Chapter 21 - Crime and Deviance - Polity

CHAPTER COMMENTARY 

Sociology’s treatment of crime and deviance begins with nineteenth century attempts to 

produce scientific explanations for crime in the form of Lombroso’s physiological theory 

of the individual criminal. He theorized that criminal types were a kind of evolutionary 

throwback (atavism) that had not adopted civilized modes of conduct and hence lived 

outside of normal conventions and rules. So as to demonstrate what is distinctively 

sociological about the accounts being put forward, both biological and psychological 

aetiologies of crime are considered and found to be inadequate. Students may well be 

challenged by the idea that the psychopath may turn to crime but equally may find a 

socially acceptable and legitimate outlet for those same personality and behavioural 

tendencies. 

The primary focus of this chapter is crime, but in presenting the basic concepts it quickly 

establishes that crime exists within the much broader category of behaviour that 

sociologists call deviance, defined as ‘non-conformity to a given set of norms that are 

accepted by a significant number of people in a community or society’ (p. 922). Crime is 

‘non-conformist behaviour that breaks a law’ (p. 922). A distinction is made between 

criminology, which concentrates on studying crime in order to help prevent it, and the 

sociology of deviance, which adopts a much wider remit. Individuals at different times 

observe, break and create rules and those who transgress widely held social norms 

might, at the same time, be observing the rules of a deviant subculture. The study of 

deviance is always the study of power, posing the questions, whose rules are being 

broken and who has the power to uphold those rules? 

Turning to the sociological analysis of crime, the first approaches considered draw on 

Durkheim’s notion of anomie. Modern societies are characterized by individual freedom 

and choice, inevitably creating instances of non-conformity. Such instances have both 

adaptive and boundary maintenance functions. These ideas were developed further by 

American functionalism in the 1940s and 1950s, notably by Robert Merton, which is a 

Classic Study here. This work stresses that criminal behaviour arises amid the 

acceptance of socially sanctioned goals and the unequal distribution of legitimate 

opportunities to attain them and so may increase at a time of affluence if some are 

unable to meet their rising aspirations. Subcultural explanations point to the formation 

of delinquent subcultures among those excluded from success in the mainstream. 

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Crime and Deviance 

A further extension of Durkheim’s thought points to the positive outcomes for society in 

terms of both innovation and social solidarity of deviance maintained within acceptable 

bounds. Some theorists now argue that the boundaries have shifted to such an extent 

that socially disruptive levels of crime, particularly violent crime, have become 

normalized. 

Interactionist theories concentrate on how behaviours come to be defined as deviant. 

Labelling perspectives considers the social processes by which certain acts and actors 

become labelled as deviant. The same act, in different social settings, may be 

interpreted as ‘high spirits’ or ‘deviance’, categories normally imposed by the socially 

powerful upon the socially relatively powerless. The primary deviance of a transgressive 

act may have few consequences. However, once labelled as deviant all the actions of an 

individual become open to interpretation by others as deviant and individuals 

themselves may come to accept the label of deviant as central to their identity, a 

process which establishes secondary deviance. An upward spiral of deviancy 

amplification can be created at this point through deviancy amplification. The Classic 

Study of this process is Stan Cohen’s Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972) which is given a 

thorough airing here. 

The new criminology of the 1970s saw deviance and criminality within the context of 

capitalist relationships of power. ‘Deviant’ behaviour from Black Power and Gay Rights 

activists was seen as a challenge to the political order, not as deviance. In the UK, the 

public panic over ‘mugging’ was reinterpreted as an ideological displacement of real 

problems in the sphere of production. Attention was drawn to the comparative lack of 

political emphasis placed upon white-collar crime compared with the petty crimes of the 

working class. The 1980s saw the emergence of New Left or Left Realism, which 

distanced itself from the more romantic strands of the new criminology with a tendency 

to view deviants as heroes of the working class. Victim surveys showed that crime was a 

real problem for the socially excluded groups in impoverished communities, those on 

the margins of society being at a higher risk of crime. Left realists also used the concept 

of relative deprivation in their explanations. This approach argues for policing strategies 

that build trust with all groups in the local community. 

