SOC 2106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Organized Crime, Social Inequality

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 2106
• Professor: Jean-Francois Chapman

Document Summary

Cri(cid:373)e is a so(cid:272)ial pro(cid:271)le(cid:373) (cid:449)ith real effe(cid:272)ts o(cid:374) people"s health, safety a(cid:374)d sense of well-being. Young males are more likely to experience crime due to differential socialization and a cultural norm of aggressiveness. Strain theory suggests societal inequalities may encourage individuals to turn to crime. Researchers differ about the causes of criminal behavior. Property crimes are the result of rational calculation of risk versus profitability. Crime occurs whenever there is unequal power and influence between competing groups. Crime will increase whenever there is social inequality. Strict law enforcement and harsh sentencing will resolve crime problems. Depends country to country what is a crime, enforcement and punishment. All societies have formal rules about what is good and bad behavior, punish bad. Laws: rules of conduct that may provide for the punishment of violators, (cid:449)hat a so(cid:272)iety"s (cid:373)e(cid:373)(cid:271)ers (cid:272)a(cid:374) a(cid:374)d (cid:272)a(cid:374)(cid:374)ot do. Crime: any behavior that, in a given time and place is prohibited by applicable laws.