The labeling theory of deviance was extremely popular during the 1960s and 1970s. After a series of influential critiques, however, the validity of the theory had fallen into question by 1980 and was pronounced dead by 1985. In this paper we examine the application of the labeling perspective to one particular area, juvenile delinquency. We discuss the general theoretical origin of labeling theory in both conflict theory and symbolic interactionism, and use it to present two main labeling hypotheses: 1) that status attributes are influential in determining who is labeled (the “status characteristics hypothesis”) and 2) that labeling experiences are instrumental in producing problems of adjustment and in causing subsequent commitment to further deviance (the “secondary deviance hypothesis”). We note that what is often passed off as a critique of labeling theory itself is frequently a caricature of the theory. The major point of the paper is an elaboration of the full complexity of each labeling hypothesis,...

The Labeling perspective and delinquency: An elaboration of the theory and an assessment of the evidence

The results of two research literatures, one dealing with criminal sentencing and the other with public ranking of crime seriousness, have raised doubts that conflict exists in American society about issues of criminal justice. This paper offers a different and more direct approach to this issue by analyzing public perceptions of criminal injustice and by assessing the capacity of conflict theory to explain them. Our analysis is based on a national survey, and it focuses on the race, class, and status positions of the respondents, with class position measured in neo-Marxian terms. Three major findings are (i) that black Americans are considerably more likely than white Americans to perceive criminal injustice; (ii) that regardless of race, members of the surplus population are significantly more likely than members of other classes to perceive criminal injustice; and (iii) that class position conditions the relationship of race to the perception of criminal injustice, with the division between the races i...

Race, Class, and the Perception of Criminal Injustice in America'

Currently dominant Durkheimian and Marxian models of criminal justice assume a tight fit between structure and function in the criminal courts. This paper offers an alternative conception of crime and punishment as a loosely coupled organizational system. Our discussion focuses on the historical shift from a classical to a positivist philosophy of sentencing and the emerging profession of probation as a symbol of this transition. However, our empirical analysis of sentencing decisions in felony cases reveals that the influence of probation officers in the presentencing process is subordinate to that of prosecutors. This finding suggests that the involvement of probation officers in sentencing decisions is often ceremonial, and we suggest that the concept of "loose coupling" from organizational theory provides a means of understanding how this finding reflects the dominant legitimation and efficiency needs of contemporary criminal courts. Conceptions of justice change, and with them the structures of doing justice. The most significant conceptual change of this century in the realm of criminal justice is a shift from the classical to the positivist view of crime and punishment. Put simply, the positivist position is that punishments must fit the individual criminal rather than the crime. Thus, where the classical theorists-such as Beccaria, Bentham, and Romilly-urged a close fit between infraction and reaction, the positivists-Lombroso, Ferri, and Garofalo-were more anxious to match the sanction to its recipient (Mannheim; Vold). This shift found encouragement in the American political

Ceremonial Justice: Crime and Punishment in a Loosely Coupled System

In the treatment of status offenders, the espousal of a medical therapeutic model has led to the development of diversion programs designed to offset a progressive career escalation from petty to serious delinquent acts. Using the offense histories of 1200 juveniles, transition probabilities were created to test for offense specialization and offense escalation. Controlling for age, sex, and race or ethnicity, the career transition configurations were reflective of homogeneous, number-independent Markov processes. The implications of these findings run counter to many popular assumptions of delinquency causation and treatment and challenge the basic tenets of many status offender programs.

Delinquent Careers A Test of the Career Escalation Model

Beginning in the 1960s, there has been a marked decline in clearance rates of homicides, a finding that has generated little interest among criminological researchers. This article presents a comparative analysis of homicide clearance in Canada and the United States using data generated by the Canadian Centre of Justice Statistics and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's Supplementary Homicide Reports. Using logistic regression, homicide clearance is predicted on the basis of specific victim and offense characteristics for cases in Canada versus the United States and in Ontario versus New York State. The results indicate that the model is a good fit for homicide clearance in both countries as a whole. Whereas the homicide weapon, circumstances surrounding the offense, age, and gender of the victim were found to be significant homicide clearance predictors in New York State, only the circumstances surrounding the offense emerged as an important predictor in Ontario.

https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1120&context=clsoc_crim_facpub

Jeffrey Leon

Papers

Rediscovering Delinquency: Social History, Political Ideology, and the Sociology of Law

Philosophy and Sociology of Crime Control: Canadian‐American Comparisons

The Rehabilitation of Law: A Social-Historical Comparison of Probation in Canada and the United States

New and old themes in Canadian juvenile justice: The origins of delinquency legislation and the prospects for recognition of children's rights

Crass Conflict: A Reply to Lauderdale and Larson