Deck 14: B: Crime,law,and Regulation

Question 1

Using Robert Merton's strain theory,explain why low-income people and visible minorities are more likely to be in Canada's prison system.

Answer 1

When culturally defined goals cannot be met through socially approved means,anomic conditions result.Those of low socio-economic status may feel strain since legitimate avenues for success (means to acquire wealth and power)are less open to them than they may be to more affluent persons.Strain theorists argue that most people within the same society share similar goals and values,and that when legitimate avenues to achieving those goals are not readily accessible,some will resort to deviant methods (e.g. ,theft,drug trafficking)in order to achieve them.Alternatively,some people will reject socially accepted goals altogether,and will instead substitute them with more deviant and/or criminal goals.Merton's theory remains influential as he provides an explanation for the continued existence of high-crime areas as well as the prevalence of criminal behaviour among the lower class and certain visible minorities.

Question 2

Provide an example of an act that is criminal but not considered deviant by many Canadians.Then provide an example of an act that is not criminal but is considered deviant by many Canadians.Explain the difference.

Answer 2

Answers will vary.

Question 3

Discuss how the media influences our perceptions regarding who is "at risk" of crime.

Answer 3

While young men are statistically the most "at risk" to both become the victim of a crime and to perpetuate crime,the media often construct our sense of who is "at risk." While property crime is the most common type,violent crimes receive greatest attention.Women are often portrayed as being at greater risk to be victims of crime (fear-gender paradox).

Question 4

Howard Becker,a symbolic interactionist,was interested in deviance and crime,believing that criminal behaviour is learned in the same way as any other type of behaviour.What was his theory?

Question 5

What was the "social purity movement" and what were the consequences to society?

Question 6

What is "biological determinism" and how is it related to the study of crime and deviance?

Question 7

How would the conflict perspective analyze the moral investigations of single mothers who apply for social assistance?

Question 8

Explain the basic tenets of rational choice theory.Do you agree with this approach to deviance? Why or why not?

Question 9

What do proponents of the critical legal studies movement mean when they state that "laws are not neutral?" What is the main contribution of this approach?

Question 10

What is the "chivalry hypothesis" and how does it mask the nature of women's crime?

Question 11

Drawing on Durkheim's approach,what does "anomie" refer to and what is its relation to crime? Give an example of how "anomie" operates in modern society.

Question 12

Explain the "fear-gender paradox" and the consequences associated with it.

Question 13

How are welfare recipients illustrative of moral regulatory practices?

Question 14

Your text states that there are two types of social controls: informal and formal.Distinguish between them,and give examples of each.

Question 15

Briefly discuss how traditional sociological theories of crime have oversimplified and pathologized women.