctions, are employed to exert socal pressure on groups and individuals to conform to society's norms (3.2.6). Box 11.1 on page 352 shows examples of positive and negative sanctions, The social institutions of the family (Chapter 6), religion (Chapter 7) and education (Chapter 8), together with the justice system and the media, are powerful Scanned with CamScanner: INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENT ISSUES CRS CERO Crt Cer ian Examples of positive sanctions (rewards): ‘+ in families and among friends: praise, incentives, jpproval, honour, appreciation, admi (informal sanctions); in schools: praise, awards, honour, approval, acclamation, certificates, credentials, citations, prizes and medals attesting to achievement and ‘merit (informal and formal sanctions); in the workplace: recognition, salary increases, promotions, incentives, positions of leadership (formal sanctions); in the criminal justice system: parole, reduced sentences, and detention at minimum security facilities (formal sanctions); between societies: increased co-operation via collective trade agreements and multi-lateral ‘arrangements (formal sanctions). agents of social control. Much of their power lies in how completely they socialise members into accepting the importance of sanctions as a consequence for observing the written and unwritten rules of the society. However, socialisation is not an ‘even’ processand some persons may bbe more thoroughly socialised than others. For example, whilst respect for persons is a cardinal virtue upheld by most social institutions, there are other messages also being sent via the media (c.g. that justice is selective, oF it is not fair to all). The intent of primary and secondary processes of socialisation is to maintain social order and ‘control but in reality this is not a uniform experience for all individuals. EEE): Deviance To fully understand the concept of deviance, you have to have a good grasp of what is meant by socal norms (Chapter 3). Norms are social constructs prescribing behaviours, so they may be peculiar to a specific society and culture. For example, leaving home when one is no longer considered a minor is a ‘norm’ in many developed ‘countries. In the Caribbean, members of a family may not leave home until much older and may even bring their partners into the family home so that they don't Examples of negative sanctions (punishments): at school when one is scolded, spoken to in a sarcastic manner, given a detention or extra ‘work (informal sanctions); suspension, expulsion or calling in parents (formal sanctions); ‘amongst friends, family and the community when one is treated harshly via insults, gossip, threats, name calling, ostracism, and all types of physical and emotional abuse (informal sanctions); Jn a group or organisation one can be fined, publicly disgraced or expelled from the group (formal sanctions); in the criminal justice system a person could bbe punished via warnings, community service, probation, fines, imprisonment, and execution {formal sanctions); between societies there may be trade ‘embargoes, blockades, travel bans, declarations of war (formal sanctions). leave at all. The idea of a social construct is easy to see here ~ no one ever laid down the law that this is what family life should be like in either context. But the ways of life in each culture lead to some strong beliefs and values about what a family is, how children are regarded and how children should regard their elders. When a behaviour is vested with strong positive values to the extent that it becomes expected, we see a norm 1g socially constructed. In the minds of people in that society, behaving in any other way is a cause for concern, ‘comment and even intervention However, society is not static. Caribbean society has been strongly influenced by the foreign mass media which continually portray lifestyles in developed countries. Thus, the idea of young people leaving home to live nearer their place of work, for instance, while not considered ‘ideal’, now has general acceptance. A social construct, such asa norm, can undergo change and it may be held strongly or weakly. Deviance refers to the breaking of social norms ~ going against the rules for behaviour in a society. It too is a social construct ~ it lives and has its strength in the minds of the people. Homosexuality was once regarded as extremely deviant, against the laws of God (and in some countries it was illegal). The norms regarding Scanned with CamScannerCHAPTER 11: T! homosexuality however changed over time to see it as a form of mental illness. Today, the more neutral position ~ that it is a sexual orientation which people choose or towards which they are naturally inclined ~ is struggling to gain acceptance. All three social constructs of homosexuality co-exist today but, the normative view in the Caribbean is still that it is a deviant form of behaviour. Box 11.2 lays out some concepts of deviance in more detail. Peseta An interesting aspect of deviance is that the rules do not apply equally to everyone. This underscores its social nature. Here are some examples © A poor person caught shoplifting is reganded with pity or condemnation but someone like Wynona Ryder’s exploits are treated with excitement and even glee. In other words, her glamour and high status seem to whittle down the stigma attached to her shoplifting habit. ‘Sometimes we see evidence that wealthy persons ‘or those of a dominant ethnicity, who are accused ‘of major forms of deviance such as murder or rape, go fire because of the expertise of expensive lawyers. In co-educational schools, while girls are merely reprimanded boys receive more severe punishment for the same offences. Hence, there is a gender divide in attributing deviance. Working against gir, though, are the gender norms associated with sexuality ~ bboys are hailed for their sexual conquests whereas girls are harassed and called names if they exhibit similar behaviours oth ee ty 1. Primary and secondary deviance ‘These concepts were developed by labelling theorists (511.24). Primary deviance refers to acts of law-breaking that everyone commits ~ a variety of acts in all manner of circumstances. Secondary deviance ‘occurs when persons take on the mantle of the label attached to them and persist in deviant behaviours using the label as the reason why they continue to be deviant. If, for example, a teenager becomes involved in stealing, that is primary deviance. Howe when that teenager, through interactions with police officers, social workers and ‘others, understands her/himself to be a ‘juvenile delinquent, then subsequent acts ‘of deviance will arise from how s/he now self-identifies. The label then is powerful enough to convince someone that s/he is such a person. 2. Legal and illegal deviance These concepts cal attention to the laws of the land and places emphasis on the act, not the person. Legal deviance refers to an act which breaks social norms and standards but, isnot against the law, €.g. divorce. Illegal deviance describes an act which breaks society's norms and standards and is also against the law. Murder, bigamy, rape, theft, and assault fit this category Very common are the norms which call into, question the behaviours of older persons who may go out dancing regularly, or maintain a fashionable appearance or have a romantic relationship ~ and there are gender differences here as well The social nature of deviance is reflected in other ways. For example, bunjee jumping is a high-risk sport and poses much danger to the individual but it does not break any rules; smoking has been linked time and time again to cancer both in the smoker and those who live with him and her and inhale smoke (passive smoking) but it is not illegal (only restricted). On the other hand masturbating, burping in public, trunsvestism (men dressing up in women’s clothes), participation in nudist beach parties, and tattooing one’s body are all relatively harmless acts but are viewed negatively on the part of society and may even be strongly condemned, Scanned with CamScannerHence, the sociological definition of deviance stresses the social context, that is, acts considered to be against prevailing norms and rules in a particular society. This leads tus to another significant aspect of deviance. Those rules that construe someone or certain groups as deviants were ‘aeated by the elites or those holding power in a society, whether social, political or religious. Consider these two examples: 1. Students in school who alter the uniform or who do not wear the correct uniform are penalised because they have broken the school rules and are therefore deviant. If there was no uniform in the first place such acts of deviance would not arise and these same students would be considered to be law-abiding. (unless they were deviant in other respects too!).. 