Sociological Aspects of Crime and Delinquency (Routledge Revivals) by Michael Phillipson

Author:Michael Phillipson [Phillipson, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General, Criminology, Research
ISBN: 9781317569749
Google: CvzOBAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2014-10-14T04:16:15+00:00

In fact, Becker distinguishes between rule-breaking behaviour, by which he means those rule infractions which have not been successfully sanctioned by society (e.g., the unidentified criminal law-breaker) and deviant behaviour, that is, those behaviours which have been labelled and sanctioned as such by others.

In making this distinction Becker is suggesting that a recognition of the process of labelling someone a deviant following his commission of a given act may be crucial for an understanding of his subsequent rule-breaking. This point will be taken up in looking at Lemert’s contribution. However, in drawing attention to the rules which are created and enforced at the societal level, Becker is pointing to a sphere previously ignored by most sociologists of deviance, that of politics. The criminal laws of complex industrial societies are generated in the political sphere, and the actual form in which any given law emerges is usually the result of a long process of argument between conflicting interest groups. The law resulting from such conflict is likely to be very much of a compromise between the different interest groups and not necessarily representative of one particular standpoint. A recent example of such compromise in England would be the Homicide Act of 1957, which drew the distinction between capital and non-capital murder in an attempt to satisfy both the retentionists and the abolitionists. Similarly, the Act of 1967 which widened the conditions in which abortion could be legally performed was the result of much bitter disagreement between organized pressure groups such as the Roman Catholic Church, sections of the medical profession and the Abortion Law Reform Association. The resulting law seemed very much of a compromise and open to many different interpretations. Becker is thus suggesting that the rules of a society may reflect the particular interests of those in a society who are in a position to create and then to ensure the attempted enforcement of these rules; these groups or individuals are referred to by Becker as ‘moral entrepreneurs’. The rule creators are, typically, moral crusaders concerned with certain highly valued ends which usually involve translating a general value into a specific rule or law. The specific laws are drawn up by the professionals, typically lawyers, and it is they who are responsible for fitting the new law into the existing web of legislation; they too have values which may enter into the framing of the rule.

The enforcement of the new rule may require a new body of enforcers, as in the case of factory legislation, or it may be placed in the hands of the existing enforcers, typically the police. To the latter, rule enforcement is a job, and the enforcers initially may have little interest in the actual content of the law; where the enforcers’ interests do not centre in the content of the rule but rather in the techniques of enforcement, there is considerable latitude for them to develop their own scale of priorities of enforcement. Whilst these priorities are subject to external pressures from the rule

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