3. Social Conflict Theory and
Deviance
Social Conflict Theory
• Based on Marxism. Says that those
with more power create norms and
punish deviance of those norms.
–Lower classes/minorities are treated
unequally
• Ex: ½ of homicide victims are
black, but most criminals are
death row earned that sentence
for murdering a white victim
Victim Discounting
• Reduces the seriousness of
crimes against people of lower
statuses
–Murder of a child is more
serious to us than the murder
of a homeless adult
White-collar crime
• Job related crimes committed by
high-status people
–Cost an estimated $100 BILLION
per year
–BUT, are usually punished with
fines or short sentences in
minimum security facilities (Martha
Stewart)
4. Crime and Punishment
Crime
• Any violation of a law
–Statistics are officially recorded by
the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports
(UCR)
• Tracks 9 types of crime: murder,
forcible rape, robbery, aggravated
assault, burglary, larceny-theft,
motor vehicle theft, arson, and
hate crimes
Fallacies in the UCR Stats
• 2/3 of crime are never reported
• Minor crimes are less likely to be
reported as compared to major crimes
• Drug/alcohol/prostitution crimes are
difficult to monitor as they tend to
occur in private places
• White collar crime is rarely accounted
for in these stats
Juvenile Crime
• Crime committed by youth
–Has dropped significantly
• Reasons for the drop: decline in
youth crack abuse; decline in
juvenile access to guns; stiffer
sentences for repeat juvenile
offenders; extreme crimes can
result in offender being tried as
an adult
Criminal Justice System and Crime
Control
4 ways to control crime:
1. Deterrence
2. Retribution
3. Incarceration
4. Rehabilitation
Deterrence
• Threat of punishment discourages
criminal actions
• Most punishments are shown to
deter crime
• The Death Penalty is NOT shown to
act as a deterrent
–73% of whites support the death
penalty; 58% minorities support it
Retribution
• Punishment where you have to
pay compensation for criminal act
–Drunk drivers have to speak at
school
–Speeders pay fines
–Community service is assigned
for some crimes
Incarceration
• Prison sentence
–3 strikes law = increase in
prisoners (over 2.1 million)
Rehabilitation
• Attempt to socialize criminals and
reintroduce them into society
• Combine prison and probation
• Use community based programs
• Diversion strategies (institutions/rehab
centers instead of prison)
–Recidivism: return to criminal
behavior