Access to HE: Sociology Essay Example – Social Control

Some readers out there may be required to do sociology as part of their Access to HE courses. Many people doing Access to HE courses tend be adult or mature learners who are perhaps returning to education after many years or who perhaps did not successfully navigate the education system when they were younger. Perhaps you do this course in the evenings after a day’s work which makes it even more challenging, especially if you are tired.

It can be hard to adapt when faced with a new subject that contains so much overwhelmingly new and abstract knowledge and, to make matters worse, nobody tells you how to write an essay. You are simply left to figure it out. I know this because I was there. So, I wanted to share with you some of my old essays which were used in my own Access to HE course. I make no apologies for any incorrect information written in them as I am sharing them unedited. I share these exactly as they were written and each essay was marked a triple distinction (DDD). This essay is 1200 words on Social Control and is from 2014.

WARNING: This should go without saying but please do NOT copy anything written here as you will be caught for plagiarism.

Essay on Social Control

Crime has always existed in one form or another. Whilst today we may see crime at its most basic concept of committing an offence against written law, historically the concept of crime has changed greatly throughout the ages. Beyond its basic concept, crime may be seen as behaviour which deviates from the norms and expectations of society and religion but this itself creates large variations in what may be seen as deviant behaviour.

The concept of crime however can be difficult to explain. Although the written law is a basic guide, it has to be based on moral, ethical and philosophical foundations. Criminal law can be used to define an action as criminal for nothing more than to enforce a desirable behaviour from somebody. Wearing seatbelts in a car for example is a way of enforcing behaviour rather than allowing somebody free will. Writing laws to require a licence for something, such as televisions, amounts to nothing more than legalised extortion. (Emgee, 2014). Media can warp the idea of what crime is through the use of sensationalist headlines which in turn can create moral panics, essentially warping morals on the most simple of biased claims. (Crichter, 2006).

Legal definitions may also be too restrictive. Walter reckless (1940) defined crime from a social perspective as “a violation of conduct norms which contain sanctions, no matter whether found in criminal law of a modern state or merely in the working rules of special social groups”. Furthermore, a legal definition cannot foresee all contributing factors to a crime. Carrying an offensive weapon for example, whilst illegal, cannot define between what an offensive weapon actually is. In reality, most objects can be used as an offensive weapon therefore making us all criminals. (Molan, 2001).

Criminal law and moral values, for the most part, complement each other and are based on the values and ideals of the country or locality in which they exist. Homosexuality, for example, was illegal in the United Kingdom until as recent as 1982 after being outlawed by Henry VIII in 1533. Henry VIII was a ‘flexible’ Catholic and prior to his introduction of anti-homosexuality laws, ecclesiastical courts were considered to be the “keepers of sexual morality”. (Crompton, 2003). At that time, the Church had a far greater voice in what was defined morally wrong and Henry VIII used his position to naturally extend that moral disobedience into a crime punishable by hanging. (Elton, 1986).

Whilst this example shows how morals, religion and society are linked in defining of criminal acts, it also shows an immoral approach by the Criminal Justice System. If homosexuality is an act between two consenting adults and causes no harm to anybody, then is it really necessary to essentially murder those people through hanging as a punishment? Government consensus clearly thought so. Hanging, as a form of punishment, is a deterrent to committing crime. By performing executions in public, people who witness to it will be swayed into civil obedience. (Roodenburg, 2004). Whilst execution is an extreme measure to crime prevention, so too is the extremities as to which executions can reach.

In modern society, discipline comes from all angles and exists throughout our life. It could be argued that discipline begins the day we are born. As we are placed into a routine of eating and sleeping at certain times this would form the beginnings of a disciplined life. (Kyeyune, 2012). Once we arrive at school we are taught to sit quietly, listen to the teacher, show respect to others and do perform education tasks in an orderly manner. If children fail to do these things then discipline will be used in the form of loss of break times, being placed against the wall, writing lines or, in more extreme cases, isolation or exclusion from school altogether. As an extension of school, homework is given out to be completed away from school. This itself is a punishable act when failed to be completed. (Tyner, 2012).

As we become teenagers and adults, the threat of punishment becomes ever more apparent. Arguably natural teenage behaviour in the form of rebelling against authority and seeking of personal freedom is hit head on by parents seeking to retain control of their households or the police if the rebellious behaviour becomes malicious or violent. This can result in punishment through the use of young offender institutions. (Lösel, Bottoms and Farrington, 2012).

The police are responsible for upholding black letter law on the street. Acts which contravene statutory law can result in fines, community service and prison sentences. Standard procedure is that of a person being arrested, appearing before a court, having judgment passed by a jury and finally being sentenced. (Pollock, 2011).

Employment carries its own form of discipline. A person who breaks company regulations or rules may find themselves in front of a disciplinary council with the possibility of dismissal, loss of wages or formal warnings. Unemployment also carries a form of disciple. People on unemployment benefits can find themselves subject to sanctions in the form of reductions in payment for small misdemeanours. (Redeker, 1989).

Foucault’s (1975) theory of criminal punishment is based on a contrasting view of punishment evolution over a century in France. His theories can be placed into four distinct categories: torture, punishment, discipline and prison. Beginning in the mid-18^th century, Foucault focuses on the extreme public execution of Robert-Francois Damiens for attempted regicide against King Louis XV. Foucault viewed his public torture as a way for the king to assert his sovereignty over the people rather than just a punishment. Additionally, it sought to reflect the violence of the original crime back against the offenders’ body. Furthermore, it unintentionally acted as a deterrent against offending for those who witnessed it. (Fendler, n.d.). However, this uncontrolled method of punishment was disorderly and unfocused.

Gradually, torture was phased out in favour of a more efficient system of punishment. Through the use of prisons, punishments could be more evenly distributed. Offenders would have to perform work as a way of paying back society in a display of controlled penance. Arguably, this would have helped reduce people’s pity for the suffering of offenders being publicly tortured. Foucault envisions prisons as a product of a disciplinary society rather than a disciplinary society being a reflection of penal practice. (Smith, 2006). The idea of prison is not limited to incarceration in a single building but that prison is essentially everything in our lives. School, work, hospitals and religion bind together to create a “panoptic society”, a microcosm where every aspect of our individuality has the possibility to be placed under surveillance and, therefore, control. (Golder Ben., n.d.)

Critically, Foucault’s theory paints a picture of the embodiment of an all-encompassing regime. However, this theoretical regime has no physical presence so how can one explain the existence of rebellion? If people rebel, who are they rebelling against? Additionally, Foucault theorizes we are all under surveillance and yet there are laws to allow people access to records and a right to freedom of information. (Walzer, 2002). Foucault does, however, provide an interesting conceptualisation of social control which is similar in theme to Orwellian dystopian theories and, when combined together, create a vision of absolute control over the common man.