2. In the 19th and early 20th centuries in Trinidad & Tobago the Spiritual Baptist religion was outlawed by the colonial government. Members were periodically rounded up and jailed for performing their religious rites. These laws were repealed in March 1951 and today there is a national holiday (30 March) celebrating. their contribution to religious life in the country. The social context of deviance is also important because punishment acts as a deterrent. By dealing with law-breakers in a very public way, e.g. in newspaper and television reports and open trials, the society is making, important statements about staying away from deviant acts, In the past this was accomplished through public hangings and beatings and putting offenders in the stocks in full view of everyone. According to Durkheim, deviance has partto play in the maintenance of social order because the publicising, of deviance and the punishments associated with it serve to convince the general membership of society to observe the consensus that brought the laws into existence in the first place. Durkheim thought that deviance was, functional for the society because it served to bring the law-abiding citizens closer together in denouncing deviant acts. In short, deviance helped to strengthen social solidarity. The function of deviance then is to help members of society to know what the boundaries of acceptable behaviour are. Among sociologists, there is little agreement as to the nature of crime. Whilst one can define crime as an illegal act, this is not helpful in clarifying its nature. However, crimes are so diverse that the only common denominator ‘may well be that they are illegal. In addition, equating crime with an illegal act brings up a whole host of possible situations (contexts) that questions the label ‘legal/illegal’. For example, there may be extenuating factors involved, which effectively force someone to commit an illegal act. The agencies of protection and control such as the police services may have been derelict in their duties and assigned blame wrongfully, or did not observe correct legal procedures. In addition, the perpetrator and victim ‘may have both played a role in a criminal act such as a fight, or there may be a victimless crime, as in prostitution. As a result, itis sometimes only possible to say that an illegal act or a crime has been committed but blame or guilt remains unresolved. To the sociologist, this does not further an understanding of ‘the nature of crime’. ‘A true sociological explanation of the nature of crime would take into account the complexity of the concept. For example, it would or should address these issues: © Not all crimes attract the same level of censure, e.g. driving over the speed limit isa criminal act but does not attract as much condemnation as, say, burglary. ‘© Crime is time- and place-dependent, eg. during the era of Prohibition (1919-33) in the United States, it was a criminal offence to manufacture, transport or sell alcohol. © Crime isa social construct: what dominant groups regard as criminal’ will define the acts that are universally condemned in that society, e.g. the illegal acts committed by Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr.and Mahatma Ghandi were only ‘illegal’ in the eyes of those holding power in the society at the time. © Many crimes involve hurting and harming others. However, hurt and harm exist in the family (abuse, patriarchy) as well as in the workplace (selective hiring and firing procedures) and may not be illegal. © Crimes are immoral acts, and the laws against them are upheld by most religions. Yet, in the past (and today) some religions allowed practices that brought harm to others @ If no public authority body exists that can create a body of law, oF an agency, such as the police, to cenforce laws, then crimes cannot occur. Only the state (its judicial and protective agencies) can confer the status of ‘criminal’ on a person. {We tend to have an individualist focus when discussing crime, but whole regimes can be considered ‘criminal’. After World War II many German leaders and officers from the armed forces were prosecuted for their crimes against Jews during the Nuremberg ‘Trials. Later, the International Criminal Court and other agencies were created to bring criminals to justice, particularly leaders accused of ‘crimes against ‘humanity’ or atrocities, who could not be tried in their own states. Scanned with CamScannerCHAPTER 11: It should not be surprising then that no explanation of the nature of crime could encompass all these varied attributes. As a result, the study of crime has become compartmentalised in various ways. For example, the ‘war against crime’ has tended to focus on the agen ial control the police, the law courts, the penal system and the government. A whole discipline has emerged, known as criminology, which examines law-making, law breaking and reasons for criminal behaviour. Their focus is on ‘what cau me?’ as opposed to ‘what is crime? Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990, p.15) attempted to draw these two ideas together in the following definition. Crimes are acts of force or fraud undertaken in pursuit of selfinterest. Here we see an idea that links the nature of crime to reasons for committingit. Self-interest is usually dominant in acts of crime. It means then that, sociologically, the poor man who broke into the pharmacy to steal medicine for his sick wife has not necessarily committed a crime (This is why we have law courts to determine the level of wilt of the accused) This is an attempt to define crime that does not ignore the offender. The definition can hold up for many varieties of crime such as assault robbery, murder, extortion, kidnapping, and white collar crimes. Force or fraud may not be involved as in speeding, litterin, bigamy or praedial larceny, but they do involve self-interest en eee) ee eee Geers Nov ibe eee) Whatever may be the problems of definition concept of ‘crime’ is Official compiled by well-established in the society relevant and used to identify and explain Crime statistics reve describe certain trends general trends the world over THE SOCIOLOGY OF CRIME AND DEVIANCE Gender: Fewer women commit and/or are convicted of crimes than men, Some explanations for this include gender socialisation which emphasises ladylike’ and conforming behaviours for girls and a lower level of control and supervision for boys The male as breadwinner too, is a socialised role that predisposes men towards crime in order to fulfil their obligations under conditions of unemployment ot underemployment. Women more than men however are likely to be charged for ps = Generational: Most street cr robberies assaults) are committed by young males and juvenile delinquency is airly widespread social roblem, re much cond eee eee (Older persons are less likely to be involved in vio crimes, unless they are life course offenders (or career criminals), See Box 11.3 for more information on the gender imbalance in youth offending. = Social status: Those with money and power in the society (.e. persons of a higher social standing and men more than women) are more likely to be involved in white collar and corporate crimes gery, insider Such offenders tend (embezzlement, extortion, briber ‘trading, and money launde tw be older males Another interesting aspect of crime put forward by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) is th ordinary, ic. that we tend to look at ¢ fusions about it from the media, where it is often the Scanned with CamScanner11.3 Male and Female Youth Criminality ‘A study of crime in Caribbean countries (ECLAC, 2008) notes that there is an increased involvement ‘of young people, being both victims and perpetrators of violent crime. most depraved and brutal acts which get reported and highlighted. Crime however goes on every day in a host ‘of mundane and ordinary circumstances. Crimes tend to be spontancous and result in little gain for the offender (or loss for the victim. Available data are consistent with the vie that y crime requires little in the way of effort, planning, preparation, or skill (Getefedson & Hirsch, 1990, p17) ‘© Burglaries, robberies, pickpocketing and shoplifting, for example, are usually crimes of opportunity and ‘occur every day, more in urban than rural districts ‘They do not result in much gain to the wrongdoer. © The embezzler or the thief of office supplies and money cannot go undetected if s/he takes large sums ‘or much in the way of equipment/goods. Hence, they do not take much. © Robbery, rape or assault with a weapon is designed to reduce resistance and does not require special skills oF knowledge. = Even when a thief nets expensive appliances and electronic goods or jewellery, the problem then becomes how to make an exchange for cash. Usually Gender socialisation is at the root of most arguments that attempt to explain the differences in criminality between males and females. Socialisation patterns in the Caribbean allow for the possibility that males have more opportunities ‘to commit crimes than females. They are out of the house more and can be out late at night without attracting undue attention. Male wrongdoing tends ‘to be more physical, more public and more visible. Consequently, where the media and the justice system are concerned, crimes, especially youth crimes, are dominated by male offenders. Young females are more likely to be sent for psychiatric assessment and not appear in the crime statistics. ‘Asa result girls have been largely overlooked in the youth justice system, and that is largely because crime is a social construct. We see the role of perceptions and stereotypes in how the justice system regards females/males as perpetrators. However, today, there is an increase in crimes ‘committed by girlshvomen that appear in official police statistics. the thief is ripped off and has to settle for a fraction’s worth of the goods. © When robberies are “successful” (a large amount of money is taken) usually the offenders cannot repeat that feat for some time and must lie low until they think it is safe Other than showing that crime does not pay, Gottfredson & Hirschi (1990) are pointing to the reality that, every day, in myriad ways, a larger cross-section of the population than we realise is engaged in committing crimes from petty larceny and traffic violations to drug use and tax evasion. The typical image of crime in the Caribbean is that of ‘serious’ crimes ~ murder, violent robberies, rape, and kidnapping. But in sociological thinking, deviant and criminal acts exist along a continuum. As a result, self-interest may be pursued to a certain point beyond which there is too much risk for the offender and some form of self-control takes over. Of course, every day people cross this boundary which indicates how ordinary and widespread crime is. Delinquency Delinquency refers to wrongdoing (or deviance) and therefore to all acts in social life where an offence has Scanned with CamScannerbeen committed. If someone