As seen in Dentler and Erickson's Functions of Deviance in Groups, society does not always eliminate deviants, but instead allows it. This can be seen in the accommodation of prisons and jails worldwide. The norm and accepted behavior of almost all societies is to follow the rules and laws set out by their governments, but yet they make room for deviance by providing a place for intended offenders. Countries do this to maintain equilibrium as opposed to eliminating all deviants. The deviance allowed because of these institutions include: murder, theft, drugs, and many other arbitrary and even minor crimes.
The perks of allowing deviant norm offenders to have their on little home in society include maintenance of group performance, a reward system, and boundaries. In this way, having prisons establish equilibrium in an environment. With criminals a society is able to establish a heirarchy of behavior. Without offenders there would be no differentiation from the normal law abiding citizen and a lowly criminal. By showing society that there is a consequence for being deviant against the law, a social latter is started. Those that offend the law the least (conform to norms the best) are at the top with offenders at the bottom. By emphasizing this social latter society influences others to strive to be the best law conformers they know how to. This keeps one end of society striving for the optimum levels while the deviants keep these motives recharged by existing as a lower spectrum.
While society allows the existence of criminals, they make sure the social ranks stay clear through the use of the reward system. In many cases, the award is the privilege of government protection and programs. In most countries, the criminal looses the freedom to go where ever he/she wants. They also don't have the option of obtaining better selective jobs with benefits. Hostility is something that they also face not only from each other, but from the law enforcement whose job is to protect law abiding citizens. In November, two inmates died from brutal beating they received from Italian law enforcers. The fact that prison deaths are not as publicized as military ones or other types of deaths shows the distinction between the rewarded individuals of society and the deviant ones. Normally when a criminal first realizes their demotion in society they are overwhelmed and depressed. Some cannot handle the harsh condition under which they are forced to live. Around 150 inmates die each year in Italian prisons, while around 60 of those deaths are suicides.
Yet, many countries struggle with overpopulation in prisons. Some countries have to deal with more criminal deviance than others like the United States and the Republic of China who have the highest number of inmates. One reason this could be is that both countries are strong powers that want to be seen as dominate and in control, and one of the ways a group is distinguished is in part by the norms it creates for handling deviance and the forms of it that it is able to observe (Dentler and Erickson). Because these countries want to be seen as in control when it comes to protecting their citizens, they will have a more rigid law enforcement to deal with crime in their larger populated countries. While there is some absorption for "minor crimes" like traffic offenses, littering, and contract breeches, for the most part these countries crack down on more little crimes than others where certain laws don't even exist. This is seen with underage drinking and drug usage in America. Because the drink age is higher someone is more like to get in trouble with the law for distribution to a minor, public endangerment, or other fancy terms that can be used to convict someone for the same crime. In a way these stricter boundaries that the citizens have to live under shapes the nation's cultural identity. This is seen in the way America is viewed as more conservative than European countries when it comes to the laws and restrictions like these.
Although prisons and jail funding take up time and money, most societies see them as a necessity in not only controlling criminal deviance, but also allowing it to maintain equilibrium and give its citizens a social law abiding latter that they can strive for optimum levels on. In this way, prisons and law enforcement help establish a nation's identity by showing how they deal with deviance and what is considered deviant by their law, culture, and standards. With the allowance of criminal deviance, countries would not have distinguished systems to keep equilibrium on the law latter. They also would lose some control over their citizen's behavior without the motivation of rewards and the punishment system for not conforming to the law.
The perks of allowing deviant norm offenders to have their on little home in society include maintenance of group performance, a reward system, and boundaries. In this way, having prisons establish equilibrium in an environment. With criminals a society is able to establish a heirarchy of behavior. Without offenders there would be no differentiation from the normal law abiding citizen and a lowly criminal. By showing society that there is a consequence for being deviant against the law, a social latter is started. Those that offend the law the least (conform to norms the best) are at the top with offenders at the bottom. By emphasizing this social latter society influences others to strive to be the best law conformers they know how to. This keeps one end of society striving for the optimum levels while the deviants keep these motives recharged by existing as a lower spectrum.
While society allows the existence of criminals, they make sure the social ranks stay clear through the use of the reward system. In many cases, the award is the privilege of government protection and programs. In most countries, the criminal looses the freedom to go where ever he/she wants. They also don't have the option of obtaining better selective jobs with benefits. Hostility is something that they also face not only from each other, but from the law enforcement whose job is to protect law abiding citizens. In November, two inmates died from brutal beating they received from Italian law enforcers. The fact that prison deaths are not as publicized as military ones or other types of deaths shows the distinction between the rewarded individuals of society and the deviant ones. Normally when a criminal first realizes their demotion in society they are overwhelmed and depressed. Some cannot handle the harsh condition under which they are forced to live. Around 150 inmates die each year in Italian prisons, while around 60 of those deaths are suicides.
Yet, many countries struggle with overpopulation in prisons. Some countries have to deal with more criminal deviance than others like the United States and the Republic of China who have the highest number of inmates. One reason this could be is that both countries are strong powers that want to be seen as dominate and in control, and one of the ways a group is distinguished is in part by the norms it creates for handling deviance and the forms of it that it is able to observe (Dentler and Erickson). Because these countries want to be seen as in control when it comes to protecting their citizens, they will have a more rigid law enforcement to deal with crime in their larger populated countries. While there is some absorption for "minor crimes" like traffic offenses, littering, and contract breeches, for the most part these countries crack down on more little crimes than others where certain laws don't even exist. This is seen with underage drinking and drug usage in America. Because the drink age is higher someone is more like to get in trouble with the law for distribution to a minor, public endangerment, or other fancy terms that can be used to convict someone for the same crime. In a way these stricter boundaries that the citizens have to live under shapes the nation's cultural identity. This is seen in the way America is viewed as more conservative than European countries when it comes to the laws and restrictions like these.
Although prisons and jail funding take up time and money, most societies see them as a necessity in not only controlling criminal deviance, but also allowing it to maintain equilibrium and give its citizens a social law abiding latter that they can strive for optimum levels on. In this way, prisons and law enforcement help establish a nation's identity by showing how they deal with deviance and what is considered deviant by their law, culture, and standards. With the allowance of criminal deviance, countries would not have distinguished systems to keep equilibrium on the law latter. They also would lose some control over their citizen's behavior without the motivation of rewards and the punishment system for not conforming to the law.
sources used:
http://www.lifeinitaly.com/node/12368
http://www.lifeinitaly.com/node/12368
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