chapter 6 crime and criminal justice. “it is not the act itself, but the reactions to the act,...
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 6
Crime and Criminal Justice
“It is not the act itself, but the reactions to the act, that make something deviant.”
Howard Becker, 1966
What is Deviance?
The Problem in Sociological Perspective
• Norms: rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members
• Laws: the norms created through a society’s political system
• Crime: The violation of laws enacted by federal, state, or local governments
Crime is culturally relative
Crime: The Extent of the Problem Most people in the US think crime is a serious problem Fear of crime is a social problem, because it limits the
things people do and the places they go
The Problem in Sociological Perspective
Making acts criminal is a political process Determining which behavior is criminal is a
political process Power: The capacity to achieve goals in the
face of opposition
The universal nature of crime: No society exists without crime
Violent Crime: Patterns and Trends
Property offenses account for 88% of all serious offences, while violent crimes against persons account for 12%
Violent crime rose quickly from 1960 until the early 1990s
After that, the trend turned downward Stronger economy (may change due to recession
that began in 2008) Drop in use of crack cocaine More police Tougher sentences
Aggravated Assault
Aggravated assault accounts for nearly 2/3 of all reported violent crime
Aggravated assault is very much a male crime, with the majority of both victims and offenders being men
Robbery
Robbery involves both stealing and threatening another person, which makes this both a property and a violent crime
This is the least likely of all violent crimes to result in an arrest victims usually don’t know a robber so
that identification is difficult
National Map The Risk of Violent Crime across the United States
Property Crimes: Patterns and Trends
Burglary only 11% of cases are cleared Majority of those arrested are male (86%)
and under 25 (59%) Larceny-theft
includes shoplifting, pick pocketing, purse-snatching
the most common of all the serious crimes tracked by the FBI (account for 67% of total)
Property Crimes
Motor-vehicle theft only 11% of cases are cleared 50% of those arrested are under 25 and 82%
are male Arson
the arson rate is holding steady Only 27% are cleared 67% those arrested are under 25 and 84% are
male
“Street” Crime: Who Are the Criminals?
Age for all offenses, there is a strong link between
crime and youth Gender
In 2007, males accounted for 67% of arrests for property crime
For violent crime, men are arrested in 82% of the cases
Women are more often arrested for larceny-theft, fraud, runaway youth and prostitution
For all serious crimes, the number of women arrested is increasing
“Street” Crime: Who Are the Criminals?
Social class Research shows that people of lower
social position are involved in most arrests for street crime
The link between class and criminality depends on the kind of crime one is talking about
“Street” Crime: Who Are the Criminals?
Race plays a large part in the crime picture several ways the deprivation faced by black youths
may lead to hostility towards the police and various facets of the “system”
prejudice based on race may prompt people to suspect blacks on the basis of skin color
research suggests that such biases may lead police to arrest African Americans more than whites
Symbolic Interactionism Labeling theory views an act as deviant only if other
people respond to it as if it were deviant; the view that the labels people are given affect their own and others’ perceptions of them, thus channeling their behavior either into deviance or conformity. Most people resist being labeled deviant, but some revel in
a deviant identity. Practice that can set people on different paths in life
Self-fulfilling Prophecy Refers to something that becomes true because
one said it might come true
Criminal Justice System: Agencies that respond to crime
Data comes from the Uniform Crime Report and National Crime Victimization Survey.
Police Discretion Deciding whether to arrest someone or to ignore
a particular offense Social class influences the authorities' reactions
affecting who shows up in official statistics
Crime and Class
Race, Ethnicity, and Crime
Statistics show that African Americans and Latinos are dealt with more harshly than Whites – from arrest through indictment, conviction, sentencing, and parole.
Even when criminal offense is the same, African Americans and Latinos are more likely than Whites to be convicted and serve more time in prison than Whites.
Functionalism Functionalists consider crime a natural part of healthy society.
helps clarify norms & and affirms values increases social unity & brings about needed social change
Strain theory states that illegitimate opportunity structures encourage some people to commit crime and provide that others will not have the need to.
Robert Merton’s analysis: Conformists Innovators Ritualists Retreatists Rebels Innovation is most often the cause of criminal behavior Innovators turn to illegitimate means
Cloward & Ohlin (1998) – refined strain theory to emphasize that deviant behavior is not an automatic response but must be learned. Illegitimate Opportunity Theory – Explains why social
classes have distinct styles of crimes.
Social class and illegitimate opportunities Illegitimate Opportunity Structures
Opportunities woven into the texture of life in urban slums Middle and upper classes are not free of crime Ponzi Scheme
Occurs when high investment returns are paid to clients using other clients’ money—not real investment profit
Conflict Theory: Crime and Inequality
Conflict theorists stress that every society is marked by power and inequality. The Ruling Class The Working Class: three major groups
Upper-level managers and professionals White-collar and blue-collar workers Marginal working class
Law is controlled by the ruling class Law is an instrument of oppression.
