Deviance and Crime

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

Inc.
Deviance
• Deviance is a socially defined construct that
refers to any action, belief, or human
characteristic that members of a society or a
social group consider a violation of group
norms for which the violator is likely to be
censured or punished.
• Sociologically, no act, belief, or characteristic
is inherently deviant because deviance is
socially defined.
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Shifting Definitions of Deviance
• What is thought to be deviant will vary
from one time period to another.
• Some behaviors were once not seen as
deviant but now are (for example, obesity)
while other behaviors were once seen as
deviant but now are not (for example,
premarital sex).
• What is thought to be deviant will also vary
geographically.
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Global Flows of Deviance
• Both people and definitions of deviance
flow easily from one society to another.

• There are clear and pronounced global

trends toward normalizing that which was
defined at one time and place as deviant.

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Deviance and Consumption
• The use of goods and services that are
illegal or considered deviant.
• This form of consumption involves
committing deviant or illegal acts in order
to be able to afford to consume.
• Examples include a drug addict stealing to be
able to buy drugs and the “mall girls” of
Poland.

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

Inc.
Definitions of Dangerous Consumption
• As with all sorts of deviance, definitions of what is
deviant consumer behavior are sometimes in dispute.

• Napster users did not consider the downloading of

music from the Internet to be illegal or deviant.

• Those who consume the “wrong” drugs (e.g.,

marijuana) are more likely to be seen as deviant than
those who consume the “right” drugs (e.g., alcohol).

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

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Dangerous Consumers
• Before the recession of 2008, those who
did not consume enough were considered
deviant.

• Consumerism was considered to be

patriotic.

• Those who consume illegal goods are

considered to be dangerous.
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Overconsumption
• Recent changes in the economy demonstrate
the relative nature of deviance.

• After the recession of 2008, those who

consumed too much were considered deviant.

• While savings is considered deviant during

economic booms, not saving is considered
deviant during economic downturns.

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

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Theories of Deviance
• Explanatory Theories (Structural Functionalist and
Conflict/Critical)
• Concerned with trying to explain why deviance occurs
• Assume that deviance is determined by a wide variety
of factors
• Constructionist Theories (Symbolic Interactionism)
• Concerned with the process by which people are
classified as deviant
• Focus on who is in power and how they create and
apply deviant labels

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

Inc.
Structural/Functional Theories
• Suggest that because deviance and crime
are common in all societies, they are
“normal,” and serve positive functions for
society and social structures.
• Deviance and crime are functional
because responses to deviance and crime
clarify collective beliefs, reaffirm norms
and values, and create social solidarity.

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

Inc.
Structural/Functional Theories
• Strain is caused by a discrepancy between the approved
goals of society and the approved means to achieve
them.
• Adaptations to Strain:
• Conformity
• Innovation
• Ritualism
• Retreating
• Rebellion
• Social Control Theory focuses on why people conform to
norms (i.e., do not commit deviant acts).

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Conflict/Critical Theories
• Structural/functionalists trace the source of
deviance to the larger structures of society
and the strains they produce or the fact
that they do not exercise adequate control
over people.
• Conflict/critical theorists seek to explain
why inequality is a central factor in the
ways societies deal with deviance and
crime.
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Conflict/Critical Theories
• Deviance and the Poor
• Deviance is created by the capitalist economic system.
• Definitions of deviance serve the interest of the
capitalists while adversely affecting the poor.
• Deviance and the Elite
• Great efforts are made by the capitalists to legitimize
elite acts of deviance.
• The higher-ups in society have greater ability to
commit deviant acts, to escape sanction for those
acts, and to create scapegoats to blame for those
acts.

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

Inc.
Inter/actionist Theories
• In the realm of deviance a number of symbols
(labels) exist.
• A deviant is simply someone to whom a
deviant label has been successfully applied.
• Interaction occurs between a person or a
group doing the labeling and a person or group
to whom the label is applied.
• Those who do the labeling are social control
agents.

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

Inc.
Inter/actionist Theories
• Labeling
• Social control is often exercised through the
creation and application of labels.
• Rule creators are usually elite members of
society who devise rules, norms, and laws.
They are usually distinct from rule enforcers.
• Moral entrepreneurs are individuals and/or
groups who come to lead campaigns to have
certain behaviors as deviant and made illegal.

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

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Inter/actionist Theories
• Stigma
• Erving Goffman (1963) defined a stigma as a
characteristic others define and label as
deviant.
• Discredited stigma refers to differences readily
visible or evident.
• Discreditable stigma refers to differences not
immediately recognizable, or unknown to the
public.

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Crime
• A violation of the criminal law.

• Criminology is the study of all aspects of

crime.

• Many criminologists are sociologists.

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Crime
• The criminal justice system is a loosely
connected group of government agencies
who are involved in the apprehension,
prosecution, and punishment of law
violators.
• The main components of the criminal
justice system are law enforcement, the
courts, and the correctional system.

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Inc.
Crime
• Actions that are precipitated in the criminal
justice system include:
• Parole
• Probation
• Specific deterrence
• Recidivism
• General deterrence
• The ultimate example of both specific and
general deterrence is capital punishment – there
is considerable evidence that the death penalty
fails as a deterrent to crime.
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Types of Crime
• Violent Crimes
• Involve the threat or actual use of force
• Property Crimes
• Offenses that involve the taking or destroying of
property
• Felonies
• Punishable by more than one year in prison
• Misdemeanors
• Punishable by a fine or imprisonment of less than a
year

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

Inc.
Types of Crime
• White collar crimes are committed by a person in
the course of their occupation.
• Corporate crime involves legal organizations
that break the law (e.g., antitrust violations and
insider trading).
• Organized crime is associated with crime
syndicates.
• Political crime is an offense against the state or
by the state, domestically or internationally.

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Types of Crimes
• Hate crimes are those whose victims are chosen
because of their race, religion, age, sexual
orientation, national origin, or disability status.

• Cybercrime targets computers or uses

computers to commit traditional crimes (e.g.,
theft from a bank).

• Consumer crimes are crimes related to

consumption (e.g., shoplifting).
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Crime Statistics
• Crime statistics are difficult to collect and
often quite inaccurate.

• Sources of crime data:

• The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
• The Department of Justice’s National Crime
Victimization Survey (NCVS)

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 Demographics and Crime
• Age
• In general, most people are likely to commit crime in their
late adolescence.
• Gender
• The vast majority of crimes are committed by men.
• Race
• African Americans account for 13% of the U.S. population
but account for over one third of all violent crimes.
• Social Class
• Those in the upper classes are more likely to commit crime
and avoid detection.

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

Inc.
Globalization and Crime
• Criminalization of Global Activities
• In the era of globalization, the nation-states of
Western Europe and the United States have
played a central role in criminalizing certain
activities.
• Global Crime Control
• Has been led by the growth in international
policing and the role of police in international
relations

Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications,

Inc.