Chapter 5
Deviance and Crime
And so, since (John Stuart) Mill recognized the right of society to institute laws for self-protection, and since (Patrick) Devlin acknowledged that each citizen is entitled to the greatest measure of personal freedom, what really is the "right" portion between the two?
Karl Menninger, M.D., Whatever Became of Sin?
CORE QUOTES
The following series of quotes may be viewed as representations of the central issues in Chapter 5.
"But often what we think of as deviant is also an ordinary part of everyday life." (text, p. 131)
"Without norms. . . We would lack guideposts telling us what is permissible and what constitutes the outer limits of allowable behavior. . . interaction would be a real problem because we would never know what others might do." (text, p. 132)
". . . deviance is what people say it is." (text, p. 133)
"But deviance also has positive or integrative consequences for social life." (text, p. 137)
"If the work of the world is to get done, people must follow rules." (text, p. 138)
"By doing what group members do, we acquire our identities and a sense of well-being. The group is our group, and its norms are our norms. Social control thus becomes self-control." (text, p. 139)
"It is only when a society extols common symbols of success for the entire population while structurally restricting the access of large numbers of people to the approved means for acquiring these symbols that antisocial behavior is generated." (text, p. 141)
"In sum, the problem (of deviance) may not be anomie or structural strain but a conflict of values." (text, p. 142)
"People learn not only how to be deviant. . . but they also learn attitudes favorable to deviance." (text, p. 143)
"If we could prevent all crimes committed by persons under 25 years of age, this would eliminate most conventional crimes from society, though we would still have many white-collar crimes and about half of the homicides." (text, p. 155)
". . . allegiance to a group and its norms typically operates as an even stronger force than the threat of societal punishment in bringing about conformity." (text, p. 164)
From these quotes, four major instructional objectives may be inferred. They are:
1. Showing how the values of diverse groups affect definitions of deviant behavior, society's identification of deviants, and as a consequence, the amount of deviance within a society;
2. Clarifying and inviting critical examination of different explanations of deviant behavior;
3. Demonstrating the importance of acquiring accurate statistics on crime, in addition to accurately interpreting the statistics acquired;
4. Determining what factors control human behavior.
FOCUS QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS
As noted in Chapter 1, the following questions are designed to orient student thinking to help them achieve the instructional objectives identified above. In addition, they are designed to challenge the student's prior beliefs and biases while acquainting the student with the mode of sociological thinking on this topic.
1. Picture the typical deviant in your mind. What does he/she look like? What are the predominant social, psychological, and biological characteristics of this person?
2. Why do you think people break rules? Laws? What are their primary motives?
3. What do you believe to be the primary causes of deviance?
4. When you have broken informal rules and/or laws, why did you break them? What were your motives?
5. Do you perceive yourself to be a different kind of person than those you picture as typical deviants and/or criminals? If so, how? If not, what characteristics make you similar?
6. If you were in charge of the penology system, what would be your goals?
7. If you were in charge of the penology system, how would you attempt to achieve your goals; that is, what methods of punishment would you utilize? Why?
8. Do you seriously wish that crime didn't exist? In what specific ways would society be changed if there were no crime?
9. What changes are necessary in order to reduce the current crime rate? Why do you think it has been declining in recent years? Do you think the reductions have been due primarily to changes in the justice system or because of changes in society? Explain your answer.
10. What characteristics of the current system of criminal justice may make a reduction in crime rates difficult to achieve?
PROJECTS & WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
CRITICAL THINKING EXERCISE
As noted in the preface and Chapter 1, each chapter will include a critical thinking exercise based on three elements: values, facts, and applications.
Because of the significance attached to the social control of deviance in Chapter 5, students are assigned a paper in which they are expected to respond to the following questions:
1. Social Facts: According to the text, what are the three main types of social control processes? Explain each one.
2. Values: In understanding how people are brought to the point of conforming to norms, what role do values play in this process? How do our wants and needs affect our decision to conform or deviate?
