SOC109
Introduction to Criminology and
Law and Society
Lecture Fifteen
Professor Julius Haag
Department of Sociology
University of Toronto Mississauga
Writing Retreats in SOC109!
• Next week we are hosting writing
retreats for SOC109.
• Writing Retreats have many benefits for
writers at all skill levels.
• Retreats are scheduled for 90 minutes
and will take place over Zoom.
• Wed March 16, 4:00-5:30
• Thurs March 17, 1:00-2:30
• Fri March 18, 1:00-2:30
• Fri March 18, 3:00-4:30
The Bridge
• Legitimacy – how is it achieved and why is it vital in
shaping compliance with the law.
• How legitimacy works in the legal sphere.
• The role of morality in shaping our views of the law
and it’s agents (the police).
• How legitimacy determines our law-related
behaviours.
• Discussions of legitimacy in action with Prof. Super
and me!
Learning Objectives
• Discuss early forms of control theory.
• Examine neutralization theory and the techniques of neutralization.
• Consider social bonding theory.
• Review the tenets of self-control theory as a general theory of crime.
• Examine selected policy implications associated with these theories.

Hirschi and Control Theory
• Modern control theory can be linked
to the work of Travis Hirschi.
• Hirschi disagreed with many tenets
of Strain Theory.
• In Causes of Delinquency (1969),
Hirschi advances his Social Control
Theory and then tests it against
other leading theories.
Travis Hirschi
(1935-2017)
Early Control Theories: Reiss
• Reiss focuses on ‘personal social control’.
• Personal social control is “the ability of
the individual to refrain from meeting
needs in ways that conflict with the
norms and rules of the community”
(1951, p. 196).
• Sources of social control include primary
groups, such as family, schools, and
religious groups.
Early Control Theories: Nye
• Involvement in crime and deviance is
common among young people from all
socio-economic backgrounds.
• There are three primary sources of social
control: direct, indirect, and internalized.
• The family represents the primary source
of social control.
Early Control
Theories: Reckless
• Containment theory.
• Based on the influence of both ‘inner’
and ‘outer containments’.
• Focus on the influence of these
containments in controlling our
behaviours.
• Why do many juveniles not offend, even
when faced with various risk factors.
• In short, why and how do people avoid
deviance?
Containment Theory
Inner Containment
- Strong values.
- Strong self concept.
- High tolerance for
frustration.
Outer Containment
- Strong family
relations.
- Pro-social friends.
- Community
supervision.
• Role of inner and outer containment
in controlling or constraining deviance.
• When containment is weak, we are
more likely to engage in deviance.
• Sources of containment serve as
a buffer against pushes and pulls.
• Pushes and pulls can include
internal factors as well as social
and structural forces.
Social Bonding Theory
• Why do people obey the law?
• Causes of Delinquency (1969)
• Crime is caused by a weakening of
ties that bind to us to society:
1. Attachment
2. Commitment
3. Involvement
4. Belief
Travis Hirschi (1935-2017)
Social Bonding Theory
Attachment
• Family
• Friends
• Teachers
• Co-workers.
Commitment
• Personal
goals
• Academic
achievement
• Career goals
Involvement
• School
• Community
organizations
• Clubs
• Religious
Groups
Belief
• Social values
• Shared
norms
• Social
responsibility
Testing Social Bonding Theory
• Studies have shown that attachment to
parents lowers the likelihood of involvement
with delinquency.
• School attachment and emotional support in
the classroom have been found to reduce the
risk of violence and delinquency.
• Diminished communities and perceptions of
community social monitoring and shared
behaviour standards
Self-Control Theory
• Gottfredson and Hirschi: A General Theory of Crime
(1990)
• Low self-control is a key factor contributing to
criminality.
1. Impulsive personality
2. Lack of self-control
3. Withering of social bonds
4. The opportunity to commit crime
5. Insensitivity to others
• Must separate crime from criminality.
Low Self-Control in
our Lives
• People with low self-control are focused immediate
gratification, increasing the chance they will engage in
crime.
• Low self-control results unstable marriages, inconsistent
work histories, and weaker personal and professional
relationships.
• As low self-control emerges in childhood, it’s not people
who change, but opportunities.
Testing Self-Control Theory
• Persons with low-self control experience this
throughout their life.
• Low self-control can explain all types of crime.
• Research has found support for low-self control
and violent behaviour.
• Self-control may be a contributing factor but
cannot account for all aspects of criminal
involvement.
• How can we effectively measure or
‘operationalize’ self-control?
Policy
Implications:
Self-Control
Theory
• Social programming targeting young people
at early stages of development.
• Focus on parenting skills and dissuading
persons with low-self control from becoming
parents.
• Focus on prevention rather than
intervention.
• Rehabilitation may be futile.
• Lower the “attractiveness” of criminal
activities and reduce temptation.
The Kick Ahead
• For our next two classes we will be
looking at courts with Prof. Richer.
• Discuss the development of courts and
their role in resolving disputes.
• Examine the process of seeking a court
decision through legal actors.
• Looking at courts in common and civil
law systems.
• Identifying inequalities in the court
system and how they emerge.