Crime and deviance are among the most debated topics in sociology. This chapter covers the definitions, how crime is measured, who commits it and why, the main theories, and how societies deal with it.
6.1 What are crime, deviance and social control?
Crime and deviance
- Crime: an act that breaks the law and can be punished by the state.
- Deviance: behaviour that breaks a social norm, whether or not it is illegal.
Some acts are both (theft). Some crimes are not deviant (speeding is illegal, but very common). Some deviance is not criminal (rude behaviour, unusual dress).
Social control
- Formal agencies: the police, courts, armed forces, government and the penal system. They make and enforce laws and punish offenders.
- Informal agencies: family, education, workplace, peer group, traditional and digital media and religion. They shape behaviour through approval and disapproval.
How they work: formal control prevents crime by deterrence, surveillance and punishment; informal control prevents it by socialisation and the fear of losing respect.
Effectiveness: control works best when agencies cooperate and people see the rules as fair. Formal control does not reach everything; informal control can fail when families or communities are weak, or when a sub-culture promotes deviance.
Types of crime
| Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Violent crime | harm to people: assault, murder |
| Property crime | theft, burglary, vandalism |
| White-collar / corporate crime | committed by professionals or companies at work: fraud, tax evasion, insider trading, unsafe products |
| Expressive crime | driven by emotion: anger, hatred (a violent fight) |
| Instrumental crime | committed to gain something (money, goods): burglary |
| Gang crime | committed by organised groups |
| Green crime | harm to the environment: illegal dumping, poaching |
| Global / organised crime | across borders: drug and people trafficking, money laundering |
| Cyber crime | using computers: hacking, identity theft, online fraud |
| Hate crime | targeted at a person's identity: race, religion, gender, disability |
| Domestic crime | abuse or violence within the home |
Measuring crime
| Measure | What it is | Strength | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official statistics | crimes recorded by the police | cheap, large-scale, over time | misses unreported and unrecorded crime; the police may not record all reported crimes; definitions change |
| Self-report studies | people say what crimes they have committed | reveals hidden crime, including that of offenders not caught | people may lie or forget; small samples |
| Victim surveys (local and national) | people say what crimes were committed against them | include unreported crime, show victims' experience | memory, may not mention embarrassing crimes; excludes crimes with no direct victim (e.g. drug use, fraud) |
The "dark figure of crime" is crime that is unreported (people do not report it) or unrecorded (the police do not record it). Because of it, official statistics understate crime.
6.2 What are the patterns of and explanations for crime and deviance?
Patterns of crime and victimisation
| Factor | Official statistics suggest |
|---|---|
| Age | most offenders are young (teenagers and young adults); the young are also frequent victims |
| Social class | working-class people are over-represented in crime statistics (but white-collar crime is under-recorded) |
| Gender | men commit most recorded crime, especially violent crime; women are more often victims of domestic and sexual violence |
| Ethnicity | some minority groups are over-represented in arrests and prisons, and are more often victims of hate crime |
Explanations by age
- Police targeting / stop and search: young people are targeted, so more are arrested.
- Self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping: young people labelled as troublemakers may live up to the label.
- Gang culture: gangs provide status and belonging.
- Socialisation and social control: weak control by family and school.
- Lack of opportunity: unemployment and few legitimate routes to success.
- Status frustration (Cohen): lower-class boys fail in the middle-class school system and gain status by deviance instead.
Explanations by ethnicity
- Institutional racism and prejudice and discrimination in policing and the courts.
- Police targeting and stop and search of minority groups, so more are stopped and arrested.
- Material and relative deprivation: poverty and a feeling of being worse off than others.
- Stereotyping, gang culture and status frustration.
Explanations by gender
- Chivalry thesis: police and courts are more lenient towards women, so female crime is under-recorded (some evidence challenges this).
- Culture of masculinity: boys are socialised to be tough and take risks.
- Socialisation and social control: girls are more closely supervised.
