Sociology pt 2 Deviance Crime and Inequality Exam 3

• black to white - 5.6:1
• 412 out of 100,000 whites
• 2,290 out of 100,000

• Explanation for Racial Inequality in Sentencing
• Strain Theory
• Racial Threat Theory

• Strain Theory
• Racial Threat Theory
• Life Course Analysis 
• The War on Drugs

fewer educational, therefor legitimate economic opportunities lead to more crime (low income)

• Blacks are incarcerated at a higher rate when there is a larger white population
• minorities are threat so police them more

• Things like education, jobs, marriage, have normalizing effect on life course
• But if incarcerated, can't go to school etc

• Mandatory Sentencing 
• 3 strikes/habitual offenders 
• 2/3rd of nonviolent drug incarcerated offenders are minorities

• Narrowing Gender Gap
• - Emancipation Hypothesis - women closing gap with everything else, why not crime too?
• - Economic Marginalization Hypothesis - women have high economic burdens (strain theory)
• - Decay of Chivalry Hypothesis - because we achieved more equality, police feel less chivalrous to let women go

• institution in which members conduct all aspects of their lives
• ie military, jail

goal is social control of large monolithic group of people

society is moving towards total gov control and ubiquitous surveillance

what started in prisons was meant to spread throughout society social message of constantly being watched

• highest rate of incarceration and highest prison population in world
• $64 bil annually

• crime results from a rational calculation of costs vs benefits
• -focused on punishment (but higher punishment does not equal lower crime)

• -undifferentiated targeting- *is ineffective
• focus on all criminals/crime
• unequal arrests based on race/income
• does not reduce crime
• increased prison population

focused deterrence - selective targeting focus resources on most dangerous criminals or specific type of crime

come to problem with more than one approach

going back to jail or repeating crime

emphasizes rehabilitation and healing because crime hurts everyone (community and victim and offender). Accountability, communication, and forgiveness through meditation

• stopping individuals who look sketch or have criminals (to get guns off the street)
• INEFFECTIVE
• mostly minorities

• higher than other countries
• cost 90k per year per prisoner than life in prison
• more black than white, higher chance of sentence if victim was white

143 so far in the US

false confession and eye witness identification 2 most common reasons

identify social pressures that result in high rates of deviance and crime. 

• Better policing, learn current problems and prevent them from occurring
• Strengthen communities and other organizations
• 3 strikes

• reduce power differentials and/or economic inequality to solve crime
• also try and reduce racism
• empower people 

people who have few opportunities to gain good education or job more likely to commit crime

behavior is learned, including criminal behavior

• so teach people law abiding ways
• listen to diverse voices to find out how we can reduce crime