does not comply with an obligation, such as paying her/his mortgage, that is a delinquent or deviant act. We can be ‘delinquent’ in many ways, for example being careless or neglectful, persistently late for appointments, or procrastinating. Delinquency can also refer to serious crimes but, to a large extent, the term tends to be used in two instances: 1. For misdemeanours ~ that is, minor offences such as being drunk and disorderly, using obscene language, stealing, fighting, trafic violations, vandalism. These acts warrant, in most instances, only probation or a light fine. 2. For juveniles who commit offences. These can be scrious offences or misdemeanours that are committed by young persons, mainly teenagers and young adults (often referred to as juvenile delinquents. Much sociological theorising has been concerned with explaining group or collective delinquency of boys and gangs (§11.2.6), Delinquency also refers to the commission of offences by youth which are not considered offences for adults ‘Status offences, as they are called, inchude under- age sexual intercourse, running away from home, consuming alcohol, wandering, being uncontrollable at home and immoral conduct (§11.3.2 focuses on juvenile delinquency in the Caribbean). EEE) Recividism In 2011, Jamaica's recidivism rate stood at 26% while Trinidad & Tobago’s was as high as 55%. Some reasons for such high recidivism rates are: © Detection rates by the police are low ~ around 30% in the Caribbean, with the conviction rate for serious crimes at 10%. © Most prisons are overcrowded and violent places where to survive inmates have to be aggressive and violent themselves. ‘© The enormous backlog in cases before the courts and the other inefficiencies in the criminal justice system ‘means that persons remain in prisons much longer than they should and are continually subject to this kind of violence. 1m Prisons are not carrying out their rehabilitation function of helping inmates to be successfully re-introduced into the society as law-abiding citizens. © Governments and prison authorities seem to prefer to institute harsher punishments rather than try alternatives to incarceration such as strengthening community policing and building literacy skill as well 2s providing vocational taining. |& Someone who has a prison record finds great difficulty in securing employment. Profiting The term profiling refers to procedures used by crime detection officers to record and analyse how criminals behave, so that they are better able to predict, with some degree of certainty, that persons with those traits are likely to commit certain crimes. It can be a highly sophisticated science relying on the use of diverse data to come up with a credible lead. However, when used by law enforcement officers based only on their experience of who normally commits crimes, it usually results in stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination, leading to wrongful arrests and often to complaints of police brutality. section introduced the major concepts "associated with crime and deviance and how they are related to society's functions of ensuring social All societies are concerned with the issues of crime and deviance because they have the potential to destabilise social life. Consequently, such issues have been closely studied by sociologists and others (summarised in Figure MLL, page 367). ‘To better understand the various perspectives and theories on crime and deviance considered in thissection, it is important that you have a thorough understanding of some basic concepts (Activity 11.3, page 358). iia ‘ Early studies on crime and deviance sought to show that criminals were biologically different from the rest of the Scanned with CamScannerTos ibe eee} Theft of agricultural products from garden plots and estates The attempt or threat to inflict injury on another person, with an ability to carry out the threat. Breaking into a building or illegal entry into the building with the intention of committing a crime. Receiving/otfering money or something that is valuable to a public official intending to influence him/her in an official capacity Breaking into a computer system to gather data for malicious purposes; When those who have previously served sentences of imprisonment, re-offend. Setting up a duplicate of a web site to entice users into giving up confidential information Taking or attempting to take valuables from another person by threats, intimidation, and force. Criminals follow a set of values/habits which become their signature that police can se to help identify them Taking someone's valuables without that person's knowledge, without any threats, imidation, or force. Identifying similarities in persons attacked by a criminal so that the police could get a sense of the patterns used to target certain individuals Extortion When someone who works for a financial institution uses non-public information for his/her own profit Larceny Victimology Mis-using funds entrusted to someone for an agreed purpose An offence where the will of the owner of something valuable is overpowered Phishing Bodily harm to another person willfully and intentionally population and that heredity explained their behaviour. This view is called the pathological perspective in criminality. and f paren i Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) thought that some persons were born with a predisposition to crime based ‘on their biological inheritance. They even had bodily ‘characteristics that marked thems different, asnot having, evolved in the normal way. In his study of criminals within the Italian penal system, he found that they suffered from ill health and had growth abnormalities. The elites at the time agreed with his thesis because it diverted attention from the social problems afflicting Italy in the 19th century and made crime into an abnormal ‘event committed by abnormal people. Critics pointed out, however that Lambroso’s logic and methodology were flawed. By choosing prisoners he was limiting himself to Scanned with CamScannerthe poorest of the population who would tend to have stunted growth and nutritional deficiencies. Their main criticism however was that he ignored the role of social factors in criminality. Thomas Kelly has studied correlations between neurological disorders and offending, He based his claims ‘on the biological-medical model which regards disease as the major factor explaining criminality. He cited ‘examples of criminals who had injuries or malformations of their brains. Critics point out that physical and physiological abnormalities could also be due to poverty and malnutrition. Diana Fishbein linked anti-social behaviours to biological effects caused by hormone imbalances, drug abuse, alcoholism, nutrition and injury. Her thesis is that anti-social and criminal behaviour are almost always related to an underlying medical/biological cause. Sociologists criticise these theories as reductionist in that they attempt to explain all criminal acts everywhere in terms of a biological malfunction. Contemporary sociologists readily agree that genetic factors may be at the root of some criminal acts but in the majority lof cases crimes are committed by ordinary individuals who look ‘normal’. Even the argument about a genetic predisposition towards crime has to address the idea that the societal context in which someone grows up (nurture) may well overcome their biological make-up (nature) EZ] Furctionalism Functionalism seeks explanations for group behavi how the social system is structured. If there is some sort of tension, disequilibrium or lack of harmony in how cach social institution is functioning or if there is some irregularity in how they interrelate, then Functionalists believe that something deviant is at work. Crime will therefore be seen not in terms of an individual, say, and. his or her need or inclination to steal, but rather in terms of society not working 2s it should. Functionalism tends to emphasise what causes crime and deviance in general and what could be done to reduce it. In the following, account, be on the lookout for these characteristics of the Functionalist perspective Anomie and Strain Theory Emile Durkheim and his colleagues, writing in 1897 described a phenomenon Durkheim called the collective conscience (§3.2.6)and said that social stability depended con how closely an individual was adapted to the tenets, held in the collective conscience. They observed that in moder society traditional ties, bonds and community networks were being eroded by the conditions of urban living. Individuals operated for the most part as autonomous beings and because of that the collective conscience was weakened. In other words, the moral force of the society was being diluted because people no longer seemed willing to honour their obligations and focused instead on self interest. Such individualism, according to Durkheim, induced a sense of anxiety and disorientation as people operated without the traditional norms and standards of behaviour. Anomie is the term he used to describe this sense of nonmlessness in urban life — when persons fele that there were few rules, norms and standards to guide them. He felt that this was a precondition for crime and deviance because it meant that individuals no longer fel integrated into the society. There is no society known where a more or less developed criminality is not found under different forms. No people exists whose morality is not daily infringed upon. We must therefore call crime necessary ‘and declare that it cannot be non-existent, that the fundamental conditions of social organisation, as they ‘are understood, logically imply it. {Durbin tl 2010, p. 362) When Functionalists speak of something being functional for the society, they mean that it encourages consensus and social solidarity, those things that hold the society together. In the quote, Durkheim is saying that ‘crime is expected because