1.3: Deviance, Rule Violations, and Criminality

Revisit: From a sociological perspective, social norms are all around us and are accepted norms and behaviors that are defined within a specific group. The group you are in can change, which would mean the norms and behaviors that are acceptable at any given time may change.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): “Facial Tattoos and Piercings” By Tuerto - [1], CC by-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/inde...curid=26526042

Deviance is behavior that departs from the social norm. Goode argues that four things must happen for something deviant to take place or exist:

1. a rule or norm must be established;
2. someone must violate that rule or norm;
3. there must be an audience member or someone that witnesses the act and judges it to be wrong;
4. and there is likely going to be a negative reaction from that audience that can come in many forms (i.e., criticism, disapproval, punishment, and more).

Norms can be internalized, which would make an individual conform without external rewards or punishments. Four types of social norms can help inform people about behavior that is considered acceptable: folkways, mores, taboos, and law. Further, social norms can vary across time, cultures, places, and even sub-groups.

Think back to your first experiences in school and surely you can identify some folkways and mores learned. Folkways are behaviors that are learned and shared by a social group that we often refer to as “customs” in a group that are not morally significant, but they can be important for social acceptance. Each group can develop different customs, but there can be customs that are embraced at a larger, societal level.

Folkway Example

Consider a college classroom setting in which an instructor permits students to eat during class, provided they remain considerate of those around them. Chewing loudly or neglecting to excuse oneself after burping would constitute folkway violations. It should be noted that such behaviors may not carry the same connotations across all cultural contexts, underscoring the subjective nature of folkways.

Perhaps stricter than folkways are because they can lead to a violation of what we view as moral and ethical behavior. Mores are norms of morality, or right and wrong, and if you break one it is often considered offensive to most people of a culture. Sometimes a more violation can also be illegal, but other times it can just be offensive. If more is not written down in legislation, it cannot get sanctioned by the criminal justice system. Other times it can be both illegal and morally wrong.

More Example

If one attended a funeral for a family member, no one would expect to see someone in bright pink clothes or a bikini. Most people are encouraged to wear black clothing out of respect. Although there may not be specific rules or laws that state the expected attire to wear to a funeral, it would be against what most American society views as right and wrong to attend a funeral in a bikini or be in hot pink leotards. It would be disrespectful to the individual people who are mourning. Both mores and folkways are taught through socialization with various sources: family, friends, peers, schools, and more.

A taboo goes a step further and is a very negative norm that should not be violated because people will be upset. Additionally, one may get excluded from the group or society. The nature and the degree of the taboo are in the mores.

Taboo Example

A student once gave the example of a man in their neighborhood in Colorado who had multiple wives and had ten different children from the women. In most American culture, it is seen as unacceptable to have more than one spouse/partner. However, there are instances where having children with multiple people would not be seen as taboo. Specifically, if a man or woman remarries and then has another child with their new partner. However, again, this is more acceptable today than in the past because of the greater societal acceptance of divorce and remarriage.

Can you identify examples of taboos within their own religious, athletic, or organizational communities, as such examples illustrate the culturally embedded nature of these norms?

Lastly, and most importantly, to the study of crime and criminal justice, our laws. Remember, a social norm is an obligation to society that can lead to sanctions if one violates it. Therefore, laws are social norms that have become formally inscribed at the state or federal level, and laws can result in formal punishment for violations, such as fines, incarceration, or even death. Laws are a form of social control that outlines rules, habits, and customs a society uses to enforce conformity to its norms.

Law Example

Returning to the earlier example of polygamy, it is worth noting that plural marriage is prohibited by law in the United States. Though this has not always been the case historically, and such practices are legally and culturally accepted in other nations, American society came to regard polygamy as sufficiently taboo—both morally and ethically—to codify its prohibition in statute. Regardless of individual or group views on the matter, the practice remains illegal under U.S. law.

Typically, in our society, a deviant act becomes a criminal act that can be prohibited and punished under criminal law when a crime is deemed socially harmful or dangerous to society.

In criminology, we often cover a wide array of harms that can include economic, physical, emotional, social, and environmental. The critical thing to note is that we do not want to create laws against everything in society, so we must draw a line between what we consider deviant and unusual versus dangerous and criminal. For example, some people do not support tattoos and would argue they are deviant, but it would be challenging to suggest they are dangerous to individuals and society. However, thirty years ago, it may have been acceptable to put into dress code, rules guiding our physical conduct in the workspace, that people may not have visible tattoos and people may not be as vocal as they would today. Today, tattoos may be seen as more normalized and acceptable, which could lead to a lot of upset employees saying those are unfair rules in their work employment if they are against the dress code.

