Crime and Deviance

1
Chapter 7

• Crime and Deviance

2
Chapter Outline

• Ordinary Crime
• The Criminal Act
• Biological Theories of Deviance
• Mental Illness
• Personality Theories
• Elements of Self-Control
• Deviant Attachment Theories

3
Chapter Outline

• Structural Strain Theories
• White-Collar Crime
• Control Theories
• Anomie and the Integration of Societies
• Climate and Season
• The Labeling Approach to Deviance
• Drugs and Crime

4
Criminal Acts

• The majority of criminal acts
• Lack planning
• Are performed incompetently
• Result in trivial gains

5
Robbery

• In 2000 there were 407,842 robberies reported in
  the U.S. for a rate of 144.9 per 100,000.
• Recent data shows that the average robbery of a
  service station produced only 546.
• 91 of those arrested for robbery were males
  under the age of 25.

6
Burglary

• In 2000 there were slightly more than 2 million
  burglaries reported, a rate of 728.4 per 100,000.
• Average loss of residential burglaries was
  1,299.
• About half of all burglaries are reported to the
  police.

7
Homicide

• In 2000, 15,517 Americans were murdered for a
  rate of 5.5 per 100,000, the lowest in more than
  thirty years.
• In 1965, most victims knew their killer and 91
  of homicides were closed by arrest.
• During the 1990s the average victim was killed by
  a stranger.
• In 2000 only 63.1 of homicides resulted in an
  arrest.

8
Lombrosos Theory Born Criminals

• In the 1870s, Cesare Lombroso gathered data on
  inmates to develop a biological theory of
  criminal behavior.
• Lombroso considered born criminals as less
  evolved humans, biological throwbacks to our
  primitive ancestors.
• He believed that born criminals could not
  restrain their violent and animalistic urges.

9
Behavioral Genetics

• Study of the role of heredity in human behavior.
• A study in Denmark examined 3,586 twin pairs.
• Identical twins - if one twin had a serious
  criminal record, odds were 50-50, the other twin
  did, too.
• Fraternal twins - if one twin was a criminal, the
  odds were only 1 in 5 that the other twin also
  was a criminal.

10
Female Among Those Arrested for Various
Offenses (U.S.)
Offense Percent female
Robbery 10.0
Homicide 12.5
Burglary 12.5
Motor vehicle theft 15.7
Aggravated assault 19.6
Larceny-theft 34.7
Forgery 38.9
Fraud 45.8
Embezzlement 48.8
Runaways 58.2
11
Arrests Per 100,000 Male Population (U.S.)
Age Homicide Robbery Larceny-theft
1619 47 408 2,532
2024 39 299 1,441
2529 24 204 1,075
3034 17 129 903
3539 13 74 712
4044 10 36 471
4549 7 19 306
5054 5 9 209
5559 4 5 145
6064 3 2 109
65 and over 1 1 63
12
Gottfredson and Hirschi Elements Of Self-control

• Low self-control involves the unwillingness or
  inability to defer gratification.
• People with low self-control prefer actions that
  are simple and easy.
• People who commit criminal acts are thrill
  seekers, also consistent with weak self control.
• People with a lack of self-control tend to be
  self-centered, indifferent, or insensitive to the
  suffering and needs of others.

13
Differential Association Theory Social Learning

• All behavior is the result of socialization
  through interaction.
• How we act depends on how those around us want us
  to act.
• How much we deviate from or conform to the norms
  depends on differences in whom we associate with.

14
Merton Structural Strain Theory

• People are socialized to have certain goals and
  to regard certain means as proper ways to achieve
  these goals.
• People who are disadvantaged will not be able to
  achieve their goals at all, or as easily as
  people better placed in the system.

15
Merton Structural Strain Theory

• If disadvantaged people stick to the rules they
  will not achieve the things socialization has
  taught them to value.
• The resulting strain forces people to use deviant
  or illegitimate means to achieve goals.

16
Weaknesses of Structural Strain Theory

1. The majority of disadvantaged people do not
   commit acts of significant deviance.
2. Most of the deviant behavior committed by persons
   under structural strain cannot alleviate their
   frustrations.
3. No explanation for deviant acts committed by
   people in privileged social positions.

17
White-collar Crime

• Crimes committed by someone with responsibility
  and high social status in the course of their
  occupation.
• Example A person in a position of power or
  authority who accepts bribes to perform his or
  her duties.

18
Control Theories

• Replaces the question Why do they do it? with
  Why dont they do it?
• Control theorists take deviance for granted and
  focus on explaining why people conform.
• When social bonds between an individual and the
  group are strong, the individual conforms, when
  they are weak, the individual deviates.

19
Types of Social Bonds

• Attachments - How much one cares about others and
  is cared about in return.
• Investments - Costs expended in constructing a
  satisfactory life and the expected rewards.

20
Types of Social Bonds

• Involvements - The more time one spends on
  activities that conform to the norms, the less
  time one has to devote to deviant activities.
• Beliefs -We develop beliefs about how people,
  including ourselves, should behave.

21
Durkheims Moral Communities

• Two components
• Social integration - The number and intimacy of
  attachments enjoyed by the average person.
• Moral integration. Shared beliefs that provide
  members of a community with a common moral
  conception.

22
Labeling Theory

• Most deviance results from some persons having
  been labeled as deviants.
• Primary deviance is the behavior a person engages
  in that causes others to label him or her as
  deviant.
• Secondary deviance is behavior that is a reaction
  to having been labeled a deviant.

23
Liska Three Ways Labels Cause People to Deviate

1. A deviant label, such as burglar, alcoholic, or
   prostitute, limits legitimate economic and
   occupational opportunities.
2. A deviant label limits a persons interpersonal
   relations.
3. Being labeled a deviant can affect self concept.
   (If others see us as deviants, we may come to
   accept their judgments.)

24
Percent of Arrestees Who Tested Positively for
Drugs
Percent Positive Percent Positive
City Females Males
Manhattan 84 69
San Diego 74 74
Washington, D.C. 70 59
Los Angeles 70 60
Fort Lauderdale 63 60
Houston 58 62
Birmingham 54 61
New Orleans 44 62
St. Louis 38 57