3. Personal Application: Pick an example of your own deviancy, such as drinking or smoking under age, the use of illegal drugs, speeding, or cheating on exams. In the context of your example, respond to the following questions:
a. Did any or all of the three types of social control come into play with your decision to deviate? If so, how?
b. Why were these forms of control ineffective in controlling you?
c. What other factors controlled your decision to deviate? What made them more powerful than the forces of social control?
UNDERSTANDING AND EVALUATING THE
SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF DEVIANCE
After being assigned Chapter 5 in the text, students are placed in small discussion groups, each of which is given responsibility for one of the sociological explanations of deviance, such as "structural strain," "labeling," and "differential association." Each group is given time to collaborate a bit in order to "teach" each other some of the finer points of the assigned perspective. Each group is then asked to explain their perspective to the rest of the class as if it were a new theory being presented at a sociological conference such as the ASA. After each presentation, the rest of the class is encouraged to ask for clarification when needed and to challenge any of the weaker aspects of the theory as presented by the group. The instructor serves as a backup whenever the group offers unclear, inaccurate, or incomplete information about their assigned perspective. This activity offers opportunity to check on student reading comprehension, and it also enhances understanding of deviant behavior theories.
MEASURING THE CONSEQUENCES OF PUNISHMENT
According to psychiatrist Karl Menninger, "society secretly wants crime, needs crime, and gains definite satisfactions from the present mishandling of it." (The Crime of Punishment, 1966). Based on this contention, students are asked to respond to the following questions: (1) What evidence points to the conclusions that society wants and needs crime? (2) What specific aspects of the penal system are currently being mishandled? (3) According to objective research, what kinds of penalties are most apt to result in rehabilitation and a consequent reduction in crime rates? (4) Does the evidence adequately support his conclusions?
DEFINING DEVIANCE AND IDENTIFYING DEVIANTS
A. Developing student awareness of bias regarding the "typical deviant" is an important starting point for this subject. One method of getting students focused on the topic is to utilize the counseling technique of instant association. The first step is to quickly point to each student in the class, asking each to instantly complete a sentence beginning with, "People are basically. . ." Answers will normally include descriptors such as "stupid," "kind," "liars," "lazy," "self-centered," and "lonely." At this point, the instructor returns to each student, instructing each to complete the statement, "I am basically. . ." by using the same word he or she used to complete the earlier statement. At this point, some students have difficulty identifying themselves with the image they portrayed for people in general. They see themselves as somehow "different." They are asked to hold whatever thoughts they may have at this point until later in the discussion.
Now the class is asked to "brainstorm" a bit about why they think most people break laws. Their responses are listed on the chalkboard for observation. Next, they are given a sheet listing acts ranging from simple misdemeanors to felonies; then they are asked to note anonymously whether they have ever committed any of the described acts. [They are told their papers will not be collected in order to suggest that total honesty will not endanger them or their privacy.] After being given time to examine the acts listed on the sheet, they are asked whether they can honestly say they have never committed any of the acts identified.
The next stage is to ask the students to make a mental note of the specific acts they have committed and to identify their motives in each case; that is, why they did what they did. Their responses are noted in a column on the chalkboard near the first list indicated above. The similarities between the two lists are always striking. In most cases, the motives identified for "most people" are identical to those identified for themselves.
Now the students are asked whether they perceive themselves as being different from "common criminals." If they respond affirmatively, they are asked to explain how they see themselves as different, particularly in light of the similarities between the two lists on the board. Their responses are noted next to the two lists.
Finally the stage is set for a brief lecture utilizing the classic study of Sykes and Matza on "Techniques of Neutralization: A Theory of Delinquency" (American Sociological Review, December, 1957). The evidence of the reliability of this research is on the board. It will offer a rich opportunity for discussion of stigma, labeling theory, and the competition of value systems in the definitions and identification of deviant behavior. Exploring the role of power in developing a definition of deviance is a valuable follow-up.