of how society is organised. However, crime that was out of control, or increasing, was dysfunctional for the society. Robert Merton adopted the term anomie and used it to describe the strain felt by those members who could not conform to the norms expected of them. For example, the ideal of material success (the American Dream) was a generalised social and cultural expectation (a norm) in American society. Merton's strain theory of crime and deviance states that those who could not achieve success through legitimate means experienced social strain which encouraged them to innovate and adapt, sometimes leading to deviant and criminal behaviours. Merton tended to focus on members of the lower social classes who were experiencing strain because of unequal ‘opportunities This theory shows that all social norms and cultural practices are not necessarily functional for the society. In accordance with the Functionalist perspective, Merton's, strain theory relates deviance and crime to the social structure. Strain comes about because of the lack of fit between the goals of the society and the availability of means to get there for those in a particular social location. Scanned with CamScannerGrime and deviance are an adaptation or response to ’s unfavourable social position. You can also see that the notion of consensus is strong — everyone accepts such cultural goals to the point that if their aspirations are blocked anomie results. Later on, other theorists continued to add to strain theory and the concept of anomie. They critiqued a strictly structural account of the causes of deviance and attempted to address certain concerns that Merton had not expressly tackled, namely why some people commit crime and others do not, how to best explain group participation in crime, as well as criminal acts which are not related to economic opportunity. Theorists focusing on subcultures (§11.2.5) sought to provide some responses to these concerns Control Theory Control theories underscore the tendency in human nature to commit deviant or criminal acts in the absence of controls, Controls i clude learning values and norms Which emphasise the collective (as opposed to individual) good and the need for more coercive measures, if necessary, through lw enforcement. Some of this theorising is Functionalist. For example, Durkheim felt that there would always be crime and deviance in the society because there would always be persons who valued their own desires over the commitment to abide by the rules of the society. ‘Travis Hirschi thcorised that deviance is likely to ‘occur when a person's attachment to a group is weak. ‘The social bonds integrating that person into the society have become fragile and damaged. Those so most people do what is expected of them, because of their close ties to significant others who expect them to obey social rules. Contrary to other sociological theories of crime and deviance, control theorist focus more on why people do not commit crimes rather than on why they do. Conformity, obedience and good behaviour result from social control, the social bonds which connect people to each other. Belonging to a family, a church, a community, a workplace, a group of friends, and other associations, induces the formation of social bonds, Later, the theory was modified to become self-control theory (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) based on empirical evidence that most crimes are unplanned and depend a great deal on opportunity and circumstance. These theorists felt that the most significant variable in predicting whether a crime or a deviant act would take place is a person's level of self-control. Although this theory looks to individual characteristics for the causes of crime, it is well within the Functionalist tradition in that it sees consensus around established norms as the mark of a healthy society. Further, it assumes that people act out of a set of stable characteristics which can predict or determine whether they will commit deviant or criminal acts. People who lack self-control will tend to be impulsive, insensitive, physical (as opposed to mental), risk- taking, short-sighted, and nonverbal, and they will tend therefore to engage in criminal and analogous acts. Since these traits can be identified prior to the age of responsibilty for crime, since there is considerable tendency for these traits to come together in the same people, and since the traits tend to persist through life, it seems reasonable to consider them as comprising a stable construct useful in the explanation of crime. (Gotgreson& Hirsch, 1990, pp. 90-91) discussed the theorists influenced Functionalist perspective. Anomie and _ strain are two key concepts throughout the different approaches. On the whole, the accounts are structural, seeing the source of deviance in ‘the society itself. Underlying Functionalism is a ‘concern about order - that individualism and other ‘subversive factors such as crime and deviance do not develop to the point that it affects the stability, of society. The theorists focused on certain well- defined groups (particularly the lower social classes) ‘to examine how their culture contributed towards criminality. The emphasis on values reflects the Functionalist belief in values consensus as the building block of the society. A persistent critique, particularly from Interactionists, is that Functionalist ‘theorising tends to over predict behaviour. ‘Marxism Conflict theory has many approaches. Traditional Marxism reflects the theories of Marx and his followers. Neo-Marxism uses a Marxist analysis of social life but includes methods and ideas from other perspectives Within neo-Marxism there are different emphases, for example Critical, Radical and Subcultural perspe: Traditional Marxism Karl Marx's (1867) analysis of capitalism and how it exploited workers showed that capitalism was the source of erime = it was criminegenic: Scanned with CamScanner{© Inherent in the nature of capitalism is the potential for crime and deviance to arise. Workers are systematically exploited and impoverished. Theft becomes a means of survival ‘& Frustration at the powerlessness in their lives leads workers to periodic instances of violence. Crime is a rational outlet for the inequalities they suffer. {© The social institutions of the land (the superstructure) support the elites who dominate the economy (the substructure) The legal and judicial systems are designed to serve the interests of the capitalists. Contrary to Functionalism, Marxism says that laws are not based on values consensus but on social control. This is inevitable when one group is being deliberately blocked by another from attaining social mobility. Laws therefore preserve the inequalities in society: Neo-Marxism Neo-Marxism describes the views of those today who employ a Marxist perspective but go beyond a strict focus on the economy and try to evaluate how the laws and state institutions reinforce the inequality suffered by workers. In some instances they employ a wider Conflict perspective as well. Conflict theorists regard groups in society as being in competition and conflict for material goods, rights and freedoms. The balance of power and privilege in the society determines who gets the larger share. David Gordon was of the view that capitalism encourages competition in the society because itis based ‘on maximising profits. Under such conditions crime and deviance become rational means that persons can ‘use to attain social goals. Crime is inevitable in capitalist societies and can be found in both the working class and ‘more affluent groups. However, the majority of persons who are charged by the police are from the working class and this indicates a systematic attempt fo criminalise that class. Law enforcement targets individuals, who bear the burden of police harassment, arrests and imprisonment. But it is really the capitalist sytem of economic relations that keeps workers in a position of want. William Chambliss and Milton Mankoff are Conflict theorists. who focus specifically on the inequalities arising when the police and the justice system selectively enforce laws. In the United States laws upholding civil rights receive much less attention from the police than those having to do with drugs or homicide. There is a distinct association of street crimes with the lower classes and these tend to be actively pursued by the law. At the same time there seems to be a reluctance to enforce equity legislation because the authorities are mindful that they will run foul of powerful corporations. The powerless are easier targets to prosecute. ‘These theorists also make the point that laws dealing with the protection of private property play a major role in capitalist society. Such laws are geared to protect the interests of the wealthy because the poor seldom own much property. Laws therefore are a reflection of what is important to the ruling classes. The study of crime and deviance in the Marxist tradition treats with how the lites manage to criminalise the underclass through the selective enforcement of laws, Lauren Snider made the point that the emphasis on profit-making in capitalism even lures those in the higher social strata into criminal activity. In white collar and corporate crimes uch as insider tradingand fraud enormous sums are stolen, yet there has been a reluctance to charge and imprison members of the higher social classes for these crimes, while the police, the legal system and the ‘media continue to treat murder, break-ins, theft, and so fon as the most serious crimes in the society. This criminalises the poor compared to higher status groups. Snider extends this analysis to corporate crime (see Box 11.4 for an example). Her eritics however point to the fact that similar disasters to Bhopal have occurred in communist societies (eg. the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, in the then Soviet Union) and that, especially in developing countries, health and safety standards are poor. In addition, in the developed world there is much legislation on worker safety. Nevertheless, Marxists respond by saying that simply having the laws is an example of false consciousness since in actual fact the rules are flouted with impunity or incur only a small fine. ee ker nd ‘The US multinational company Union Carbide set up shop at Bhopal in india where pollution laws were minimal. The 1984 leak at their pesticide plant killed ‘over 200 persons, leaving many others with chronic health problems. To date no charges have been laid. The implication is that the urge to maximise profits inherent in the capitalist system encourages business ‘owners to jeopardise the health and safety ‘of workers and there is a reluctance to bring them to justice. Scanned with CamScanner362 EZ] Interpretive Theory ‘The theorists listed below are important contributors to Labelling theory where crime and deviance are concerned and they operate from a Symbolic Interaction perspective Gee §7.2.3) © Charles Horton Cooley put forward the idea of the looking-glassseif which theorises that how we see ‘ourselves is a reflection of how we think others see us We may not have much confirmation that this is how. others sce us but how we believe others see us is a strong motivation for our sel-beliefs and actions. 