DEVIANCE and CRIME

The FBI reported that rape-related violent crime in 2016 was 7.7%, followed by murder (1.4%), severe assault (64.3%), and robbery (26.6%). The data also reveals an increase in crime rates compared to 2015. There is no question that crime and deviance are widespread in society based on the data. In every civilization, there is crime. Different theories are applied to explain crime and deviance. The strain theory is one such hypothesis. Additionally, there is a connection between crime and ethnicity.
Crime can be defined as conduct that breaks the law and for which the government can impose penalties (Akers 2011). For example, an individual can violate the law they drive for 10 miles above the required speed limit. On the other hand, deviant behavior refers to behavior that contradicts with the societal norms. Deviance is a term used by sociologists to refer to violation of rules and norms. However, the definition differs from one society to another. Every society has a set of societal norms that govern it. Anyone who violates the norms will be labeled as being deviant. Some of the reasons sociologists give for violating the norms include factors that are outside the individual. Deviance differs from one group to another and one society to another. In the United States, the percentage of deviance varies from one group to another. For instance, drug addicts (47%), homosexuals (49%), alcoholics (46%), murderers (22%), prostitutes (27%), and perverts (12%)

Crime and deviance refer to the behaviors that are violating the rules and norms expected in the society. Deviance is can also be described as behavior that departs from the social expectations. Behavior that is deviant to one group may be normative to another group. Two types of deviance are the formal and informal. Formal behavior is one that breaks the law for example crime. Formal behavior can lead to imprisonment. Informal deviance, on the other hand, violates the customary laws. Body piercing is one example of the informal deviance.

Crime is highly complex, and it changes from one culture another over time. Due to changing cultures, there may be changes in behaviors that were not criminalized to become criminalized. Globalization and technological changes have brought about changes in the behaviors described as a crime. For instance, the internet has led to cybercrime being included in the list of criminal activities.

Strain theory

Different theories are used to explain the crime and deviance. One of the theories includes the sociological theory. Sociological theories are based on the belief that crime is shaped by the factors which are outside the individuals reach. Such factors it may be the peer group, neighborhood, and even family. Sociological theories are the approaches which use the social pressure and social context to explain deviance. The strain theory is one of the sociological theories explaining crime. The strain theory was developed by Robert Merton. The theory is based on two criteria. The first one is an individual's motivation to achieve their cultural goals. The second criteria are an individual’s belief on how to reach their goals. Merton outlines five main types of deviance. They are innovation, conformity, ritualism, rebellion, and retreatism. According to this the strain theory, people can have deviant behaviors in search of social values.

The structural strain theory was an extension of the functionalist perspective. Strain theories state that there are certain stressors which increase the chances of crime. Some of the stressors include negative stimuli, losing positive stimuli, and not being able to achieve one's goals. When individual experiences such strain they tend to become upset and turn to crime to escape the strains. According to the strain theory, society has both social structure and culture. The social structure is concerned with providing people with a means of achieving their goals and while culture gives peoples the goals in the society. A well-integrated society is one in which the people make use of the appropriate means to get their goals. For instance, an individual can look for a job to get a source of income. In this scenario, there is a balance between the societal means and the goals. Deviance occurs when there is no balance in means and goals (Downes, Rock, and McLaughlin 2016). For example, if a person wants to get money he can decides to steal to get the money.

People engage in criminal activities when they become stressed. Once an individual becomes upset, they can engage in criminal activities. They take part in crime as a way to escape from the stress that they are going through. For instance, someone who is constantly harassed by other people can become violent to shield himself from the harassment. Another example is someone who has a financial problem and can resort to stealing to get the money.

There are several reasons in which strains increase crime. Crime is a means of getting revenge on the source of strain. Strains increase anger and make an individual upset. Strain theory was developed by Robert Merton. The theory is used to explain the increase in crime rates in the United States. There is no doubt that the strain theory has gained a lot of popularity over the years. Merton view is that the cultural system was built based on the American dream. It was the American dream that encouraged people to work hard to succeed. For an individual to achieve the American dream, they had to get employment. However, not everyone was able to get employment. At times, unemployment rate are very high.

Merton argued that when individuals have a gap in the finances, it leads to strain. When an individual is faced with the strain, one adapts in four different ways. An individual adapts to conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion. For instance, an individual who does remain unemployment for a long time may resort to selling drugs or theft to get money. There are also individuals who can revenge on their employers for firing them. Strain theory seeks to explain reasons why crime is a resolution among the people in the lower classes. Sampson and Lauritsen (1997) are of the view that there is a higher rate of personal homicide and violence in blacks than whites. Majority of the criminals engage in crime because they are looking for ways to generate income.

The strain theory shows the relationship between the social structure and deviance. It helps to deepen one’s understanding by connecting ideas to the relationship between institutionalized means and cultural goals.

The 2000 statistics show that there are 26 white people who got arrested per 1000 population. Out of this total, there were 113 blacks. The British crime survey also shows that crime is rampant in intra-racial groups.

Crime and ethnicity

The relationship between crime and ethnicity is not straightforward. From the evidence, the relationship between ethnicity and poverty is essential in explaining crime and deviance. There is an over-representation of the black crime (Ministry of Justice 2008). According to Bowling and Phillips (2003), there is never enough evidence needed to prosecute, and the evidence is based on racist stereotyping. The authors also point out that discrimination begins with policing. The over-policing is common in areas with Africans or Caribbean’s.