Control theories see human beings as fundamentally self-interested and rational and 

hence willing to commit crimes if the chances of punishment are low, unless prevented 

by sufficiently strong personal bonds to society. Inadequate socialization means not 

everyone has the self-control which prevents criminal behaviour. Increasing affluence 

means more goods are available to be stolen and more homes are empty and vulnerable 

to crime during the working day. This approach is associated with Right Realism and an 

emphasis on crime prevention strategies focusing on making given crimes more difficult 

to commit, known as target hardening, along with zero tolerance policing. Together, 

these strategies are often called situational crime prevention – the attempt to prevent 

crime by focusing on the situation or environment rather than the offender and their 

motivations. These approaches may have the effect of simply changing the goods 

targeted by criminals and moving crime into less well-protected areas. The theory of 

‘broken windows’ suggests that there is a direct link between the appearance of 

disorder in a neighbourhood and the local level of crime: metaphorically and literally, a 

single broken window left unrepaired acts as a beacon to offenders and creates a 

downward spiral of crime in an area. 

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Patterns of crime and crime statistics are notoriously difficult to interpret, as not all 

crimes are reported, not all reported crimes recorded and the basis on which figures are 

collated and presented are not stable. Using the UK as a case study, it can be said that 

from the 1950s to the mid-1990s there was a steady increase both in levels of recorded 

crime and in public anxiety about crime. Victimization surveys such as the BCS reveal 

higher levels of crime than officially gathered statistics but still may under-record crimes 

such as domestic violence, which people may be unwilling or fell unable to report. Both 

official figures and victimization studies recorded from the mid-1990s onward reveal a 

general downward trend though levels of anxiety and fear of crime do not reflect this 

reduction. 

The sociology of deviance has tended to concentrate on men, in part reflecting the 

lower levels of recorded criminality among women and in part the processes of labelling 

which are less likely to name female behaviour as deviant. This pattern can be seen as 

the outcome of both the processes by which a crime becomes recorded and the real 

social conditions of women’s lives. Women have fewer opportunities than men to 

engage in many criminal activities, as all aspects of their behaviour in the public sphere 

remain controlled and contained in a way that men’s are not. Women in some 

circumstances also escape being labelled as deviant or criminal by evoking the ‘gender 

contract’, under which they accept the definition of themselves as erratic and in need of 

male protection. The extent to which women’s criminal behaviour will change along 

with wider changes in their social position remains unclear. 

The impact of changing gender patterns in society has also been invoked as an 

explanation of apparent increases in male criminality. High levels of male 

unemployment produce a crisis for young men in their transition to an adult masculinity. 

Criminal behaviour can offer a possible source of adult masculine identity. 

The crimes of domestic violence, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape are 

overwhelmingly crimes committed by men against women. Only a small proportion of 

rapes come to the attention of the authorities, although the number has increased as 

police and courts have been made more aware of, and more sensitive to, these issues. 

Rape is not about sexual desire but about violence, power and control in a sexualized 

way. All women are affected by rape as fear of it limits freedom on the streets and can 

even create anxiety when home alone. Just as all women are expected to modify their 

behaviour, or risk being seen as ‘asking for it’, so too are gay men and lesbians who are 

publicly open about their sexuality. Youth crime, as Cohen and others have argued, is an 

area which crystallizes wider social concerns and the introduction of Anti-Social 

Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and similar initiatives can be seen to criminalize low-level 

deviance. 

The chapter now turns to consider middle-class crimes, which run counter to popular 

perceptions of both crime and criminality. White-collar crime covers a range of illegal 

activities open to those with professional occupations, notably in the financial sector, 

and refers to offences which are not sanctioned by companies and may harm them, such 

as fraud and embezzlement. Corporate crime covers all of those harmful activities by 

corporations in pursuit of their own interests such as pollution, mislabelling and 

violations of health and safety legislation. In these cases, the gap between the 

perpetrator and the victim of crime is large, but these are not victimless crimes and the 

victims are often the most vulnerable in society. 

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The next section of the chapter turns to consider responses to crime. The UK and USA 

are countries particularly wedded to custodial sentencing in response to criminal 

behaviour. High rates of recidivism call into question its effectiveness as a tool for either 

rehabilitation or deterrence and in part account for recent interest in restorative justice 

approaches. Recent policy has seen a move towards restorative justice and community 

punishments though sociologists argue that we should not see these as simple solutions 

to the prevention of crime and deviance. Restorative justice seeks to raise awareness 

among offenders of the impact of their crimes on victims. 

A further aspect of economic and political globalization is the international spread of 

organized crime. Such crime represents multimillion-dollar international trade, often 

linked with the illegal narcotics industry and masked by legitimate business activity 

based in areas of low risk for the criminals such as the former Soviet Union. Cybercrime 

has grown along with the Internet, and operates outside geographical constraints, 

posing particular challenges for international law and law enforcement agencies. Wall’s 

distinction between first, second and third (or ‘true) cybercrimes is adopted to show 

how some crimes simply make use of the new ICTs whilst others only become possible 

with its rise. 