Conflict Theory: Crime and Inequality
Karl Marx: Class and Crime Understood social problems in terms
of class conflict Crime was seen as a product of social
inequality Solution to the crime problem is to
eliminate capitalism in favor of a more egalitarian system
White-Collar and Corporate CrimeWhite-Collar Crime:
Any crime committed by respectable and high-status people in the course of their occupation
When white-collar offenders are caught, their cases are usually heard in a civil court, and they rarely go to jail
Corporate crime – crime committed on behalf of
organizations (e.g., environmental pollution and gross negligence)
Two major types: Those committed by employees on behalf of a corporation Those committed against a corporation
Most of these offenses are tried in civil courts so that no individual is charged with criminal behavior
Professional and Organized Crime Professional Criminals
People who consider crime to be their occupation Criminal Enterprise
Crime committed within a highly organized gang Mafia
Famous organized crime group; made up only of Italians is a myth
Organized crime involves three main elements: In-group loyalty Scorn for the values of the straight world Pride in specialized skills
Political Crime
Political Crime: crime motivated by a particular ideology U.S. Constitution - First Amendment
Some view political actions of individuals as major social problems, while viewing similar acts by government as acceptable. Crimes designed to maintain the social order
The Criminal Justice System
Due Process The criminal justice system must operate
within the bounds of law. No person can be “deprived of life liberty
or property without due process of the law”
The U.S. Constitution
Courts
In principle, the U.S. court system is an adversarial process by which the prosecutor presents the state’s case against the suspect and the suspect’s attorney presents a defense
Courts
The reality of justice, however, is something much different. 90% of criminal cases are settled through plea-
bargaining, a negotiation in which the state reduces a defendant’s charge in exchange for a guilty plea even if innocent, for lesser charge―encouraged by defense attorneys
While plea-bargaining saves the time and expense of a trial, efficiency doesn’t always produce justice Poor spend months (even years) behind bars awaiting trial Threats of mandatory minimum sentences to get guilty pleas Judges impose harsher sentences on those who insist on
unnecessary trials Age, employment, and the number of previous arrests affect
sentencing Number of arrests, not the seriousness of those charges,
influences a sentence
The Sting of Justice Respectability, wealth, and power insulate
many lawbreakers. Assembly-line justice
Plea bargaining has become standard in U.S. criminal justice system. Vast majority of cases, people accused of a crime do not
receive a trial Criminal justice system is also slow and inefficient. Plea bargaining and the inefficiencies of the court
system subvert the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution.
Bias in the Criminal Justice System African Americans are 12% of the U.S.
population: 45% of prison inmates Criminal conviction rates in U.S. vary greatly
among different racial groups Unclear why African Americans are most apt to be
arrested and charged Cannot conclude that the courts are biased for
or against minorities or for or against Whites The evidence is inconclusive.
Social Policy - Crime Control in the US
A criminal justice system may draw on four approaches to punishment: Deterrence – emphasizes intimidation, using threat of
punishment to discourage crime. Retribution – criminals pay compensation equal to their
offenses against society. Incarceration – removes criminals from society. Rehabilitation – attempts to resocialize criminals.
Does Punishment Work?
Some believe that it further brutalizes the society
Criminal recidivism Subsequent offenses by people
previously convicted of crimes.
Juvenile Crime
Juvenile crime refers to violations of the law committed by those less than eighteen years of age.
Juvenile offenders are the third largest category of criminals in the U.S.
Juvenile crime reached its lowest in a decade in 2001. Several factors account for this. A decline in the demand for crack cocaine. Gangs have reached truces. Police have clamped down on illegal guns. Repeat juvenile offenders have been given stiffer sentences.
Global Crime
The United States has more violent crime than other industrialized countries – highest murder, rape, and robbery rates.
According to the United Nations Survey of Crime (1996-2006): rape and robbery increased, assault increased, burglary
decreased homicide declined
General trend in crime suggests that the world is becoming slightly safer.
Politics and Crime: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Conservatives believe that people raised in strong, law-abiding families are unlikely to commit crime Most conservatives favor tougher laws,
more aggressive policing, and harsher penalties as ways to combat the crime problem.
They believe the key to controlling crime is parents teaching children to make the right choices in a world of pressures
Politics and Crime: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Liberals believe that many people live in situations that pressure them to break the law Crime is caused by a harmful
environment, particularly living in poverty
To liberals, jobs are the key to a drop in the crime rate
Politics and Crime: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
The radicals believes the real crime of society is tremendous economic inequality The radical solution begins with a
restructuring of the economic and political system toward a more egalitarian social order that can make a real claim to justice
According to U.S. Justice Department (2008): 12,000 terrorist attacks against noncombatants
occurred around the world in 2008. 40% in the Near East 35% in South Asia
Terrorism occurs under certain social conditions: in politically weak states or in nations that have
undergone years of political violence in countries with a foreign occupier in countries with widespread racial or ethnic
discrimination in the presence of extreme secular or religious
ideologies