lecture 1 WT (winter term)

deviance and crime

Introduction to Sociology
soc101Y
@_ChristianCaron
Copyright 2015 Christian Caron

Jaime

Contact info: j.nikolaou@utoronto.ca

Office Hours: Monday 3-4pm rm335

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Difference between my and Jenna's role

Not posting on multiple TA Corners
Importance of gaining significant contributions
via online posts now versus later in the term
Significant contribution requirements
iClicker and # remaining Optional Homeworks
Test 1 Review slots

Tutorial Schedule

Jan 5th - Operationalization/Coding Scheme

Jan 12th- Operationalization/Coding Scheme
Jan 19th- Data Gathering
Jan 26th- Data Gathering
Feb 4th- Test #2 (no tutorials)
Feb 9th Data Gathering
Feb 16th- Reading Week (no tutorials)
Feb 23rd- Data Analysis
March 2nd- Data Analysis
March 9th -Write-up
March 16th- Write-up
March 23rd- Write-up and Goodbyes (last tutorial)

TA Corners

Opportunity to connect with your TA for individual

feedback
Have you received feedback on your Research
Question via the TA corner or meeting?
Operationalization?

* these first steps are they key to building a

successful content analysis project dont wait
until the last minute! Stay on track with your
tutorials.

Resources

Tutorials! dedicated solely to the content analysis project and

TAs will take you through each section step by step
POST ON YOUR TA CORNERS this will give you direct feedback
from your TA or me. We can work on tightening your RQ and
operationalization together!
Jennas Office Hours: Mondays 12-2, Rm. 333A of the Sociology
Department [Also note Professor Carons Office Hours: Tuesday,
12-2, Sociology Department]
Meeting with your TA TAs will release blocks of office hours
sporadically throughout the semester through your TA Corner

Studying Normalcy

Studying crime and deviance is studying

norms, studying societys expectations
Taking the boundaries of acceptability as
an object of inquiry instead of taken-forgranted
Studying crime and deviance means
studying normalcy

Crime

Three big questions organizing the study

of crime
Two questions have dominated the field of criminology for a long time

Why do people commit crimes?

What to do about crime?

And more recently, a third one has emerged and is gaining in importance

What is crime?

What is crime?

Breaking social norms

Homicide
Assault/battery
Harassment
Victimless crimes (fraud)
Breaking and entering
Drugs and trafficking
Arson
Counterfeit
Workplace discrimination
Terrorism
State crimes
Child pornography
Animal cruelty

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Moral/ethical crimes
Rape/sexual assault
Theft
Negligence
Vandalism/property damage
Prostitution
Speeding
Identity theft
Aiding and abetting
Weapon offences (illegal guns)
Espionage
War crimes
Pedophilia

Crime and criminal code

The Criminal Code defines crime as: The intentional violation of criminal law
without defense and without excuse.
There are 4 components of the Criminal Code:
Politicality: Laws are enacted by the legislature, that is, people who are
elected. Looking at what is legal/illegal is part of the political process. (Social
movements, lobbyists, and political groups will attempt to change laws, take
them away, or come up with new ones.
Specificity: Sets out, to the point, exactly what is a crime and what isnt a
crime. Its the idea of due process, to balance your rights, and o make sure
that there are many procedures that the system needs to go through to prove
guilt.
Uniformity: Making sure that the Criminal Code applies to everyone equally,
regardless of gender, ethnic background, religion, class, etc. (does not always
work this way)
Penal Sanctions: punishments that are set in advance. These specific sanctions
set guidelines for judges to decide on a sentence. (Links to uniformity).

To be found guilty

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To be found guilty, 2 things must be in place:

Actus reus and mens rea must always be together
for something to be considered a crime.
Actus reus: An act that had been committed
Mens rea: The intent knowing what youre doing
(though different from motive)

Two types of crime

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Mala in se: Crimes that are bad/evil in

themselves. Theyre always considered deviant,
regardless of time and place. (Some examples:
murder, child abuse, etc.) much consensus
Mala prohibita: Illegal crimes because of the
law, theyre considered bad because they are
prohibited. (Some examples: speeding, illegal
downloading, etc.) less consensus

Assumptions: social order

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Social Order
top ------------ bottom
crime needs to be regulated
top heavy centralized powerful state
bottom minimal state
no consensus because of different beliefs
as long as the population doesnt do things
that harm others, then its none of the
states business

Canadians Attitudes Towards

Crime

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Canadian national surveys reveal crime has been among

top three issues since the 1970s
Canadians believe that crime in general, and violent
crime in particular, is on the rise
TV viewing habits for Canadians between ages of 18 and
49:
Are more likely to choose crime or medical
dramas than any other type of program
(medical dramas sometime weave
criminal matters into their story lines)

Crime in the media

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Most crimes depicted in the media are represented

by certain stereotypes (youths, minorities, etc.)
Crimes which are considered criminal and deviant
are portrayed in the media much more
The media also hears more about crimes that entail
a prison punishment
Crimes that are punished with probation, fines and
tickets are rarely heard of
Violent crimes are over-represented

Deviance

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Deviance any behavior, belief, or condition that violates

cultural norms in the society or group in which it occurs
According to sociologists, deviance is relative that is, an
act becomes deviant when it is socially defined as such.
Definitions of deviance vary widely from place to place, from
time to time, and from group to group
Sociologists study:
a)

What type of behaviors are defined as deviant

b) Who does this defining

c) How and why people become deviants
d) How society deals with deviants

Deviance and Crime

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People who are observed committing more serious acts

of deviance are typically punished, either informally or
formally
Informal punishment: Involves a mild sanction that is
imposed during face-to-face interaction, not by the
judicial system (e.g., raised eyebrows, gossip,
ostracism, shaming, or stigmatization)
Formal punishment: Is what takes place when judicial
system penalizes someone for breaking a law

Variability of Deviance and

Crime

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Types of deviance and crime vary in terms of:

i.

