CRIM 1650 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Victimless Crime, Social Inequality, Sigmund Freud
1 May 2018
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Morality and Crime – Lecture January 17, 2017
Crime on the Margins:
1. Focus on the practices and behaviours that fall in the boundaries or margins between
crime and deviance – line is not fixed, influenced by social, poli, and eco influences
- Can be beneficial to groups such as politicians, economic interests or social interests
- Ambiguous legal status
- Political, economic and social interests
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2. Examination of two related processes:
a) Amplification of Deviance:
- Actions that are viewed and treated as being criminal
- Definition: Process through which the deviant aspect of the behaviour or activity
are exaggerated or amplified with result of behaviour or activity is redefined as a
crime.
- Ex. Drugs - marijuana, sex trade, immoral crimes
b) Normalization of deviance
- Process through which the deviant aspects of behaviour or activity are
downplayed or minimized with result of the activity is not defined as a crime
- Ex. Corporate and white collar crimes
3. ojetivist vs ostrutioist approahed to soial prole
a. Objectivist: status of behaviour or practice of social problems are based on
objective characteristics – objective and measurable forms of harm
b. Constructionist: status behaviours of social problems process of social
construction being the problem of behaviours of social problem not because of
objective harm but rather due to perceived harm
4. Links between the process of social construction and the wider social, political, and
economic context in which this process takes place
- Undeserving of social sanctions due to?
- Process of
5. The legal boundaries between crime and deviance reflect prevailing forms of power,
conflict, and social inequality
- Connected to conflict definition of crime
Morality and Crime:
1. Morality as a foundation for criminal law
- Criminal law defined by morality and beliefs – whose morality???
2. Victimless crimes and the ambiguity of harm
- Crimes create harms to society and individuals
- Ex. Drugs and sex trade – harm is less clear victimless crimes
3. Hypocrisy and societal double standards
- Prevalence to sexual commodification and strong demand for sexual services
o Sexual image of women in a patriarchal society
o Moral attitude towards prostitution – other ideas a accepted
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Document Summary
January 17, 2017: focus on the practices and behaviours that fall in the boundaries or margins between crime and deviance line is not fixed, influenced by social, poli, and eco influences. Can be beneficial to groups such as politicians, economic interests or social interests. Political, economic and social interests: examination of two related processes, amplification of deviance: Actions that are viewed and treated as being criminal. Definition: process through which the deviant aspect of the behaviour or activity are exaggerated or amplified with result of behaviour or activity is redefined as a crime. Drugs - marijuana, sex trade, immoral crimes: normalization of deviance. Process through which the deviant aspects of behaviour or activity are downplayed or minimized with result of the activity is not defined as a crime. Process of: the legal boundaries between crime and deviance reflect prevailing forms of power, conflict, and social inequality. Morality and crime: morality as a foundation for criminal law.
