NCJ Number
59787
Journal
Social Problems Volume: 26 Issue: 4 Dated: SPECIAL ISSUE (APRIL 1979) Pages: 386-391
Date Published
1979
Length
6 pages
Annotation
CONSENSUAL CRIMES, THAT IS, CRIMES WHICH THE POPULATION AS A WHOLE CONSIDER DEVIANT, PREDOMINATE IN THE CRIME DATA OF MOST COUNTRIES AND PROVIDE A BASIS FOR THE STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF SOCIETAL EVOLUTION ON CRIME.
Abstract
CONSENSUAL CRIMES SUCH AS THEFT, ASSAULT, AND MURDER ARE GENERALLY PERCEIVED BY A COUNTRY'S PEOPLE TO BE CRIMES, AS OPPOSED TO POLITICAL CRIMES, WHICH ARE DEFINED BY GOVERNMENTS. NOT ALL SOCIETIES SEE THE SAME ACTS AS CONSENUAL CRIMES, WHICH GIVES SOCIOLOGISTS A BASIS FOR THE STUDY OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. THE PANORAMIC VIEW OF CHANGES IN SOCIAL ORGANIZATION FROM THE EARLIEST GROUPINGS OF HUMAN BEINGS TO MODERN URBAN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES FORM A USEFUL BASIS FOR A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CRIME. ONE SUCH ANALYSIS HAS BEEN DONE BY TALCOTT PARSONS. ALTHOUGH HE DOES NOT DISCUSS CRIME SPECIFICALLY, HIS THEORIES HELP EXPLAIN THE CHANGES WHICH LEAD TO RISING CRIME RATES IN GENERAL AND RISING CRIME RATES AMONG FEMALES AND ADOLESCENTS IN PARTICULAR. TALCOTT ASSOCIATES MODERNIZATION WITH GREATER INDIVIDUALISM (WHICH COULD NOT BE TOLERATED IN A PRIMITIVE SOCIETY), GREATER SPECIALIZATION AND MORE AUTONOMOUS CULTURAL SYSTEMS WITHIN THE SOCIETY, MORE AUTONOMOUS SOCIAL SYSTEMS, AND A GREATER PREOCCUPATION WITH MATERIALISTIC VALUES. ALL OF THESE CHANGES CAN LEAD TO GREATER CRIME. AN INDIVIDUALISTIC PERSON CAN CONCEIVE OF DEFYING THE RULES OF SOCIETY WHEN THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTROLS WHICH WOULD HAVE CONSTRAINED SUCH DEFIANCE ARE WEAKENED. MOST OF THESE CHANGES ACCOMPANY URBANIZATION. THEREFORE, URBANIZATION IS A USEFUL CONCEPT FOR THE STUDY OF CHANGES IN CRIME RATES IN RELATION TO CHANGES IN SOCIETY. REFERENCES ARE APPENDED. (GLR)