Chapter 21 - Crime and Deviance - Polity

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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