theorizing about crime

and deviance

1) the typical criminal:

--male

--young

--user of alcohol or cocaine

--has history of crime

--works close to home; preys on

people of similar class and racial background

--not a (very) rational actor(?)

--criminally versatile

2) how does typical criminality affect the conduct of our daily lives?

--main answer: not very much, or only episodically; most crime is perpetrated on others from the same social group (e.g. same class, same race, or other criminals)

3) competing theories of deviance:

A) a biological theory: genes, physical strength, hormones

B) a psychological theory: mental illness, absence of self-control

more sociological theories:

C) Deviant Attachment theory, or Differential Association theory (cf. symbolic interactionism); deviance comes from assoc'n with deviants

counterargument: delinquency often starts before attachment to other delinquents

D) structural strain theory (cf. conflict theory)

--version 1: frustration in achieving goals/obeying norms

--version 2: crime as rational response to denied opportunities

counterargument: overpredicts criminality among the poor, and in version 1 tends to be patronizing

E) control theory: attachments and involvements reduce the likelihood of deviance (cf. durkheim's focus on social solidarity, and smith's rational calculation of the costs of particular actions)

4) one complex approach to the problem of systematic crime: elijah anderson on the "code of the street"

--being "decent" vs. being "street"

--even those inclined to be decent must act "street" when threatened; a few 'bad eggs' can disrupt the entire neighborhood