TEACHING TOPICS 

1. Learning and labelling 

Much criminal behaviour, whilst breaking the rules of society, is behaviour which obeys 

the rules of the subculture within which it is located. Such behaviour is learned through 

processes of socialization, and the acceptance of a deviant label may promote the 

solidarity of the subcultural group. This topic builds upon the section ‘Explaining crime 

and deviance: sociological theories’. 

2. Victims and perpetrators 

Dimensions of social inequality are linked in a variety of ways to crime and criminality. 

The section on ‘Conflict theories and the new criminology’ explores some class 

dimensions, while the section ‘Victims and perpetrators of crime’ also touches on class 

but explores more thoroughly issues of gender and sexuality. 

3. Young people and prison 

This theme links together two areas raised in the chapter: ‘Youth and crime’ and ‘Prisons 

and punishment’ and builds upon Using Your Sociological Imagination 21.1’s example of 

the death in custody of Adam Rickwood in the UK context. 

ACTIVITIES 

Activity 1: Learning and labelling 

Using marijuana is illegal in Britain. For many people, though, the use of marijuana is 

part of their everyday life. These people are acting criminally and would be seen by 

many as ‘deviants’, but within their own subcultures their behaviour is seen as normal 

and is governed by taken-for-granted rules of interaction in much the same way as other 

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aspects of social life. Like other aspects of social life using marihuana is learned 

behaviour which the individual is taught through processes of socialization. 

Howard Becker’s classic Outsiders, details the stages in becoming a marijuana user. He 

identifies three key stages in the transition from being someone who has reached the 

point of being willing to try marijuana to becoming a user of marijuana for pleasure. The 

stages are: learning the technique, learning to perceive the effects and learning to enjoy 

the effects. This study was conducted among musicians in the United States in the early 

1960s. At that time smoking marijuana was an important element in the subculture of 

jazz musicians and was woven into the subcultural whole through the use of language 

and the rituals of usage. This extract is taken from the section in Becker’s book, 

‘Learning to Enjoy the Effects’, and deals with the role of experienced marijuana users in 

teaching novices to redefine their sometimes unpleasant and frightening first 

experiences of marijuana use into something pleasurable: 

An experienced user describes how he handles newcomers to marijuana use: 

Well, they get pretty high sometimes. The average person isn’t ready for 

that, and it is a little frightening to them sometimes. I mean, they’ve been 

high on lush [alcohol], and they don’t know what's happening to them. 

Because they think they’re going to keep going up, up, up till they lose their 

minds or begin doing weird things or something. You have to like reassure 

them, explain to them that they’re not really flipping or anything, that 

they’re gonna be all right. You have to just talk them out of being afraid. 

Keep talking to them, reassuring, telling them it's all right. And come on with 

your own story, you know: ‘The same thing happened to me. You’ll get to 

like that after a while.’ Keep coming on like that; pretty soon you talk them 

out of being scared. And besides they see you doing it and nothing horrible is 

happening to you, so that gives them more confidence. 

The more experienced user may also teach the novice to regulate the amount 

he smokes more carefully, so as to avoid any severely uncomfortable symptoms 

while retaining the pleasant ones. Finally, he teaches the new user that he can 

‘get to like it after a while.’ He teaches him to regard those ambiguous 

experiences formerly defined as unpleasant as enjoyable […] 

In short, what was once frightening and distasteful becomes, after a taste for it 

is built up, pleasant, desired and sought after. Enjoyment is introduced by the 

favorable definition of the experience that one acquires from others. Without 

this, use will not continue, for marijuana will not be for the user an object he 

can use for pleasure. 

(Howard Becker, Outsiders, New York: Free Press, 1963, pp. 55–6) 

1. How is this process an induction into both deviance and conformity? 

Activity 2: Victims and perpetrators 

Until the 1950s, male homosexuality was a criminal act in the UK. The forces of law and 

order were charged to police and punish the act. Until the 1970s, homosexuality was 

seen as an illness to be treated. In the fairly recent past male homosexuality has been 

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variously seen as a sickness, a deviance and an evil. Today, some individuals and groups 

retain these views, even though homosexuality is, no longer a crime. 

