Theories on Law
Pluralism, conflict theory, postmodernism
Theories on Crime
Strain, learning, control, and labelling theories
Norms
Refer to expectations of human behaviour
Deviance
Refers to non-normative behaviour
Crime
Involves breaking a law
Crime (Hagan) - Consensus vs Conflict
Hagan refers to consensus crimes and conflict crimes
Consensus - Mala in Se. very evil acts with the harshest sanctions
Conflict - Mala prohobita, illegal, but doesn’t have to be horrible
Formal control
Control by the state and its institutions
Informal control
Exerted by friends, family, and peers
The most successful form of control
Internalized self-control
Crime rates
Crime is a dark figure, victimization surveys show that only half the crimes get reported
- There are about 1.8 mil crimes reported to police each year (about 48% is property crime, 20% is violent crime, the rest is “other”)
- Crime hit peak in 1991
The Crime Funnel
- All crime
- Detected crime
- Reported crime
- Founded crime
- Crime taken to court
- Convicted
- Incarcerated
* The police discovers no more than 10% of crime on their own
Crusaders and panics
Becker argued that there are “moral crusaders” that try to change the behaviour of others; that is, they believe that serious evil exists and must be eliminated
often leads to panic
Moral panics
- Concern - awareness that the group in question may be harmful
- Hostility - “they” become folk devils
- Consensus - a large number of people become concerned about the group
- Disproportionality - dear gets exaggerated
- Volatility - arise & fade quickly, come & go
Explanations of Law (Pluralism, Conflict theory, Postmodernism)
Pluralists argue that law reflects what society deems important
Conflict theorists main argue that the bourgeoisie largely constructs the law - lower classes are more likely to be criminalized
Postmodernists maintain that society socially constructs crime; those who generate and disseminate crime news control the law
Strain theory + Robert Merton
Grew out of functionalism, suggests that people behave deviantly when they are strained
- Strain theorists, such as Robert Merton claim that crime is a result of “rising expectations and falling realizations”
Merton’s Typology - innovator
Has acceptance of culturaly induced goals, but isn’t able to achieve them, so turns to deviance
Merton’s Typology - Ritualism
Stick to their own daily rituals because of the lack of caring for culturally induced goals, even though they have the resources to achieve them
Merton’s Typology - Retrealist (Escapist)
Rejects culturaly induced goals & has no resources to achieve them anyway (usually seen in people with mental disorders)
Merton’s Typology - Rebels
Does not accept the social goals, and wants to change them (communists, terrorists)
Learning Theory
People simply learn crime and deviance just like any other type of behaviour
People learn by interacting with other deviants by “differential association
People learn how to commit crimes and attitudes to accomplish (i.e. techniques of neutralization)
Control Theory
People are deviant because it’s enjoyable
- Girls are more controlled than boys
Labelling theory
People behave deviantly when they are defined by society as such
What part of Canada has higher crime rates?
Western
Correlates of crime
Age, sex, social class, visible minority status