Now that we have a basis for understanding the differences between deviance, rule violations, and criminal law violations, we can discuss who determines if a law becomes criminalized or decriminalized in the United States. A criminalized act is when a deviant act becomes criminal and a law is written, with defined sanctions, that can be enforced by the criminal justice system. Understanding the distinction between deviance and crime also raises a broader question: who determines which behaviors become criminalized? Sociological perspectives on lawmaking provide important insight into how legal definitions are established and contested.

Jaywalking

In the 1920s, auto groups aggressively fought to redefine who owned the city street. As cars began to spread to the streets of America, the number of pedestrians killed by cars skyrocketed. At this time, the public was outraged that the elderly and children were dying in what was viewed as ‘pleasure cars’ because, at this time, our society was structured very differently and did not rely on vehicles. Judges often ruled that the car was to blame in most pedestrian deaths and drivers were charged with manslaughter, regardless of the circumstances. In 1923, 42,000 Cincinnati residents signed a petition for a ballot initiative that would require all cars to have a governor limiting them to 25 miles per hour, which upset auto dealers and sprang them into action to send letters out to vote against the measure.

Vote No

https://www.vox.com/2015/1/15/7551873/jaywalking-history

Don't Jaywalk

The Vox Article has an excellent summary of what we discussed

The creation of jaywalking laws would be an example of the interactionist view in lawmaking. The interactionist view states that the definition of crime reflects the preferences and opinions of people who hold social power in a particular legal jurisdiction, such as the auto industry. The auto industry used its power and influence to impose what it felt was right and wrong and became moral entrepreneurs.

A moral entrepreneur was a phrase coined by sociologist Howard Becker. Becker referred to individuals who use the strength of their positions to encourage others to follow their moral stances. Moral entrepreneurs create rules and argue their causes will better society, and they have a vested interest in that cause that maintains their political power or position.

The auto industry used aggressive tactics to garner support for the new laws: using news media to shift the blame for accidents of the drivers and onto pedestrians, campaigning at local schools to teach about the importance of staying out of the street, and shame by suggesting you are in the wrong if you get hit.

Another view of how laws become created is the consensus view, which as it states, implies consensus (agreement) among citizens on what should and should not be illegal. This idea implies that all groups come together, regardless of social class, race, age, gender, and more, to determine what should be illegal. This view also suggests that criminal law is a function of beliefs, morality, and rules that apply equally to all members of society.

One Child per Family Policy in China

In modern society, we tend to have a consensus in the United States that people cannot kill their baby at birth because they want the opposite gender. If a person killed their child, murder charges would occur. At certain points in history in other countries, such as China, this was occurring and was not as deviant as some Americans would like to think it should have been, but it was still illegal. However, when the Chinese Government introduced a One Child per Family Policy, there was a surge in female infanticide. There was immense pressure on families to have sons because of their higher earning potential and contributions to the family. Again, that line between deviance and criminality can often blur, especially when trying to gain consensus. Read the BBC article below for more information.

Read the BBC article for further information.

Applying the consensus framework to the process of decriminalization is equally instructive. An act becomes decriminalized when it is no longer classified as criminal and is effectively legalized, thereby reducing or eliminating associated penalties. Some scholars and policymakers have proposed hybrid models—such as the decriminalization of sex work—designed to protect the rights of individuals involved while still sanctioning those who cause them harm. An act may be decriminalized at the state level while remaining prohibited under federal law.

Marijuana Legalization

One example of decriminalization that came from a vote of consensus in states like Colorado, Washington, and Oregon was the legalization of recreational marijuana. Recently, Texas has shown signs of potentially decriminalizing marijuana and seeking reform laws. According to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, more than half of the state’s registered voters support marijuana legalization in the state (a consensus), and only 16 percent said possession of marijuana should remain illegal under any circumstances. Marijuana is certainly a great example of decriminalization, whether it is for recreational or medicinal purposes. University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, June 2018 — Summary

University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, June 2018 — Summary

Read the article for more information on Texas proposing changes

A third perspective of how we define crime or create laws is referred to as the conflict view, commonly associated with Karl Marx in the 1800s. The conflict view sees society as a collection of diverse groups that can include owners, workers, wealthy, poor, students, professionals, younger older, and more. This view recognizes that the creation of laws is unequal and may not have consensus like in the example discussed previously.

Further, the conflict view takes a very Marxist perspective and suggests that these groups are often in constant conflict with one another. Unlike the consensus perspective, the conflict view would suggest that crime definitions are controlled by those with wealth, power, and social position in society. Essentially, laws are made by a select group in society, and the laws protect the ‘haves.’ Criminality shapes the values of the ruling class and is not of ‘moral consensus.’ There are many examples we use in the criminal justice field that demonstrate the conflict view in action. We will cover more theories in the subsequent sections. Having explored how crime and deviance are defined and constructed, it is essential to consider how these phenomena are systematically studied. Research methods provide the tools necessary to investigate patterns of behavior, test theoretical explanations, and inform policy decisions.