1 Edwin Lemert was the first to make the distinction between the concepts of primary and secondary deviance (Box 11.2). His theory outlines how deviance is socially constructed and is a consequence of social reaction = Howard Becker contributed greatly to expanding the understanding of Labelling theory and Social Reaction Theory: Becker wanted to underscore the idea that there is a relationship between deviants and those who so label them and this relationship in turn influences the processes by which devi sce themselves and their behaviours in the context of | certain negative labels. To Becker labelling something as a ‘deviant’ act or someone as ‘deviant’ are matters of socal construction. So, deviance does not necessarily arise out of the act itself (note, that even killing is condoned or expected in war) but is created by the rrule-makers in society: Power is alo an important clement in defining something or someone as deviant @ David Matza studied delinquent youth and raised several issues, provoking a critique of Functionalist and neo-Marxist perspectives. He was sceptical of findings that suggested that delinquents had a distinct subculture and therefore had different values from groups in mainstream society: The boys in his (1964) study “drifted” into delinquent behaviours through boredom or being Jed by friends. It was in no way a permanent status and they could easily drift back into conformist behaviours as their social context changed. In Interpretive theory the idea of agency means that the individual may den that the act was so bad, or they may condemn the victim as someone who deserved such treatment, or even rationalise that it was the right thing to do. Through such mental manoeuvres delinquents are able to look upon themselves as normal’ members of society. EES] | subcultural Approaches Functionalist Approach Mainstream structural-functionalist thinking on anomie and crime and deviance changed direction. when INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENT I sociologists moved away from the assumption that all petsons and groups in the society shared similar values and beliefs. By recognising the existence of subcultures, they realised that values could differ markedly within the population; and that certain subcultures within economic groups were more likely to be involved in crime than other groups Edwin Sutherland in White Collar Crime (1949) proposed the Differential Association theory which showed that groups learned their environment and this ‘was a normal response in social life. Where deviance was a way of life, as in certain subcultures, delinquent belief, valies and outlooks (culture) could be transmitted from ‘one generation to the next via social learning. [n response to train, persons who lived among deviants and criminals ‘would most likely lear skills that allowed them to become fully fledged members of the deviant subculture. Sutherland offered this explanation to the puzzle of why some persons became deviant and others did not. Critics believed that the matter was still unresolved because there were persons in delinquent subcultures who did not become delinquent. He however was one of the first persons to reject the notion that criminal sub-cultures ‘were only to be found among the poor and pioneered the study of white collar crime (§11.3.4). Although belonging to the Functionalist perspective, his work includes aspects of the Interpretive perspective in his use of ethnographic methods and the emphasis on the processes through which deviance was learnt, Interpretive theorists took up his ideas later on but gave agency a more central role as Sutherland's propositions tended to be prescriptive. The Functionalist nature of his propositions is seen in the deterministic way in which site or location is seen to influence the individual and that those influences could vary according to a prescribed set of phenomena (frequency and duration of contact, for example). Albert Cohen, in Delinquent Boys (1955) studied delinquent subcultures and addressed two of the issues that Merton left unresolved — firstly, that some groups did not seem to be motivated by economic goals. Vandalism is a case in point, Basing his theory on status frustration, he found that lower-class boys felt looked down upon by the rest of society. They had little status which caused strain because they felt that were being assessed according to middle-class values and standards (language, clothes, academic achievement, and material wealth) which they could not meet. A consequence of this was anomie and the development of an alternative system of values {@ subculture). This subculture gave them status among their own peers and in their own community through competition and delinquent acts that prized aggression Scanned with CamScannerid violence. In this way they earned respect. Much ‘of Cohen's work was done in schools, studying how delinquency served as the means not only to attain status, in a group but also to hit back at schools, teachers and the Wider society through seemingly senseless acts of violence and destruction. Secondly, Cohen's subcultural theory of status frustration also showed how crime could be committed by a collective ~ Merton's strain theory was of a more general nature. Critics though fele chat the theory \was not inclusive enough to explain why some lower-class youth adopted mainstream values even though they could not aspire to all that a middle-class lifestyle involved. Walter Miller agreed with Cohen that there was a delinquent subculture among the lower lasses, but he felt that it arose from the particular norms and values into which they were socialised. This was quite a reversal from the usual functionalist position that the society was held together by values consensus. Miller was saying (1958) that the working class had a different value system altogether from that of the dominant groups in the society and that delinquency arises out of the nature of the lower class subculture itself. He identified six focal concems or typical value positions of the working class: 1 Smartness ~ being streetwise and shrewd; also needing to look good (or smart) ‘Toughness ~ masculine or macho qualities (womanising, drinking, sport); Autonomy ~ resentful of any authority figures (bosses, teachers, the polic Excitement fan and enjoyment now as opposed to deferred gratification: Trouble everyday interactions; violence and aggression are necessary in 6 Fate ~ life is what you get, make the most of it; luck determines life chances This mix of concerns, according to Miller, led to a ind crime as normal. This of previous Functionalist and culture that accepts deviance theory went against t theorising because it did not see the origins of crim deviance as structural but as specifically cultural. Howe his contribution is in the Functionalist tradition se by Durkheim and Merto because itis seeking the of crime or delinquency as they relate to certain social m classes. Critics, however, point out that many middle class individuals hold some of these focal concerns w members of the lower class do not. Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin accepted Merton's basic premise of consensus (§11.2.2) where cultural goals were concerned — that groups and motivated by mon ary reward and this hieved through legitimate and illegitimate means. However, they were critical of Merton who did not give sufficient thought to the processes by which a person would tu system of social stratification a large extent the opportunity to achieve wealth and high status is blocked from persor 0 a life of crime and deviance. The of lower social class and those of fewer means. However, criminal subcultures, exist and provide a means whereby disenchanted youth could learn about crime and attain a career in crime. In working-class communities, successful criminals may become local heroes and role models. Someone does not just turn to delingu as Merton. suggested, but delinquency results from the attractions of an already existing akernative sub-culture where icy because of anomie, the strain of legitimate blocked opportunity structures could be re his Cloward and Ohlin also critiqued Cohen's contribution that the school played a ‘major role in cr ng juvenile delinquency. Scanned with CamScannerTei be aes Emile Durkheim Robert Cloward & Lloyd Ohlin Walter Miller Albert Cohen Robert Merton ‘Neo-Marxist Approaches ‘The neo-Marxist field of subcultural studies in crime and deviance sought to correct the Marxist tendency to ignore the role of individual interaction in social life. While theorists maintained the traditional Marxist stance that capitalism creates a society with inherent class conflicts and inequalities, they rejected the close association normally made between being alienated and oppressed and committing crime. Sub-cultural approaches tried to avoid the charge of being overly deterministic and to make a place for individual action and choice in their theories. ‘® Paul Cohen (1972) studied youth culture in the East End of London in the 1970s and showed how. class struggle was evident in how the youth chose to present themselves. The ‘deviant’ groups, known, as skinheads and mods, actively and deliberately rejected mainstream capitalist values such as striving for education credentials and seeking a white collar job. While Cohen saw this as resistance implicit in class struggle, he did not think it was an automatic or a general response. Some individuals chose which groups (and there were others) to identify with depending on how attracted they were to the symbolic means used by that group to represent their tensions at the subordinate class position they occupied. The mods affected an affluent image, reflecting something of a mix between their parental values and the lifestyle of a socially mobile, ‘white collar worker. In a poor community they sought to look different, as if they had ‘prospects’ ‘The skinheads emphasised their traditional working- class roots. ‘The whole skinhead style may be seen as a stylized re- creation of an image ofthe working class. Everything, the clothes, the haircut, the attitudes and the violence are all overdrawn, as ifn self caricature. (Clarke, 2007, . 729) ‘Cohen felt that these symbolic gestures could do little to change the social structure, but participation in these resistance rituals offered satisfaction to individuals. The mods and the skinheads created a way of existing that, although temporary, separated them from the hegemony of capitalism. & Paul Willis wrote Learnng to Labour (1977) which, was an ethnographic account of his stay as a teacher in a comprehensive school in the United Kingdom, This allowed him to study a group of boys,'the lads’, in the classroom and corridors, and after school on the journey home. Ethnography is usually the tool of the qualitative researcher in the Interpretive tradition. The work is subtitled How working class kids get working class jobs and reveals the extent to which these boys understood their limited life chances in the social system. Schooling for them was an unending round of mischievous and delinquent acts. Using a ‘Marxist analysis of their subordinate culture, Willis found that because they so actively celebrated and took on the trappings of their working-class culture, the capitalist system was preserved. Such studies revealed the potential of combining a Marxist analysis with Interpretive theory in the study of a small, subcultural group. ‘The Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) The CCCS was founded in 1964 and located in Birmingham, UK. The Centre took an interdisciplinary approach to the study of culture. Theorists incorporated clements from Marxism, Ethnography, History, Critical Scanned with CamScannertheory and Interpretive theory to analyse culture and subcultures. They focused on the culture of marginalised {groups as active sites of resistance to mainstream culture rather than only as examples of ‘deviance’. Further, the Centre had a political project because they sought to give a ‘voice’ to disempowered groups. Scholars at the Centre were known as Cultural Marxist. Traditional Marxism did not recognise the multidimensional nature of culture, only seeing it as developing out of the relationships of groups within the economic base. Cultural Marxists sought to keep a ‘Marxist analysis of society but to include culture as the site where groups adopted a resistant stance, however fragile, in voicing and acting out their position in relation to the inequalities they lived with, in capitalist society. ‘Through Critical theory and Interpretive theory scholars studied the struggle of marginalised groups, in terms of social class, gender, ethnicity and age or generation. The CCCS brought a different slant to the study of crime and deviance by interrogating the lives of those in the underclass, interpreting their meanings and cultural traits as responses to the hegemonic groups with whom they struggled on a daily basis. They made the bid for ‘power™ a more central construct than previous theorising. Stuart Hall was born in Jamaica and was an internationally renowned scholar in sociology and Critical Race theory as well as becoming the director of the CCCS in 1968. His 1970s studies of subcultures included youth culture with emphasis on the media, race, gender and sexuality. He analysed the ways in which the media reported crime and deviance in the United Kingdom, ¢4. muggings, saying that they scapegoated black youth and thereby upheld the status quo, pandering to the views of the ruling class. Britain, he argued, was a racist society in which immigrants were blamed as the source of ‘problems’ in the society. Yet capitalism (according to Marx) is an unstable system which goes through periodic crises. However, neither the media nor politicians make the connections between political and social crises and the inherent contradictions of capitalism. The work of the CCCS and Stuart Hall was criticised because they focused too much attention on deviant subcultures and paid little attention to other persons in the same social class who did not join these distinctive subcultures. Feminists pointed out the great deal of attention given to boys, a criticism that applies to all Functionalist and Marxist theories ‘New Criminology Movement The New Criminology or Radical Criminology movement came to the fore in the 1970s in Britain and included neo-Marxists such as Stan Cohen, lan Taylor, Paul Walton and Jock Young. They developed an alternative approach to the study of deviance and crime because they felt that the neo-Marxist tradition continued tobe overly deterministic in making causal links between crime and socio-economic class. They thought that deviant and criminal behaviour was a choice, deliberately made, not a generalised trait of disadvantaged groups. They did, however, agree that those who committed crimes were to a large extent motivated by their unequal position in the capitalist system. By focusing on the ‘meanings and decision-making of individuals they called Interpretive theory into play. Stan Cohen was a part of the New Criminology ‘movement and felt that the study of crime and deviance was enmeshed in determinism. For example, the connections made by theorists tended to focus on one certain cause of crime and deviance such as anomie, repression, breakdown of the family, economic ‘marginalisation and the like. But social life was extremely complex with many subtle overlapping influences. In trying to decode what a seemingly delinquent underclass ‘meant to convey via styl, fashion and attitude, researchers ran the risk of over-simplifying social realty. In addition, researchers paid little attention to other groups such as teachers, lawyers and higher-paid professionals suggesting that they were not delinquent or did not have experiences of alienation or resistance. Stan Cohen is particularly associated with the concepts of moral panic and deviance amplification. ‘The group known as Left Realism included John Lea and Jock Young, neo-Marxists who also tried to bring the role of individual action (the Interpretive perspective) into their examination of crime and deviance (1984). They support the Marxist position that crime committed by the working class to a large extent stems from their marginalised position in society. An emphasis on individual action shows that in the youth subcultures of the working class there isa conscious response to what they perceive as their marginalised position in society. Older persons may have genuine outlets for their frustrations such as in trade unions, activism, and other forms of Scanned with CamScannerprotest, but youth do not have many options to express their rage and frustration at the lack of opportunities for them in the society. Working-class deviance and crime is rooted in these feelings of disaffection. Left Realists are practically oriented and devote attention to solutions. Relationships between the police and the community are important in this regard and they believe that if the arrest rate goes up the public will be satisfied that the police are investigating crimes and not merely keeping neighbourhoods under surveillance and harassing youth, EEX] Feminist Perspectives Feminist approaches differ in how they address social issues but all have their roots in the Critical, Marxist (Conflict) or Interpretive perspectives. The main issues in a feminist approach to crime and deviance are: (a) that traditional theorising centred on males, and so there is a generalizability problem in applying those findings to females; and (b) a need to explain the marked difference in male and female criminality in all societies, throughout time. The theories discussed above focus, for the most part, on the lower-class male. Anomie, for example, is a dominant construct in mainstream (or malestream) Functionalist theorising. It is seen as a consequence of failing to achieve material rewards and being ‘successful” in the society. Feminists however argue that males are more prone to this condition because they have been socialised into being the breadwinner and so rate their masculinity in economic terms. Females, on the other hand, are socialised to experience fulfilment in caring and ‘nurturing relationships such as marriage and becoming a hhome-maker and mother. Feminist research indicates that to a large extent female offending may stem from social inequalities, especially economic inequality ~ socially marginalised females tend to be more highly involved