Studies show that blacks have high levels of crime more than whites. There is an increase in the risk of Hispanics and black being arrested (Hawkins 1993, p.100). Blacks are arrested even for crimes that would warrant for community service. However, according to Morenoff (2005), there is increased violence in blacks than whites. Perhaps, it is because of the increase in violence that leads to blacks being imprisoned.

According to equality and human rights commission (EHRC) blacks are 29 times more likely to be stopped and searched than any other ethnicity. According to the British crime survey (BCS), black people are seven times likely to be stopped by the police than white people. It may be contributed due to several reasons including police racism. According to Phillips and Bowling (2007), many police officers have negative stereotypes of ethnic minorities and thus are likely to stop and search them. The other reason could be due to demographic factors. Moreover, ethnic minorities are over-represented.

According to Graham and Bowling (1995), the crime rate between blacks and whites is almost the same, blacks crime rate is 43%, and whites are 44%. There was lower crimes rate among Indians (30%), Bangladeshi (13%) and Pakistanis at 28%. From this statistics, black American is not the only group with high crime rates. Official crime statistics (OCS) also reveal that the black ethnic groups are likely to be involved in criminal activity.

Hall, Clarke, Critcher, Jefferson, and Roberts 1978). have different views concerning the increase in crime rate in ethnic minorities. Their opinion was based on the British capitalism crisis in the 1970s (Hall, 1978). At that time, Britain was going through industrial arrest. The economy was collapsing, and there was political unrest.

However, Hall et al., does not believe that the statistics on crime rate are higher than other groups. They are of the opinion that there is no sufficient evidence to link blacks with the crimes. They also argue that young black mugging was merely a scapegoat to distract people from the true cause of the problems in the society.

Normative and relativistic approaches to crime and deviance

Relativistic approach views the society as being complicated to have shared values. In this approach, the societal values are seen as an outcome of the dynamic process through which some values are dominant in the society. The relativistic approach has different approaches to deviance compared to normative perspective. The focus on relativistic perspective is that diversity is the central part of the social life. According to Rubington and Weinberg (2015), the relativistic definition of deviance depends on how the members of the society define actors and acts. The relativistic approach claims that behavior only become deviant once it is disapproved by the people in authority. If the members of the society in power view a given action as being deviant, then that is how it will be categorized.

Normative approach refers to the fact that the norms are shared by the members of the society (Orcutt 1983). A norm is the rule of standards which govern an individual’s conduct in the community. They are the standards in which the person is expected to conform (Bierstedt, 1957). A normative approach to deviance refers to the actions which are different from the ones that are accepted by the societal standards. It gives an image of the society that has allowed specific ways of behaving.

Conclusion

Conclusively, from the structural strain theory, individuals are likely to be involved in criminal activities when they get upset. Strain makes individuals engage in criminal activities to suppress their anger. Nowadays, crime and deviance have taken a whole new direction. Globalization has increased the gap between the rich and the poor, and thus it may increase the strain theory relevance. Furthermore, the internet has brought in new types of crime. Also, it becomes harder to apply the strain theory due to population dilution. Therefore, it is vital to conduct a new study to help in explaining crime and deviance in the society. There are different views regarding crime and ethnicity. There are arguments as to why there are high crime rates among ethnic minorities. There also other discussions of the opinion that ethnic minority crime rates are not as high as they are portrayed. From the above statistics, it is clear that the relationship between ethnicity and crime is a complex one.

































References

Akers, R.L., (2011). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Transaction Publishers.

Bierstedt, R., (1957). The social order: An introduction to sociology.

Bowling, B. and Phillips, C. (2003). Policing ethnic minority communities.

Bowling, B. and Phillips, C., (2007). Disproportionate and discriminatory: reviewing the evidence on police stop and search. The Modern Law Review, 70(6), pp.936-961.

British Crime survey(2000). The British crime Survey: A review of Methodology Retrieved from: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218141901/http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/bcs-methodology-review-2000.pdf

Bureau, C., 2008. Ministry of Justice. Government of Korea.

Downes, D., Rock, P. and McLaughlin, E., (2016). Understanding deviance: a guide to the sociology of crime and rule-breaking. Oxford University Press.

FBI report. (2016). 2016 crime statistics released. Retrieved https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2016-crime-statistics-released

Graham, J. and Bowling, B., (1995). Young people and crime.

Hall, S., Clarke, J., Critcher, C., Jefferson, T. and Roberts, B., (1978). Policing the crisis: Mugging, law and order and the state.

Hawkins, D.F., (1993). Crime and ethnicity. The socio-economics of crime and justice, pp.89-120.

Ministry of Justice. (2008).Ministry of Justice Departmental report 2007 to 2008. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-justice-departmental-report-2007-to-2008

Morenoff, J.D ( 2005). Racial and ethnic disparities in crime and delinquency in the United States. Ethnicity and causal mechanisms. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University press; pp.139-173

Orcutt, J.D., 1983. Analyzing deviance. Dorsey Press.

Rubington, E. and Weinberg, M., 2015. Deviance: The interactionist perspective. Routledge.

Sampson, R.J. and Lauritsen, J.L., (1997). Racial and ethnic disparities in crime and criminal justice in the United States. Crime and justice, 21, pp.311-374.