- Misogyny: hatred of women explains some violent crime against them.
- Stereotyping, gang culture, lack of opportunity.
Explanations by social class
- Social exclusion: being shut out from jobs, education, housing.
- Material and relative deprivation.
- Inadequate socialisation.
- Lack of opportunity and status frustration.
- Power inequalities: the powerful can make laws that protect their interests and avoid arrest.
- Police targeting of working-class areas.
Sociological theories of crime and deviance
| Theory | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Functionalism | crime is normal and can be useful (Durkheim: it reinforces shared values and can bring change). Strain theory (Merton): when people cannot achieve society's goals (wealth) by legitimate means, they may turn to crime or other responses (innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion). Subcultural theory (Cohen; Cloward and Ohlin): groups form deviant subcultures to gain status. The New Right blames weak families, welfare dependency and lack of discipline. |
| Interactionism | deviance is a label applied by others (labelling; Becker): the label can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy and a deviant career. Moral panic (Stanley Cohen: folk devils): the media exaggerate a group's behaviour, causing public alarm and tougher control. |
| Marxism | the law and the justice system protect the ruling class; capitalism itself is criminogenic (it encourages greed and crime); white-collar crime is under-prosecuted. |
| Feminism | the law and the justice system reflect patriarchy; crimes against women (domestic violence, rape) have been under-reported or under-prosecuted; women's crime is explained by their position in society. |
| Postmodernism | crime and deviance are socially constructed; definitions change, there are many competing views and the media and social media shape what is seen as deviant. |
Evaluating the explanations
- Age: labelling and stereotyping explain over-policing, but some young people do commit crime.
- Ethnicity: discrimination explains part of the difference, but poverty is also a factor.
- Gender: socialisation is convincing, but the chivalry thesis is debated.
- Class: strain and deprivation explain much, but most poor people do not commit crime, and middle-class crime exists.
- Theories: functionalism explains why crime exists but ignores power; Marxism exposes power but ignores non-class crime; interactionism explains labelling but not why the first deviance occurs.
6.3 How is crime dealt with in different societies?
Aims of punishment
| Aim | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Protection of citizens | keep the public safe |
| Deterrence | put people off committing crime (individual deterrence of the offender, general deterrence of others) |
| Retribution | "an eye for an eye": the offender deserves punishment; society takes revenge |
| Incapacitation | stop the offender committing crime (prison, execution) |
| Rehabilitation | change the offender so they do not offend again (education, treatment) |
Types of punishment
| Punishment | Notes on effectiveness |
|---|---|
| Prison | protects the public, deters; but high reoffending rates, expensive, a "school for crime" |
| Community sentencing | unpaid work etc.; cheaper, helps rehabilitation; seen by some as "soft" |
| Financial penalties (fines) | cheap, but may not affect the wealthy and may hit the poor harder |
| Rehabilitation programmes | reduce reoffending if well run; need funding |
| Capital punishment | permanent incapacitation; but evidence for deterrence is weak and mistakes cannot be undone |
| Corporal punishment | physical punishment; opposed on human rights grounds |
| Exile | removing a person from society |
| Ostracism | informal shunning |
| Non-custodial sentences | electronic tagging, curfews, restraining orders |
| Probation | supervision in the community |
| Police cautions | formal warnings for minor offences |
| Social media and vigilante groups | informal "punishment" by public shaming or by groups taking the law into their own hands; unregulated and risks injustice |
Policing and law enforcement
- Policing strategies: targeting hot spots, stop and search, patrols. These can reduce crime but may cause resentment and labelling of groups.
- Surveillance: CCTV, digital surveillance, facial recognition. Can deter and solve crime but raise privacy concerns.
- Crime prevention: neighbourhood watch, better street lighting, education and youth programmes.
- Community policing (officers who know and work with the local community) and military-style policing (heavy force, used in conflict or riots) differ in how much they depend on public trust.
Practise this chapter
Every past-paper question on these topics, with the mark scheme.