Street Crimes in the US: Deviance According to the Conflict Theory - Essay Example

Musa Muhammad Bala Academia-Research 3 May, 2006. Street crimes in the US: Deviance according to the Conflict Theory Deviance is act of violation ofthe norms and values of a society, that change individual from normalcy of good characters, and acts of intelligent, to abnormally act of crimes, such as murder, rape, theft and drugs. And many other criminal acts, that do not conform to real acts of human being. Deviance is also an act of stepping to a turning point from being in a good character that is worthy of emulation, to a new dimension of life, that change individual from a law abiding, to a perfect delinquent that always against the societal norms and values, laws, rules and regulations. The word can be also term as a deliberate act of committing negative behavior against other people because of the circumstances reasons. Deviance is rooted and grows, then spreads its branches as a result of many reasons and factors. It is a general phenomenon that can be found from individuals of races, ages, and gender. Ii is an act that adversely affected the tempo of humanity, and also created considerable anxiety and frustration even among large section of our communities. One of the factors that change an individual into Deviance is Social. That is by the societal influence from people living together. Person can simply change as a result of the environment he found himself, which can be deviation from good to a wrong character. Friends in schools, in work places, and many filed of human Endeavour. Its depend of being with criminals or with good manner people. Biological factor also plays its role in case of Deviance. On this note, Genetic played a significant role to change people into criminology. In normal instances, by tracing the parental history of a theft, its can be found that his parents of grand parents, one of them must be involved in cases of theft. Thus genetic plays a vital role to Deviance. Personal factor is also one of the causes of Deviance, which deals with social pressures that has its roots from the environmental circumstances. Sometimes this reason can change individual into Deviance. "Longitudinal research conducted ...by Walter Reckless and Simon Dintz during the 1960s supported this conclusion. Weaknesses to psychological research are pointed out. First, most serious crime is committed by people who are psychologically normal. Second, cross cultural differences is deemed normal tend to be ignored. And third, the fact that people with similar psychological qualities are not equally as likely to be labeled deviant is not considered". (What is Deviance). In his own theory, Martins Strain has the view that Deviant is greatly encouraged by the day-to-day operation of society. "Analysis using this theory point out imbalance between social endorsed means available, to different groups of people, and the widely held goals and values of society. This structured inequality of opportunity makes some people prone to anomie. Four adaptive strategies are identified by Merton: innovations, ritualism, ret realism, and rebellion. Conformity of the acceptance of both cultural goals and means is seen as the result successful socialization and the opportunity to pursue these goals through socially approved means". (What is Deviance). In another related point, Deviance sometimes comes to being by lack of achieving desired success in human Endeavour. The victims of such circumstances can simply gangs as criminals, thus engage in violence and illegitimate means to achieve their ambitions. Albert Cohen and Walter Miller, has this to say, as relating the above circumstances that causes Deviance: "That Deviant Subcultures occur more often in the lower classes, and are based on values that oppose the dominant culture. Walter Miller argued that the values which emerge are not a reaction against the Middle-Class way of life. Rather he suggested that their values emerge are not daily experiences within the context of limited opportunities. He described six focal concern s of these delinquent sub-cultures-trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, fate and autonomy. While Earving Goff man stated a secondary beginning of a deviant career. This typical result as a consequence of acquiring a stigma, or a powerful negative label that radically changes a person's self-concept and social identity. Some people may go through a degradation ceremony like a criminal prosecution". (What is Deviance). Since this research is focusing on the street crimes in United States, there is the need to make analysis on these crimes, such as murder, rape, theft, and drugs, while also analysis on race, class, and gender should be made, to know how deviance varies in these areas. In United States, these criminal acts are on the increase, the situation that bringing considerable anxieties and frustration among the people living there. Everyday and every time, the media continue to give reports on killing and murders in the streets of United States. These incidences had been occurring since many years back, to the most recent years. "The night of August 1, 1942, began with romance and ended in death. In the early evening, several young couples from Los Angeles 38th Street neighborhood arrived at the sleepy Lagoon to spend some times together. Among the couple were Hank Leyvas and Dora Barrios. Hank was one of the oldest boys that spent time on 38th street, and was feared and respected by many. Dora was his girl friend. As the sat in their ear, under the light of waning full moon, they were suddenly and viciously attacked by a group of boys from a rival neighborhood. Hank and Dora were beaten mercilessly. Later that night, an injured Hank returned to 38th street and gathered reinforcement. Finding people to accompany him was not difficult. Hanks was immensely popular and the boys they were going after had violated and unwritten rule by beating Hank's girl friend Dora. Close to thirty young people-boys and girls-pilled into cars and headed for the sleepy Lagoon". (A Star From on High Falls. Out Of the Sky and slowly grows Dimmer "Sleepy Lagoon). Another