Assess the view that crime and deviance are the products of labelling processes. Crime is an illegal act that is punishable by law such as stealing and deviance is an act which goes against society’s norms and values such as talking loudly in a library. Interactionists like Becker argue that Crime and Deviance is socially constructed and is therefore a product id labelling. However not al sociologists hold the same view. Becker argued that it is not a certain behaviour or act that is deviant but it is how we react to it that makes it deviant.
In this essay we will assess the usefulness of these functionalist theories, and look at how it helps us explain crime. One functionalist who tried to explain crime is Merton and his strain theory, the strain theory argues that people engage in the deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means. Merton explanation combines 2 elements; structural factors- society’s unequal opportunity structure, cultural factors- strong emphasis to achieve goals and weak emphasis on using legit means. Merton uses the strain theory to explain some patterns of crime in society, he argues a person’s positioning in society affects the way they adapt or respond to the strain to anomie. Merton gives 5 different types of adaption; Conformity- the individual accepts socially acceptable goal and achieves it through legitimate means, Innovation- Individual accepts the role of success and wealth but uses illegitimate means to achieve them, Ritualism- Individual give up on legitimate goals but still follow strictly to the rules, Retreatism- Individuals reject legitimate goals and means of achieving them e.g drug addicts, the final type is Rebellion- Individuals reject existing goals and means but replace them with new one in desire to bring about revolutionary change.
That usually means reverting to street crimes. These crimes include burglary, vandalism, and selling drugs. Those individuals feel that street crime is the only way they will obtain material success. Merton's theory may stand true when comparing social status with street crime; however, his theory becomes weak when the crimes include white-collar and business crimes. Therefore, Merton's theory has become an “anomie theory”.
But in contrast there are very different at the same time. The crime control model is used in the criminal justice system for the prevention of crime. The crime control does not exclude that is possible to make a mistake, but based on the circumstances of the laws, the person is considered guilty until her or she is proven innocent. This model is based on old fashion laws which allow rapid and speedy convictions despite the mitigating factors of the case and the victim. The results, of the crime control model are wrongful convictions, being over-turned and this is a major downfall in the criminal justice system.
Describing crime and deviance is varied across different cultures; history; social situations and place. It will look at the bodies that measure crime and look at the reasons why they are not accurate. There are several differences between crime and deviance, deviance is a violation of the social norms whereas crime is a violation of the laws of the land. Society has no power for deviance but the government can punish with crime. Much behaviour that was seen as deviant in the past has today become a criminal offence, as with crime behaviour seen as criminal is now seen as deviant.
(Bader et al) The main difference between crime and deviance is deviant behaviour is when a social norm has been broken whereas a crime is where a formal and social norm is broken. Meaning crime can also be deviant behaviour but deviance cannot be construed as crime. (Jones pg 32) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRIME AND DEVIANCE Crime and deviance is believed to overlap in behaviours that are
Introducction to Sociology December 10, 2013. Heterosexual Privilege: Unpacking the invisible Purse or it is Wallet? “I was taught to see transexuality only in individual acts of prejudice, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group” Thinking through unacknowledged heterosexual privilege as a phenomenon, I realized that, since hierarchies in our society are interlocking, there is most likely a phenomenon of heterosexual privilege that is denied and protected. As a heterosexual person, I’ve come to acknowledge my upbringing as something that puts others (transsexuals) at a disadvantage. Yet, this same upbringing blinded me to the inherent social disadvantage experienced by transsexuals.
2 April 2013. The influence on social behavior of beliefs in Satan and the nature of evil has received little empirical study. The Origin Of Satan, argued that Christians intolerance toward others is due to their belief in an active Satan. The belief in an active Satan was directly related to intolerance toward lesbians and gay men and in tolerance toward ethnic minorities. Results of this research showed that it is possible to meaningfully measure belief in an active Satan and that such beliefs may encourage intolerance toward
Thinking about it more, I realized that hate-crimes legislation doesn't aim to punish the actual crime, but rather the motive (or thoughts) behind it. That's smacks of being more than a little Orwellian to me, besides being something that's very difficult to prove. If someone is continually spouting hateful speech, there's a pretty good chance you can figure out that their motive for a crime might be related to that hate. But what about someone who doesn't give any
Under these legal issues, violence is qualified as a form of hate crime. Hate crimes are bias-motivated acts where one targets another because of their real or perceived membership of a social group. The basis of this social group-sexual identity-is still a divisive issues even in the west-area of the world. In today’s age, the act of homosexuality has been legalized in almost all countries; violence against LGBT has been regarded to as a hate crime. It is claimed to have been connected with either religious or some political ideologies, which tend to be against, strongly condemn homosexuality, and associate it with weakness, morally ill, and feminine.