Severity of the social response

Can range from mild disapproval to capital punishment

ii.

Perceived harmfulness of the deviant act or criminal act

iii. Degree of public agreement about whether an act should

be considered deviant (mala in se vs mala prohibita)

Even the social definition of murder varies over time and

across cultures and societies

Power and the Social Construction

of Crime and Deviance

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Social constructionism: Argues that apparently natural

or innate features of life are often sustained by social
processes that vary historically and culturally
Emphasizes how some people are in a position to create
norms and pass laws that define others as deviant or
criminal
Power is crucial element in the social construction of
deviance and crime ie criminalization

in-class participation

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What type of crime involves illegal acts committed by an

organizations employees on behalf of the organization
and with its support?
a.
b.
c.

Corporate crime
Occupational crime
Political crime

d.

Organized crime

Classifying crime

Street Crime
Occupational Crime
Corporate Crime
Organized Crime
Political Crime

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Crime Rates

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Are three main sources of crime statistics:

1.Canadian Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) Information on
crime collected by police, but has shortcomings:
UCR does not account for high degree of unreported
crime, especially (i) victimless crimes (violations of law in
which no victim steps forward and is identified);
(ii) level one assaults involving friend or relative of
victim; and (iii) sexual assaults
Statistics reflect decisions by authorities and wider public
on which criminal acts to report and which to ignore

Crime Rates

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2. Self-report surveys Respondents asked to report

their involvement in criminal activities, either as
perpetrators or as victims
Surveys typically indicate that:
i.

Majority of Canadians have engaged in some type of

criminal activity (but most perpetrators of crime not
officially identified as criminal given complex process
involved in criminal labelling)
ii. About quarter of population have been victim of crime

Crime Rates

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3.Victimization surveys People asked whether

they have been victims of crime
Provide detailed information about crime
victims, but less reliable data about offenders
Was no national victimization survey done in
Canada until 1988
In latest Canadian survey (2010) only 31% of
victimization incidents reported to police

Canadian Crime Funnel (2006)

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What Official Crime Rates Show

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In 2010, nearly 2.2 million offences were reported to

Canadian police agencies

Overall crime has been steadily declining since early

1990s
Homicide rate has been falling since the mid-1970s
Rates of robbery, sexual assault, drug arrests, and
property crime are also falling

Why do people commit crime?

Necessity (financial reasons)
Image/presentation (they want to look cool)
Thrill ride/to feel a rush (emotions)
Its in their nature (environmental/educational factors)
To create change for themselves or for others (political acts)
Out of passion (losing control/revenge)
Self-defense
Mental illness
Ignorance (not knowing somethings illegal)
Rebellion/boredom
Addiction (drugs/alcohol)

Beliefs (religion may conflict with law)

Group membership (initiation/organized crime)
Hate crimes (discrimination/prejudice)
Vigilante crimes (taking the law in your own hands)
Coercion (power relations)
Because they can and they do it well

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Explanations of Crime and

Deviance
Structural Theories

Functionalism
Strain Theory
Conflict Theory
Feminist Theory

Cultural Theories
Interactionist Theories

Differential Association
Labeling Theory
Control Theory

Social Control And Punishment

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While all societies impose sanctions on rule breakers, degree

of social control and forms of punishment vary across cultures
and across time

Police plays an important role. They have several functions

1) enforce the laws, 2) maintain order, and 3) provide
various social service
Ability to exercise more effective social control is linked to
electronic technology
Claim for surveillance society because of proliferation of
cameras in public settings and increasing use of social media

What to do about crime?

Rehabilitation
Deterrence
Imprisonment
Restorative justice
Crime prevention

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The Prison

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Prisons are agents of socialization

New inmates often become more serious offenders
as they adapt to culture of most hardened, longterm prisoners
As societies industrialized, imprisonment became
one of most important forms of punishment for
criminal behavior
In preindustrial societies, criminals were publicly
humiliated, tortured, or put to death, depending on
severity of their transgressions
In industrial era, depriving criminals of their
freedom by putting them in prison seemed less
harsh, more civilized

Rationales for Incarceration

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1. Opportunity for rehabilitation (by providing

psychological counselling, drug therapy, skills training,
education, etc.)
2. Deterrence (by making people less inclined to commit
crimes if they know consequence could be long and
unpleasant prison term)

3. Revenge for illegal acts

4. Incapacitation (by keeping criminals out of society as
long as possible to prevent further harm)

Number of Prisoners per 100 000

Population, Selected Countries, c.
2005

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in-class participation

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What can we conclude about official crime

statistics?
a. They underestimate the actual amount of
crime.
b. They overestimate the actual amount of
crime.
c. They are an accurate reflection of crime.

in-class participation

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Which of these key questions to the study of

crime has emerged more recently?
A) Why people commit crimes
B) What is crime
C) What do to about crime
D) Why should we study crime

Optional homework: Globalization

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http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/ho
me/operations/about_us.html

1.
2.
3.

What is the UNDP?

What are Millenium Development Goals?
Pick one of the goals and summarize its
Facts and Figures

This optional homework is due on Tuesday, Jan 13th at

11:59pm. The write-up must be no less than 300 words to
get credited