Introduction
While deviance is violating social norms, not all expected behaviors are enforced by law. Therefore, some deviant acts may be legal while being despised by the public. Robbery is both illegal and deviant – people who steal are not embraced in any society, and the ones who do so with physical force are often disdained and rejected (McCaghy et al., 2016). Robbery is relevant in the context of sociology because it happens in all parts of the world regardless of the global stratification.
Robbery as Deviant Behavior
Robbery is often viewed in the contexts of law and crime. Most people do not contemplate the sociological issues that contribute to such deviant behavior but think of what punishment is provided for such offenses. However, it is vital to analyze robbery from a sociological standpoint to introduce necessary policy changes to address the root causes and develop more effective re-education programs (McCaghy et al., 2016). Several theories can be used to explain why robbery takes place and what changes can be introduced to prevent it.
Impact on Society
Robbery may have severe consequences for victims, such as adverse mental health outcomes and changes in behavior. The magnitude of the results relies primarily on the level of violence inflicted during the robbery. Victims may experience fear, anger, and depression for up to one year since the day of the accident (McCaghy et al., 2016). When a specific region has high levels of robbery, awareness is built within the local community, which means that residents may experience collective unrest. In some cases, unfortunately, victims may receive physical damage and suffer significant financial losses.
The Problem’s Scope
Robberies take place ubiquitously in the United States, but there is a positive tendency. The number of committed robberies per year has been decreasing for more than a decade. The average loss per robbery is high, and the most significant losses are suffered by banks (“Robbery,” 2017). Necessary security measures should be developed to protect financial institutions. Otherwise, thefts may have an impact on financial and capital markets.
Legal Implications
Robberies of any kind often result in the imprisonment of the culprit. The federal law requires that the offenders are given at most 15 years in prison (“Robbery and burglary,” n.d.). The exact number of years is decided by the state where the crime was committed. Some states have requirements regarding the minimum number of years that an offender should serve in jail. If a firearm was used, offenders often get 15 years; otherwise, the length of imprisonment is ten years.
Positivist’s View of Robbery
Positivism is a sociological theory that provides a perspective on examining deviant behaviors. According to the concept, all deviant acts are real and are comprised of a unique set of attributes that define them (McCaghy et al., 2016). Both the act of deviance and the person that was involved can be studied objectively. The theory considers deviant behaviors to be caused by processes that are out of a culprit’s control (Goode, 2016). In this context, positivism is close to how scientists study natural phenomena.
Social Constructionist’s View of Robbery
Social constructionists, on the other hand, consider robbery to be a relative concept. Therefore, it cannot be studied objectively; robbery is a subjective notion and should be examined using subjective means. The most important consideration is that robberies do not happen because of uncontrollable causes and processes. Instead, a person that commits the deviant act engages voluntarily. This difference from positivism allows social constructionists to study robbery using descriptive methods.
Robbery and Functionalism
Functionalists believe that deviant acts serve explanatory purposes within society. One needs to see what abnormal behavior looks like to understand why it is disallowed and why it is crucial to follow norms. Functionalism enforces the necessity of maintaining order for a society to prosper (McCaghy et al., 2016). Therefore, it is useful to observe deviant behavior to evaluate potential outcomes of not meeting social norms.
Robbery and Structural Strain
Structural strain theory deals primarily with causes of deviant behaviors rather than attempting to describe their notion. The concept suggests that robberies and other deviant acts are a result of societal issues (McCaghy et al., 2016). When an individual sees that the society they are living in is not supporting them to achieve culturally valuable goals, they may engage in crime. This theory can be aid positivists in identifying causal relationships between societal processes and deviant behavior.
Conclusion
- Robbery is stealing with the use of physical force or threat.
- Robberies cause fear and the feeling of insecurity.
- The rate of this crime has been decreasing in the United States.
- Sociological theories help describe robbery as deviant behavior.
- Positivists believe robberies have causal patterns.
- Social constructionists believe that robberies are committed voluntarily.
- Functionalists consider robberies to be necessary in order to describe why social order is required.
- According to structural strain, robberies are a result of failure on behalf of society.
References
Goode, E. (2016). Deviant behavior (11th ed.). Routledge.
McCaghy, C. H., Capron, T. A., Jamieson, J. D., & Carey, S. H. H. (2016). Deviant behavior: Crime, conflict, and interest groups (8th ed.). Routledge.
Robbery. (2017). Federal Bureau of Investigations. Web.
Robbery and burglary. (n.d.). Cornell Law School. 2020, Web.