The question of crime and homosexuality now focuses on those who would express 

their dislike and disapproval of homosexuality through violent means. The Criminal 

Justice Act, 2003, permits judges to increase sentences in the context of ‘hate crimes’ 

including homophobic attacks. Read the subsection ‘Crimes against homosexuals’ (pages 

946-7), which outlines a paper by Diane Richardson and Hazel May (1999). Now read this 

extract from that paper: 

Consideration of how we understand and explain violence differently in relation 

to who the victim is, rather than the circumstances in which the violence occurs, 

raises the question of the social recognition and worth accorded certain 

individuals or social groups and, related to this, the degree to which they are 

considered to have ‘lives worth living’ … 

The focus on lesbians and gay men is extremely useful in highlighting how 

interpretations of violence are mediated through notions of culpability and 

victimisation. As a marginalised and stigmatised group within society, lesbians 

and gay men are unlikely to be construed as ‘innocent’ victims. On the contrary, 

the idea of the ‘homosexual’ as dangerous, a threat both to individuals they 

have contact with, especially children, and to national security and social order 

has a long history … Analysis of the meanings attributed to violence towards 

lesbians and gay men, therefore, helps to make explicit the normative processes 

by which we define someone as an ‘undeserving’ or ‘deserving’ victim … 

… The idea that the public existence of ‘homosexuals’ represents some form of 

provocation, which renders violence and harassment intelligible, is evident in 

institutional as well as informal assessments of public violence. This is 

supported by the literature on homophobic violence … which draws attention 

to the failure of the police to acknowledge the significance of recording ‘sexual 

orientation’ among the reasons which motivate attackers to abuse and kill, and 

the reluctance of the courts to impose harsh sentences on the perpetrators of 

such crimes. 

(Diane Richardson and Hazel May, ‘Deserving victims?: sexual status and the 

social construction of violence’, Sociological Review, 1999, pp. 308–31) 

1. What other groups are sometimes seen to be ‘asking for it’? 

2. In what ways is this analysis of the position of gay men and lesbians as victims of 

crime similar to the analysis of ethnic minority groups as victims of crime? 

3. Could there be a link between anti-gay crime and the ‘crisis of masculinity’? 

Activity 3: Young people and prison 

The section ‘Youth and crime’ points to the ways in which public fears about a general 

social and moral breakdown become focused upon the question of youth crime. These 

fears far outstrip the reality of youth crime and often focus upon deviant rather than 

strictly criminal acts. The ‘law and order’ emphasis upon drug use and the use of Anti- 

Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) can have the effect of criminalizing behaviour which in 

other ways can be seen as a normal part of growing up. Read that section now. 

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The section ‘Prisons and punishment’ points to the tensions which create a situation 

where the prison population in the UK is growing and is significantly higher as a 

proportion of the population than other European countries, despite evidence which 

strongly suggests that prison is not a rehabilitative or deterrent force and may, in fact, 

contribute to hardening the criminality of inmates. Read that section now and pay 

particular attention to the case of Adam Rickwood (pages 956-7). 

Barry Goldson conducted research over a 12-month period in 2001 and 2002 

into young people (he prefers the term ‘children’) held in locked institutions. 

Locked institutions take two different forms: Secure Units, run by local 

authorities and the Department of Health, where young people deemed to be 

‘at risk’ can be placed; and Young Offender Institutions, managed by the prison 

service and the Home Office, which hold young people charged or convicted 

with criminal offences. In fact, the backgrounds and circumstances of the young 

people in these two types of institution share much in common. The extract 

below refers specifically to Young Offender Institutions. Some children 

interviewed for the study reported negative treatment from the prison staff. 

Even if prison staff were willing to meet the inmates’ needs, Goldson found that 

understaffing meant that in practice staff were unable to give them appropriate 

care. For Goldson, the consequences of such neglect for children are apparent: 

It hurts all the time. All you do is miss your family and you can’t hack it 

sometimes. I wouldn’t send kids to a place like this. (Boy, 16 years) 

I felt very lonely and that, very lonely really. You are on your own and there 

is no one to talk to. All you can do is think and it really winds you up. I had 

no one to speak to and it all built-up and I started thinking that I can’t take 

anymore. (Boy, 16 years) 

Worse still, young offender institutions are not just neglectful, they are sites of 

concentrated bullying in all its forms – physical assault, sexual assault, verbal 

abuse, racist abuse ad assault, intimidation, extortion and theft. Prison staff 

explain: 

It comes in waves, it depends who’s on the wing. You get kids bullying each 

other, you get staff bullying kids and you get staff bullying staff. … Outside 

the kids can get status in lots of ways. In here status is measured in 

different ways: fear and respect become very confused. (Female prison 

officer) 

I think that it occurs all the time in different ways. … Especially with verbal 

bullying, or just an attitude which is a form of bullying, people don’t always 

see it, particularly staff I would say. They call it discipline but it’s really 

bullying, it’s an abuse of power. (Male prison nurse) 

In other settings such behaviour would be called child abuse. 