in crime than their more affluent sisters. In discussing the social context of crime, then, gender alone cannot be a meaningful factor. A more accurate picture is obtained by correlating gender, age, SES, ethnicity and geographical location. Sutherland’s Theory of Differential Association addressed this problem. He said that both boys and girls in high-risk communities were exposed to criminal elements and were likely to become deviant if there was an excess of ways of defining situations as deviant as opposed to ways of defining situations as ‘normal’. He recognised however that boys and girls were differentially supervised by their parents which ensured that fewer gitls than boys were exposed to risky situations. His work showed that a person leaned to become deviant or criminal, and gender socialisation norms differentially prepared boys and girls for engaging in deviance and The theorists below belong to different strands of feminism or have made significant commentary on feminism. They propose different ways to account for the involvement of females in deviance and crime. Liberal Feminism Liberal feminism focuses on equal rights for women who are denied certain basic rights and opportunities by virtue of being women. With the advent of the ‘Women’s Liberation Movement more and more women hhave entered the workplace. This has blurred the stereotypical gender differences bringing about a rise in female criminality. Crime is a rational response to lack of opportunities in education and employment. Liberal feminism tends to focus on why women commit crime, with theorists suggesting that the greater participation of ‘women in the workforce and their rejection of traditional patriarchy have led to a higher incidence of criminal activity, Radical Feminism Radical feminism focuses on women as victims. They argue that violence against women cannot just be seen ina similar way to violence experienced by men. The context of patriarchy is built into the structure of society and the violence against women tends to be “normalised” by the justice system, the family and the media. But to a large extent the violence faced by women is rooted in patriarchy, i.e. a system of oppression, and not just in an incident where violence occurs. Socialist Feminism Socialist feminism focuses on capitalism which is dominated by men and the prevailing gender system of patriarchy which directs women into lower-paying jobs with fewer economic resources. This in turn leads to deviance and crime. This perspective combinesideas from both Marxist and Radical feminism, to the effect that women are exploited by both capitalism and patriarchy. Messerschmidt (2002) studied how masculinities in different social class categories lead to criminality. Both gender and class are seen as equally important in explaining criminality. He explores how class affects gender and vice versa in explaining criminality among males. Messerschmidt is seen as a feminist as his work is aimed at eliminating all forms of gender inequality. Scanned with CamScannerCHAPTER 11: THE SOCIOLOGY OF CRIME AND DEVIANCE 367 xt otha [ ami Noonan | suceeennonry tebe Meron Ba Tieay-Aeoie Socal scr and anni 138 a | Sam Sra heny= hans ——| Faso trp ona boar aoe 5 = Bnd delinquency (1982) Ti Roma Sgn oa] etal eae Sewer et anon “Fer Caaf cana 19H Gotttredson & Hirschi | Sesscanma ‘of crime (1 [ewer AoctonTeoy | Wht core 14 Dareue sssuns Rone Sas | Dont Th oS aT ST Sng DSRS a Da PATO NT | Regansscosanaiyemcame | prs tie rar | Delage sete Focal ane | 21 Lower Class youths (critiques anomie) _| delinquency (1958) 0) Karr Taira ites | skagen 987) David Gordon | Crime is inevitable in capitalist societies. | Capitatem, class and crime in America (1973) a coon ommioy Carn Sr Sn ] Working class youth and class struggle | Sub cultural confict and working class community a _ | 972) Paul Wie ease Working cass youth and dass stupa. | Learnnig to labour 0877) —— Se Anetrogroty | ‘Bimingham rive or Ctrl Sadlass | Working class youth race, gonder& | Resistance dough rile 197@) ‘Stuart Hal | sexuality struggle. Cutural Manda. Stanley Cohen | New ciminlogy ad Labeling Theory | Fol devs and mor panics (1972 ~ Tan Tay, Paul Walton & Jock Young The New Cinology: Fora soil teary oF evince (1973) “ohn Lee & Jock Young Whats 0 be done about lw and oder? 984) Frances Heidensohn Freda Alder, Rta Simon ‘The deviance of women (1968); Sisters in crime (1875); Women and crime (1875); Women, crime and poverty (1988) i 5 nome ot poner a ested econ Geen enstesat Lea Bi Liberation and economic marginalisation (2004): ih Cael ‘Female competion (2004). —— — | Primary and Secondary Deviance ‘Social pathology (1951) Howard Becker ee le neem Social Reaction Theory. (1963) ‘David Watza Rejects the determinism in Neo-Marrist | Delinquency and aif (1964) Scanned with CamScannerdescribed the sociological perspectives ‘and deviance. The idea of subcultures has ‘been abandoned but it is recognised today that ‘there are increasingly blurred distinctions between ‘groups in urban society. Neo-Marxist theorising hhas been accused of being overly deterministic, ‘even among neo-Marsists, and the emphasis by Functionalists on values as the motivation for crime hhas been opposed by Interpretive theorists who call, for a more complex understanding of how people hold values and more micro-level studies. Feminist. ‘theories emphasise those aspects of criminality which were ignored by much of the previous theorising ‘on crime and deviance. Figure 11.1 summarises the various researchers and their work. Full references for these works and more details about some of the theorists are given on the website. Issues Related to Crime and Deviance In this section we look in some detail at issues related to crime and deviance in the Caribbean, namely drug wse and trafficking, juvenile delinquency, domestic violence and corporate crime. EEE] Drug Use and Trafficking Largely because of location, drug-trafficking has become a major problem forthe Caribbean. The region isstrategically situated midway between the large centres of demand in the United States and Europe and the major centre of cocaine production in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. The many islands represent thousands of miles of unguarded coastline and these small states cannot effectively police their own boundaries. Those smuggling drugs from one region to the next clearly find the Caribbean a weak point that they can use to their advantage. ‘There are three major transit routes for trafficking in illegal narcotics. The Central Corridor is the conduit for cocaine leaving South America and routed through Jamaica, the Bahamas, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Heroin and cocaine is trafficked through the Eastern Corridor which is found along the line of islands ‘of the Lesser Antilles and Trinidad & Tobago. The ABC Corridor, through Aruba, Bonaire and Curagao, is used as an alternative cocaine route and also for synthetic drugs. The Dominican Republic leads the Caribbean in the volume of drug-trafficking taking place. Recently, Mexican cartels made a bid to take over drug-trafficking in the region, Substantial quantities of cocaine and heroin pass through Jamaica, Aruba, Puerto Rico and Trinidad & Tobago. Jamaica is also the largest supplier of marijuana to the USA from the Caribbean. Trafficking in narcotics is extremely profitable, the large sums of money involved drawing in both the rich businessman and the poor and dispossessed. These sums are used to bribe public officials such as politicians, lawyers, judges, and police and customs officers. As drug-trafficking increases so too does corruption and all these public officials become an entrenched part of the trafficking network. The transit of drugs through a country ako intensifies criminal activity in other ways. One major problem is that of gun crime. Firearms of all types are dispensed amongst those who distribute and sell the drugs to ward off rival networks and bandits. The rise in homicides and violent crimes associated with guns in Caribbean countries is directly related to the need for drug-traffickers to enforce their power and protect their turf. UNDOC (2007) reported that the murder rates in the Caribbean (30 per 100,000 per annum) were higher than any other region in the world. The product is so valuable that there are always persons and groups along the chain who attempt to hijack shipments, hold up suppliers, or eliminate the competition. Killings, drive~ by shootings, gang warfare, executions, and kidnappings have risen significantly in the Dominican Republi Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. Money laundering is another criminal aspect of drug-trafficking. This enables illegal activity to thrive because there isan outlet for the money. However, money laundering can destabilise a country’s financial institutions which rely on their reputation of high standards of ethical business practices to attract customers. Once a drug- trafficking organisation is allowed to channel large sums of ‘money through a legitimate financial agency the institution is drawn into active involvement and becomes part of the criminal network. They may be forced to conduct illegal or risky transactions which taints the entire banking industry and reduces consumer confidence in the ‘economy. Money laundering is significant in Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and St Maarten. Scanned with CamScanner‘Along with all the criminal activities associated with ‘drug-trafficking is the pernicious problem of drug abuse. Couriers or drug pushers are often paid in drugs rather than cash which they then have to ell on the local market. Thus, the drugs do not just pass through the country; the intent is also on developing a large market of drug users in the countries of transit. While all drug users do not commit crimes, drug use is linked to an upsurge in crime A study conducted by the Organization