B. Students are often confused about the different structures that comprise the justice system. A common source of confusion is the different interpretations of deviance suggested by civil and criminal laws. This confusion was highlighted in the separate criminal and civil trials of O.J. Simpson, where two seemingly opposite decisions were reached regarding his guilt or innocence. The following chart summarizes the differences between the two legal arenas. The chart is followed by a suggested writing assignment or class discussion.
POINT OF COMPARISON CIVIL LAW CRIMINAL LAW
Parties Plaintiff (injured party State vs. Defendant
vs. Defendant
Aim of System Compensate someone Protect the public from harm
who is injured for the
harm suffered
Priority Adjustment of interests Moral condemnation of
of individuals to achieve perpetrator
socially desirable result
Action (example) Lawsuit for wrongful Criminal trial for
death manslaughter
Standard of Proof Preponderance of the Beyond a reasonable
evidence doubt
Decision Judgment for plaintiff Conviction or acquittal
or defendant of defendant
Result Damages—monetary Sentence—punishment
compensation to the if defendant found guilty
plaintiff if defendant
found guilty
Source: Adapted from LaFave & Scott, "Crimes and Civil Wrongs" in Criminal Law. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1972, pp. 10-14.
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Activity: Students are asked to describe the damages and then the punishment they would give in a hypothetical case of wrongful death/manslaughter assuming the guilt of the defendant. They are further asked to explain their rationale for the damages and punishment chosen.
DEFINING CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
Activity: Students are asked to consider the following behaviors. Then they are asked to identify those they consider to be crimes. Finally, they are asked to assess a penalty for each, accompanied by their rationale.
1. The slaughter and sale of uninspected meat
2. The private manufacture and sale to friends of untaxed alcoholic beverages
3. Mislabeling of foods
4. Knowingly selling dairy products past their "sell dates"
5. Prescribing illegal (but legal in other countries) drugs to patients when no legal
alternative is available
6. A multi-corporate agreement to fix prices on gasoline
7. Hiring illegal aliens at below labor market prices and forcing them to work under unsafe conditions
8. Hiring underage employment-seeking youths for jobs in your fast-food establishment when no one else has applied
9. Temporarily lowering prices in your chain store below the actual cost of the items in order to run the small, local competition out of business
10. Routinely selling used cars as new or "slightly used" by turning back the odometer
11. Faking automobile repair work in order to inflate repair prices
12. Providing unnecessary medical procedures to increase profits
13. Acquiring a financial interest in the company that sells the drugs you prescribe as a doctor
14. Suppressing findings from a company study showing negative effects on workers of a chemical your company produces
15. Substituting a generic drug for a name brand drug, while charging the higher price
16. Selling cigarettes to a pregnant adult
17. Buying votes by promising jobs to large campaign contributors
HOW PUNISHMENT ALTERS BEHAVIOR
As noted in a previously suggested activity, Karl Menninger once wrote: "The inescapable conclusion is that society secretly wants crime, needs crime, and gains definite satisfactions from the present mishandling of it" (The Crime of Punishment, 1966).
Using Menninger's statement as a premise, a way of approaching the topic of penology in the classroom is to ask students to assume they are responsible for the creation of a punishment system. As the leader in charge, they must establish a set of goals for their system. They are asked to brainstorm possible goals. Usually, student responses will include such concepts as retaliation, deterrence, disablement, protection of society, reformation, and rehabilitation. With some prodding, students will also identify reducing crime rates as an additional goal to consider.
At this point, students are given a variety of local situations (usually derived from the media) involving possible criminal acts--ranging from driving under the influence to murder--about which they are asked what they would do with the involved person, persons, or corporation (assuming guilt). Responses will vary tremendously, but always force the student to recognize that punishment is a form of socialization and that, as such, it will have an impact on the behavior of the recipient. The question is, What kind of impact do they want from the punishment they wish to impose? What are the probabilities of behavioral change on the part of the "guilty party" resulting from the punishment imposed? Will the student's decision as a "director" of a penal system result in a higher or lower crime rate? Is the student's primary motive to reduce crime or to "get even"? Can the "get even" motive reduce crime, or will it come into conflict with a crime-reduction motive? What research evidence is available to support the student's position?