SOC101YSOC101Y

Introduction to SociologyIntroduction to SociologyProfessor Robert BrymProfessor Robert Brym

Lecture #10Lecture #10Crime and DevianceCrime and Deviance

23 Nov 201123 Nov 2011

Hair “Crimes”Hair “Crimes”Deviant or criminal act Social reactionDyeing your hair purple in Toronto today (2011)

None; possibly raised eyebrows

Letting your hair grow too long in John Lie’s high school, Hawaii (~1975)

Public hair cut; detention

Growing a beard too long in Tsar Peter the Great’s Russia (~1700)

Tax

Peasant wearing samurai hairstyle in medieval Japan (~1500)

Possibly death penalty

Deviance and CrimeDeviance and Crime

Deviance involves breaking a norm. Crime involves breaking a norm that has been codified in law. Both deviance and crime typically elicit a negative reaction from others, ranging from mild (e.g., an individual raising his or her eyebrows) to severe (e.g., a state invoking capital punishment).

Power is the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his or her own will despite resistance.

White‑collar crime refers to illegal acts committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his or her occupation.

Street crimes include arson, burglary, robbery, assault, and other illegal acts. They are committed disproportionately by people from lower classes.

Power, White-Collar Crime, Street Power, White-Collar Crime, Street CrimeCrime

Victimless crimes, such as prostitution and illegal drug use, involve violations of the law in which no victim steps forward and is identified.

Self-report surveys are especially useful. In such surveys, respondents are asked to report their involvement in criminal activities, either as perpetrators or victims.

Victimless Crime, Self-Report Victimless Crime, Self-Report SurveysSurveys

Victimization: Percent of Offences Victimization: Percent of Offences by Type of Crime, Seven by Type of Crime, Seven Countries, 2000Countries, 2000

Percent of offences

Note: Contact crimes include robberies, sexual incidents, and assaults and threats. Horizontal lines indicate international average for each type of crime for all 17 countries in the survey. Thirty-eight percent of the population of all 17 countries were victimized in the year preceding the survey.

Percent of population Percent of population victimized by all crimesvictimized by all crimes

Crime Rate, Canada, by Province Crime Rate, Canada, by Province and Major City, 2008and Major City, 2008

Crimes per100,000 population

Territorial crime rates are extraordinarily high: about 21,805 in the Yukon, 34,867 in Nunavut and 43,509 in the Northwest Territories.

Graph excludes traffic crime, the rate of which has been stable at about 375. Between 1991 and 2006, total crime was down 27%, violent crime was down 10%, property crime was down 42%, other (mainly drug-related) crime was down 5%.

1991

Cri

mes

per

10

0,0

00

popula

tion

Total and Violent Crime Rate, Canada, 1998-2009

Fre

quen

cy p

er 1

00,0

00 p

opul

atio

n

Year

Total crime rate

Violent crime rate

Homicide Rate, Canada, 1961-2010Homicide Rate, Canada, 1961-2010H

om

icid

es

per

100,0

00

popula

tion

Homicide Rate Homicide Rate by Gun Ownership, 1990sby Gun Ownership, 1990s

Thousands of guns owned per 100,000 population

Hom

icid

e ra

te p

er 1

00,0

00 p

opul

atio

n

Note: About 30% of Canadian homicides and 70% of American homicides involve firearms.

USA

Canada

New ZealandAustralia

UK

Japan

Police Officers per 100,000 Police Officers per 100,000 Population, Canada, 1991-Population, Canada, 1991-

20062006Officers/100,000 population

As the crime rate fell from 1991-98, there were more police officers per 100,000 population; as the crime rate continued to fall after 1998, there were fewer police officers per 100,000 population. Thus, the correlation between crime and density of police officers is weak.

Persons Charged in Criminal Persons Charged in Criminal Incidents, Canada, 1991-2006Incidents, Canada, 1991-2006

Thousands of charges

World Prison Population, World Prison Population, 20082008

Prisoners per 100,000 population

United States (756)

Country Percent of World’s Prisoners

Percent of World’s Prisoners / Percent of World’s Population

China* 24.7 1.1

USA 23.4 5.2

Russia 9.1 4.3

France 0.6 0.7

Germany 0.7 0.6

Canada 0.4 0.8

Other 41.1 0.6

Total 100.0

Canada (116)

Russia (629)

World (145)

China* (155)

France (96)

England/Wales (153)

Germany (89)

Share of Prisoners per Country

* Includes 850,000 people in “administrative detention.”

Total Crime Rate and Total Crime Rate and Unemployment Rate, Canada, Unemployment Rate, Canada,

1991-20091991-2009

Total crime rate Unemployment rate

Unemployment rate Year

Abortions and Crime, USA, Abortions and Crime, USA, 1973-971973-97

The Ratio of Female to Male Offenders, Canada, 1994-2006

Homicide

Total crime

Youth crime

Rat

io o

f fem

ale

to m

ale

offe

nder

s

Year

The percentage of sentenced Aboriginal The percentage of sentenced Aboriginal adults increases with the log of the adults increases with the log of the percentage of Aboriginal adults in a percentage of Aboriginal adults in a

population (2004-05)population (2004-05)

NunavutNWT

Yukon

Aboriginal adults as percent of adult population

Abori

gin

als

adu

lts

sente

nce

d a

s perc

ent

of

ad

ult

s se

nte

nce

d

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

BC

logarithmic function

Why the Crime Rate for Why the Crime Rate for Aboriginals and Blacks is Aboriginals and Blacks is

Higher than the Crime Rate for Higher than the Crime Rate for Whites in North AmericaWhites in North America

Racism exists in the criminal justice system (e.g., age, class, and lack of criminal activity act as prophylactics against stops and searches for whites and Asians, but not blacks).

Aboriginal and black men experience relatively high discrimination, high unemployment, and low per capita income as a result of their race.

Arrest by Race, USA, 2009Arrest by Race, USA, 2009

Racial group % of Pop. % of

Arrests

White 75.1 69.1

Black 12.3 28.3

American Indian 0.9 1.4

Asian 3.7 1.2