Sociological Explanations of Criminal and Deviant Behavior
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Course
Crim 104
Institution
Simon Fraser University (SFU
)
Book
Crime, Deviance and Society
Lecture notes study book Crime, Deviance and Society of Ana Rodas, Melanie Simpson, Paddy Rawlinson, Ronald Kramer, Emma Ryan, Emmeline Taylor, Reece Walters, Alan Beckley, Chris Cunneen, Ashlee Gore, Amand - ISBN: 9781108430302 (Notes)
sociological explanations of criminal and deviant behavior
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Simon Fraser University (SFU
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Criminology
Crim 104
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Criminology 104- Sociological Explanation of Crime of Deviance
What is sociology?
(An expanded definition) Sociology is the study of:
Social relations- the way that individuals and groups relate to each other
(governed or controlled by law and by the criminal justice system)
Social Forces- shape our political system, our social system, our laws and
our criminal justice system
Social Conduct- how we behave or conduct ourselves in our social relations
Social Conventions- norms or expectations- way people expect we will do.
Some are informal, some formal
Social Constraints- can be formal or informal. Informal constraints
(rejection, shunning or exclusion). Formal social constraints (laws, the
courts, police, the prison system)
Social Institutions- largely modern creations, designed to constrain those
who do not follow social convention. We think of these as if they’ve been
there forever, most institutions have however grown over the years.
IS SOCIOLOGY REALLY A SCIENCE?Sociology “involves a respect for logical
clarity in the formulation of theories”. Also involves “disciplined empirical
investigation”. It at least attempts to be a science.
SCIENCE, EMPIRICISM & THEORY
Science = The use of logical, systematic methods to produce a body of knowledge.
We talk about sociology and criminology, and we look at all the theories, testing,
criticism which all involve a degree of empiricisms.
Empiricism = factual investigation and observation if you cannot validate it, it is
not science
, Theory = explains why things happen; help us make sense out of the facts, through
construction of abstract interpretations of empirical situations
THE PROBLEMS WITH SOCIAL “SCIENCE”
-Studying humans and social behaviour is different than studying atoms, minerals,
chemicals or plant life
- Humans may be uncooperative, or may consciously alter their behaviour when
being studied
-Human behaviour can be quite complex, so clear cut cause/effect relationships
may be difficult to pin down
THE MYTH OF VALUE NEUTRALITY
What you do and what you study can be altered and challenged by institutions
• Sociology and criminology are highly interrelated
• Many of the ideas in criminologycame from the field of sociology
• Until recently, criminology was a sub-discipline of sociology, and was usually
subsumed under the sociology department.
THE “ROOTS” OF SOCIOLOGY AND CRIMINOLOGY
• Roots of sociology are much the same as the roots of criminology
• Both disciplines are quite new THE ENLIGHTENMENT. Also known as Age of
Reason.
• Period from 1689 to 1789(began with English Revolution, ended with the French
Revolution)
• Intellectual movement involving philosophers, political reformers, social
theorists, and religious skeptics
THE ENLIGHTENMENT cont.
• New focus on critical examination of human life, religious beliefs and society
• Greater emphasis on reason and science, rationality and empiricism
• Time of Newton’s discovery of gravity, Rousseau’s book The Social Contract
De Montesquieu (1689-1755)- is regarded as the founder of the sociology of
knowledge
• Studied social facts, social institutions, different types of societies throughout
history
,• Examined how different types of social organization, social class positions and
social conditions affect forms of thought and cultural perspectives.
SAINT-SIMON (1760-1825) (Widely regarded as one of the founders of
sociology)
• Impressed by Newton’s law of gravity and with the scientific method in general-
the power of reason
• Introduced the concept of “positivism” – the application of scientific principles to
the study of human phenomenon
• Called for a “human science”, that would discover the laws of social development
THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY
• School of thought that emerged from The Enlightenment, or Age of Reason
• Not really a “school of criminology”; group of philosophers who tried to reform
way deviants or criminals were created
BEFORE THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL
• Presumption of guilt, unless proven innocent
• Confession of guilt, or proof of innocence, through inquisition, ideally through
torture
• Death penalty for most crimes
• Physical torture for the few crimes that didn’t result in the death penalty
SPIRITUALISMTHE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT
INQUISITIONS
WILL IT FLOAT?
A torture format to determine whether someone was a which. where they would tie
your arms and legs together and throw you in the water. If you floated, you were
burned to death. If you sank, you died.
TIME LINES
, • DEMONIC (1400-1700)
- Deviance as evil
- Caused by temptation and moral weakness
- Remedied through exorcism and/or execution
• CLASSICAL (1700-1800)
- Deviance as violation of social contract
- Caused by free will and hedonism
- Remedied by deterrence
CESARE BECCARIA (1738-1794)
• Torture was unfair- confession may have nothing to do with innocence of guilt
• If innocent, you get tortured anyway; if guilty, you get tortured too, usually twice
as much
• If guilty, but don’t confess, you get the same punishment as innocent
• The death penalty- people gave up certain rights when they joined society, but
never agreed when they joined society, but never agreed that the state should be
able to kill
BECCARIA cont.
- Presumption of innocence.
- Specific criminal codes.
- Limitations on severity of punishment
- Duration of punishment more effective deterrent
- To be an effect deterrent, punishment must be public
HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE
• 1764 essay On Crimes and Punishments published anonymously, for fear of
persecution
• Remained on Catholic Church’sproscribed list of readings until 1960s
• Beccaria’s recommendations repeated word for word in the 1791 French
Declaration of Independence
• Also formed part of 1787 Constitution of United States, and part of the English
Reform Act of 1832
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