You are on page 1of 23

Crime and

Deviance

What is Crime?
Crime is usually associated with behaviour that
breaks the formal, written laws of any given
society.

What is Deviance?
Deviance is behaviour which does not conform to
the dominant norms of a specific society.

Crime and Deviance


Deviancebehavior that
violates social
norms or which is
statistically
different from the
average

What is deviance?
Deviance is any behavior, a belief, or
condition that violates significant social
norms in the society or group in which
it occurs
deviance is a formal property of social
situations and social structure
deviance is a property conferred by
audiences
deviance is relative and it varies in its
degree of seriousness

Activity 1
You have to decide and justify whether the
following action is criminal, deviant, or both!
Action

Stealing a
bottle of
milk from a
doorstep

Crimina Devia
l
nt

Criminal +
Deviant

Why?

Burping
after a meal
Drinking a
bottle of
vodka on
the bus

Keeping
money you
have been
given in
error in

Its all in the culture!


Criminal Activities
Criminal activities are defined by the laws of a
particular society.
Therefore, whether an action is seen to be criminal
or deviant can depend on four very important
factors:

Time
Place
Social situation, and
Culture

Types of crime
There are six main types of crime:

Crimes Against Persons


Crimes Against Habitation
Crimes Against Property
Crimes Against Morality
Modern Crimes
Consensual Crimes

Crimes Against Persons


Also known as violent crimes
There are five major types that the FBI
measures (Territo 2004):
Battery: Unlawful application of force by a person on
another.
Homicide: The killing of one human being by
another.
Hate Crimes: Can be defined as an offense
motivated by hatred against a victim because of his
or her race, ethnicity, religion, handicap, or national
origin.

Crimes Against Persons


Con.t
The fifth type of crime against persons is assault.
Two different types (Territo 2004):
Attempted Battery: Engagement in conduct that comes
reasonable close to committing a battery, having the
present ability to succeed in committing the battery, and
intending to commit the battery.
Intentionally Placing Another in Fear: The placing of
another person in fear that he or she will receive an
immediate battery; the victim must be in fact
apprehensive; the conduct must be sufficient so as to
create apprehension in a reasonable person; and the
defendant had the intent to create that apprehension.

Crimes Against Habitation


These crimes are against the place where a
citizen sleeps regularly.
Two major types (Territo 2004):
Burglary: which is the breaking and entering of the
dwelling house of another in the nighttime with the
intent to commit a felony therein.
Arson: The malicious burning of a dwelling house of
another.

Crimes Against Property


These crimes include (Territo 2004):

Larceny: Taking and carrying away the personal


property of another with the intent to permanently
deprive the owner of the property.
Robbery: Same elements as Larceny but adds that
the taking of property must be in the presence of the
victim by the means of either violence or
intimidation, or both.
Embezzlement: Fraudulent conversion of the
property of another by one who is already in lawful
possession thereof with the intent to defraud the
victim.

Crimes Against Morality


These crimes were not originally tried in the
common-law courts; instead they were
ecclesiastical crimes, tried and punished by the
Church of England. (Territo 2004)
Includes:
Bigamy: Marrying another person while ones
spouse is still living.

Modern Crimes
The most frequent modern crimes include:
Computer Crime
Identity Theft
Stalking

Consensual Crimes
Also known as victimless crimes, because it is an
act that all involved parties choose to be involved.
These crimes include gambling, drug use, and
prostitution.
However, some people argue that these crimes
are not victimless crimes, because social norms
are violated. (Territo 2004)

5. Deviance and Social


Context

Definitions of deviance must consider:


Culture
Time/Era
Gender

Social Control
All societies have ways to promote order,
stability and predictability in social life. Without
social control, social life would be
unpredictable, even chaotic.
There are two broad types of social control:
Internal
External

Internal
Social Control
Internal social control lies within the individual,
and is developed during socialization. You are
practising internal social control when you act
according to your conscience (ie. you do
something because it is the right thing to do).
Most people act according to this internal social control
(ie. they do the right thing) most of the time.

External
Social Control
The process of socialization does not ensure
that all people will conform all of the time. For
this reason, external social control must also be
present.
External social control is based on social
sanctions rewards and punishments designed
to encourage desired behaviour.
Positive sanctions (eg. smile of approval, awards,
raises) are used to encourage conformity.
Negative sanctions (eg. criticism, fines, imprisonment)
are intended to stop socially unacceptable behaviour.

Three views of deviance

21

Biological
Psychological
Sociological
The biological and psychological perspectives
locate deviance in the person, while sociological
perspectives locate deviance in the act.

Theories of Crime and


Deviance
Sociological theories of crime and deviance
differ from other theories:

Sociological theories characterize deviance


and crime as a response to the society in which
they occur.

Psychological theories locate deviance and


crime within the psyche or mind of the individual,
as the product of inborn abnormality or of faulty
cognition processes.

Theories of Crime and


Deviance
Biological theories locate deviance

and crime within the biological


makeup of the individual.

You might also like