(Barry Goldson, ‘Victims or threats? Children, care and control’, in Janet Fink (ed.), 

Care: Personal Lives and Social Policy, Bristol: The Policy Press in association with 

the Open University, 2004, pp. 103–4) 

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1. In Sociology the term ‘youth’ is used; in the commentary here, ‘young people’; and 

by Goldson himself, ‘children’. Does the choice of term affect the way you think 

about the situation of these 15- and 16-year olds? How might labelling theorists 

interpret the choice of language? 

2. If prison does not work as a mechanism for rehabilitation or deterrence, what other 

social purposes may it serve, particularly with regard to young people? 

3. What are the similarities and differences between the example of Adam Rickwood 

and the young people in the Goldson extract? 

REFLECTION & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 

Learning and labelling 

What workplace crimes are accepted as normal behaviour? 

How might being labelled as deviant affect the interpretation of an individual’s 

actions? 

How can an activity once seen as deviant become a societal norm? 

How does differential association affect both the opportunities to become deviant 

and the likelihood of being labelled as such? 

Victims and perpetrators 

Why do women and men commit different kinds of crime? 

Will women have gained equality when they are as criminal as men? 

Why might the rate of sexual offences be underreported? 

Should the police collect statistics which identify the sexuality of the victim? 

Young people and prison 

What might a young person learn during a custodial sentence? 

Could Young Offender Institutions be made more effective as a mechanism of 

rehabilitation? 

What alternative non-custodial sentence could be used with young people? 

ESSAY QUESTIONS 

1. Both actual crime and crime statistics are the products of social inequalities, albeit in 

different ways. Discuss. 

2. In what ways are we all rule-breakers and rule-creators? 

3. Why does society find it easier to accept women as the victims rather than the 

perpetrators of violent crime, and members of ethnic minority groups as 

perpetrators rather than victims? 

MAKING CONNECTIONS 


This topic draws together interactionist concerns, discussed in Chapter 8, and issues of 

socialization through the life course from Chapter 9. Labelling and deviance feature 

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again in the context of anti-school sub-cultures in Chapter 20 and are clearly applicable 

to the social construction of disability from Chapter 11 and age-based categories from 

Chapter 9. 

Victims and perpetrators 

This topic aims to open up the relationship between the social construction of the 

deviant actors ‘perpetrator’ and ‘victim’ and broader social constructions of gender, 

sexualities and ethnic identities: Chapters 15 and 16 are therefore particularly useful. 

Young people and prison 

This topic asks students to make links between arguments about youth crime and prison 

and draw upon both functionalism and labelling theory in their answers. It provides a 

good example of the social construction of ‘youth’ and can be linked to chapter 9. More 

subtle links can also be made to theories of childhood development from the same 

chapter. Another route would be to explore functionalist accounts of deviance linked to 

the discussion of Durkheim in Chapter 1 as well as Foucault’s accounts of modern 

organization and surveillance in Chapters 3 and 19. 

SAMPLE SESSION 


Aims 

To show that deviance is not a property of behaviour but of the social meaning of 

behaviour 

To show that deviant behaviour follows group norms 

Outcome: By the end of the session students will be able to: 

1. Explain the terms ‘differential association’ and ‘labelling theory’ 

2. Give examples of how deviant behaviour is learned and follows social rules. 

3. Summarize and organise information from a number of sources 

Preparatory tasks 

Read the section ‘Explaining crime and deviance: sociological theories’. Read the 

extract provided from Becker. Think about any examples of subcultural behaviour 

which you have been similarly socialized into. 

Classroom tasks 

1. Tutor introduces exercises and explains assessment task. (5 minutes) 

2. Divide the class into small groups and issue each with flip-chart paper and marker 

pens. Each group should elect both a scribe and a reporter to feed back on the 

group’s behalf: 

(a) The drug users Becker discussed have their own vocabulary: write down any 

terms from contemporary youth culture that these 1960s deviants would have 

trouble understanding? 

(b) Other than illegal drugs, are there any aspects of youth culture that you have 

to ‘learn to like’? (a + b = 15 minutes) 

3. Groups feedback and flip-charts are placed on the wall for the rest of the session. (5 

minutes) 

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4. Tutor poses the question ‘When does drinking alcohol become deviant?’ In the 

same groups students are encouraged to discuss the question, take a pen each and 

write down with minimal editing any ideas as they come to them. (10 minutes) 

5. The flip-charts are displayed on the wall with no formal feedback. For the rest of 

the session students have the opportunity to wander round and read the sheets 

taking any notes as they go. 

Assessment task 

Write a report which summarizes the answers from all groups to the questions above. 

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