secondary deviance
a lifestyle of deviance; results in the individuals who commit it being labeled as deviant and accepting that label as true
crime syndicate
a large-scale organization of professional criminals that controls some vice or legitimate business through violence or the threat of violence
stigma
a mark of social disgrace that sets a deviant individuals apart from the rest of society
social control
enforcing of norms through either internal or external means
recidivism
repeated criminal behavior
sanctions
rewards or punishments used to enforce conformity to norms
plea bargaining
the process of legal negotiation that allows an accused person to plead guilty to a lesser charger in return for a lighter sentence
internalization
the process by which a norm becomes a part of an individual's personality, thus conditioning that individual to conform to society's expectations
strain theory
a theory of deviant behavior that views deviance as the natural outgrowth of the values, norms, and structure of society
crime
any act that is labeled as such by those in authority and is prohibited by law
corrections
sanctions such as imprisonment, parole, probation, and community service used to punish criminals
deviance
a behavior that violates significant norms
criminal-justice system
the system of police, courts, and corrections that has jurisdiction once a crime has been committed
differential association
a concept that refers to the frequency and closeness of associations a person has with deviant and nondeviant individuals
primary deviance
the occasional violation of norms; the individuals who commit it do not see themselves as deviant and neither does society
labeling theory
a theory of deviant behavior that focuses on how individuals come to be labeled as deviant
anomie
the situation that arises when the norms of society are unclear or are no longer applicable
formal sanction
a reward or punishment that is given by some formal organization or regulatory body, such as a school, business, or government
white-collar crime
a crime that is committed by people of high social status in the course of their professional lives
police discretion
the power held by police officials to decide who is actually arrested
negative sanction
punishment or the threat of punishment used to enforce conformity
positive sanction
action that rewards a particular kind of behavior
informal sanction
spontaneous expression of approval or disapproval given by an individual or a group
rebukes
mean criticism or disapproval
control theory
explains deviance as the natural result of some people having weak ties to the community
cultural transmission theory
a theory that explains that deviant behavior is learned through interaction with others
ideology
a belief system
vice
immoral offense
racial profiling
the practice of assuming that nonwhite Americans are more likely to commit crime than white Americans