statement that reveals the incidence of streets crimes in United States Says: "Last December, a bus driving through the northern city of Chamalecon in Honduras was stopped by gunmen. The assailants quickly surrounded the bus and open fire with their AK-47s, killing 28 passengers. The attackers, police later revealed, had been members of notorious street gang known as Mara Salvatrucha (or MS-13), and had chosen their victims at random. The slaughters had nothing to do with identities of the people onboard; it was meant as a protest and a warning against the government crackdown on gang activities in the country. (U.S. Officials subsequently arrested Ebner Anbal Rivera-Pa2, thought to be the mastermind of the attack, in February in the Texas town of Falfurrias)". (How The Street Gangs Took Central America). Rape, is another crime that American people witnessing on their country's streets. It is a phenomenon that increasingly occurring day and night, being anywhere at any time. Cases of the rape are filed before the responsible authorities. Some times the raped victims are left in shambles without justice necessarily done. "In my observation of how such systems works, when no errors occur in the process, the only factor I can see that can be adjusted to improve the odds of real rape victims is in the culture influence, all of us are subject to in our society, nationally and locally. In U.S, many remains heavenly inhabited in our thought about sex". (With The Duke Rape Allegations in Doubt can Justice Occur). Drugs, is also one of the crimes on the United States Streets. It is very unfortunate that the subject is one of the causes of Deviant in the country. The caser is reported constantly including how it's affecting the populace. "Patrick Dorismond is the latest casualty in the war on drugs. The 26 year old security guard and father of two rose to national prominence on March 16, when he and a friend stepped out of the Wakamba Bar in Manhattan's Eight Avenue. Dorismond apparently felt insulted after a stranger asked him where he could find Marijuana. A dispute reportedly erupted. When the Would-be pot buyer yelled for help, one of his associates stepped forward and allegedly shot Dorismond fatally in the chest. Of course, the supposed drugs buyers really were undercover NYPD officers. Their effort to entrap an innocent; unarmed man in a narcotics sting operation caused his violent untimely death. Erid Adams of 100 blacks in Law enforcement lament that Dorismond could be killed for saying no to drugs". (War on Drugs costs America Lives and Liberties). At this point, analysis should be made on race, class, and gender, and understand hoe Deviance varies in these areas. Social inequality in the society has been observed to have resulted to the social conflict Theory. The underclass people are said to be more engaging in crimes. Sociologist had found that the acts of males and females are assessed as sex differences that also play role and term as Deviance and Gender. As a result of sex bias, hatred between male and females increases. In United States, FBI in its reports on this aspect said: "Two major types of crime are recorded by the crime index. First, crime against the person -or violent crimes are defined as crime against people that involve violence or threat of violence. Examples are murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. Second, crimes against property,--or property crimes-are defined as crimes that involve theft of property-or property crimes-are defined as crimes involve theft of property belong to others. Example is burglary, larceny-theft, auto-theft, and arson. A third category, victimless crimes is defined as violation of law in which there are no readily apparent victims. Example gambling, prostitution, and the use of illegal drugs". (What is Deviance) Another analysis has showed that that criminal act is more reflecting to the underprivileged. Criminals are more found among the poor class---While Deviance always plays its role on race and ethnicity. "The relationship between race and crime is a complex. African American, proportionally speaking, is arrested more often for index crimes than whites. Several factors account for this. Prejudice may lead citizens to more readily report African American as suspects, race and social class are closely linked to the likelihood of engaging in street crimes, a higher rate of single parenting means African American children are at much greater risk of growing up in poverty, and index crimes fails to take into account white-collar crimes. People of Asian descent have unusually low rates of arrest". (What Is Deviance). However, the poor minorities in the United States have been the victims leveling cases of street crimes against them, while the media are giving them negative coverage in this aspect. "Press reports, being unable to avail of visuals in the way television does, vary in their manner of identifying social Deviance. In the past, race has most often been used as an identifier in cases involving non-Caucasians involved in crime or other anti-social behavior, whereas in cases of white crime, race is not mentioned. Deviance in media a report commonly reflects the values of the power elite in a society and tends to indicate which groups are regarded as legitimate or other wise. Different elements of media reports serve as surrogates for deviance. Amongst these are measures of legitimacy such as social evaluation; and the majority are presented in a positive fashions as being law abiding, and the minority in a negative fashions as being law-breaking". ( On these notes, the roots of Deviance are found out. However, assessments have showed that in United States of America, street crimes are on the increase, while Deviance according to the conflict theory is cited. Work Cited What is Deviance A Star From on High Falls. Out of the sky and slowly grows dimmer "sleepy lagoon Ana, Arana. "Foreign Affairs". May-June, 2005. How The Streets Gangs Took Central America . With the Duke Rape Allegation in Doubt can Justice Occur Doroy, Murdoek. "April 7, 2000". Media Coverage on Religious Groups < cctv.mic.ul.ie/ACIS%20abstract.pdf> Read More