of American States (OAS, 2012) among the prison population in Dominica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines indicates how drug use may influence criminality © Inall four countries the most prevalent drug used was ‘marijuana. © Marijuana use began at around the age of 14, earlier than the start of using other legal and illegal substances. {© The prison population was overwhelmingly male and. single and they reported higher proportions of drug use than females. Over 20% had committed their first offence by the age of 23-25. © Repeat offenders had higher proportions of illicit drug use than first-time offenders. | Most offenders were involved in gangs at some point, ‘& An association was found between certain crimes and the use of particular substances. Alcohol use appeared to have a correlation with physical asault; and ccocaine/ctack use with theft and robbery. © Less than 5% of current offenders had committed drug crimes, meaning that they were not involved in crimes having to do with possession, or traficking of drugs. Their crimes were committed in order to obtain drugs for their personal use or whilst under the influence of drugs ~ sexual offences, physical assault, robbery, malicious damage and homicide, Of significance to Caribbean governments is the early age at which youth begin using drugs, and the widespread use of marijuana indicates cultural acceptance. Both are problematic because early marijuana use is linked to the later use of more addictive substancesand once adrug habit develops most users are forced to commit crimes to obtain the product. Itis within this cycle that their involvement in gangs begins as well as prostitution, increased violence and property crime. There are also psycho- social impacts such as deterioration in family life, ostracism and homelessness. Economic impacts include high absenteeism rates for the drug abuser, followed by unemployment and poverty. The close association, between drug use and criminality should be a cause for concern for Caribbean countries. The advent of Mexican drug cartels in Caribbean countries is seeing an intensifying of gang-related violence and other heinous crimes. The cartels have forged partnerships with gangs in the Caribbean and have given them ‘franchises’ to operate in even larger markets such as Europe and more involvement in producing and trafficking drugs. The crime ‘waves’ that periodically rock the urban centres in Caribbean countries emerge from the in-fighting between local groups for the favours of the cartels ‘The “law lords’ of Caribbean gangland are ... becoming globalised players in the illicit trades, cemented in their alliance to the Mexican cartels. This reality is impacting the lowest echelons of Caribbean gangland driven by the quest to get in on the new action unleashed by the Mexican cartels throughout the Caribbean Basin .. The wannabes prey on each other ‘and launch ill-conceived predatory attempts to topple the ‘dons’... Hence the cycle of graphic gun violence. (aura, 2013, 7.9) Caribbean countries are ill-equipped to address the increasing levels of violence in the society effectively Prisons are overcrowded and humanitarian interest groups are calling for less of a criminal justice approach and more of one based on rehabilitative outcomes. At the same time, there isa role for governments to play in reducing the levels of inequality, poverty and destitution in the society. However, Caribbean countries are only routes of passage for illicit drugs so that more efforts are also needed by destination countries (particularly the United States) to partner with countries in the region to disrupt these trafficking networks. EEE] Juvenile Delinquency In many Caribbean countries, the laws define a ‘juvenile” as someone who is below the age of 18 years. This follows international child rights legislation. A further division separates out those under the age of 14 years as ‘children’ and those under the age of 18 as ‘young persons’. Note that there is an age below which a juvenile is understood to be ‘innocent’ of the crime committed, known asthe age of criminal responsibility. In Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada that age is 7 years, in Belize it is 9 years and in Dominica and Jamaica it is 12 years. Where this age restriction is low, very young children may be charged with criminal offences and find themselves amongst adult prisoners. Not only that, but those charged with status offences (§11.1.4) ate also incarcerated. Juvenile delinquents throughout the Caribbean have been mostly involved in crimes such as using obscene language, theft, assault, burglary, possession of weapons, trafficking drugs and being involved in gangs. According Scanned with CamScannerto UNDP (2012), in Jamaica 52% percent of the female juveniles who appeared in court in 2007, and 23% of the male juveniles, were found to be in need of care and, protection. Of those engaged in violent and aggressive behaviours, the majority of young offenders are male. School-related violence has been rising in recent years and so too has the involvement of female students, though, males continue to be dominant. Aggressive and violent behaviours and attacks with deadly weapons at schools, are often a response to a high incidence of community violence which gets transferred to the school. Students admit that they walk with weapons to school to protect and defend themselves from fellow students who belong, to rival gangs in the community, oto settle scores, some of which are gang-related. They also admit to the need to impress others (UNDP, 2012). Much of the literature on. juvenile delinquency relating to adolescents and students points to bullying as an everyday, routine occurrence in many schools which can escalate to major incidents, involving physical and psychological attacks that bring students before the courts, The literature also links disengagement with school, verbal and physical abuse at home, harsh living conditions, and a lack of parental supervision as some of the factors predisposing a young person to become involved in community gangs. ‘While the juvenile population in the criminal justice system remains small compared to the numbers of young adults, the problem is still a serious one for Caribbean, countries. The prevailing view, because of the escalation, in crime, is that ‘soft’ measures only condone crime, and offenders, whether, young or not, should be punished. Punishment options are based in a need for retribution and deterrence whilst rehabilitation options call for an emphasis, on helping the person to become a fully functioning member of society. The support and protection of children are at the heart of preventative and rehabilitative ‘measures. There isa strong lobby to keep children out of the courts but legislation is slow to follow. ‘The reality, as can be gleaned from the findings in the various country studies on juvenile justice is that every single country fails in its duty to assure due process to its juveniles and that the poor and the dispossessed and the female juveniles fare the worst. (UNICEF, 2000, p15) The purely economic costs of juvenile delinquency Caribbean countries include the large sums spent by governments on increasing police patrols in inner city areas where there are rival school and community gangs; Judicial processing and incarceration of juveniles and ‘minors; and keeping youth incarcerated. Jamaica, which, to has the highest numbers of youth convicted, spends around US$ 529 million every year (UNDP, 2012). These funds could have been directed towards development projects. In other ways national income and investment, as well as individual potential, is lost through death or incarceration of young people as a result of crime. Juvenile delinquency is a problem that can be more fruitfully dealt with at the level of the family, the school, religious organisations and social services, than by the traditional justice system. This is because most juvenile delinquents come from at-risk environments (extreme poverty, high crime neighbourhoods), are neglected by their parents or guardians, orare failures of the education, system, Collaboration and support between these bodies ‘can serve to identify those children who may be in need of particular care, and counselling as well as monitoring. The justice system can alo intervene in the role of community policing and family courts. However, it is difficult for this humanitarian attitude to take root in a {general climate of fear and insecurity in countries where crime is believed to be out of control. EEE] Domestic Violence Domestic violence and child abuse can be considered from the perspective of the family as a social i (96.5.2), but here we will focus on domes riolence as an issue related to deviance and crime and the criminal justice system. 1 In the firs three weeks of 2012 alone, StVincent, a country with a population of roughly 120,000, tragically los three women to domestic violence. St Vincent was documented as having the third-highest rate of reported rapes in the world (see Box 11.5). @ All of the Caribbean islands have higher rates of sexual violence than the world average. ® In the Bahamas police reported that 6 out of 54 killings recorded from January to 23 September 2008 were related to domestic violence (UNDFM & DevNet, 2008). In Se Lucia for the first six months of 2008, police reported 39 cases of rape and 60 cases of statutory rape and the DPP’s office received 15 sexual assault cases from police investigators. (UNDFM & DevNet, 2008). © A survey reported by UNDP (2012) stated that across the Caribbean, Jamaica recorded the lowest incidence of | domestic violence (6%) and Guyana, the highest (179). In trying to curb the problem of domestic violence, Caribbean countries are hampered by outdated laws. In Barbados, for example, according to the chairperson of the SAVE Foundation, the Domestic Violence Scanned with CamScanner