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• SOCIAL CONTROL: any action, either deliberate or unconscious, that influences conduct toward conformity, whether or not the persons being influenced are aware of the process.

Few thoughts make me shudder more than those associated with “social control.” First of all, the need for protection from the grievous misdeeds of other, by means of social control, imposes a collage of humanity gone grossly awry on my mind. (An unpleasant thought process, I assure you.) Secondly, the idea—no, the factual history—of social control being abhorrently misused and abused by those with the power to inflict social control scares me absolutely senseless. Thirdly, the general idea of forcing conformity on society just pokes and prods at my inner rebellion and reminds me that, while I may still be merely part of the machine, I am quite proudly a squeaky cog. So, while stigmas are hard to set down, I set most of those issues aside because this chapter is in fact very interesting to me. Cringe and shudder as I may, the issues brought up in this section are a perfect blend of tangible reality and hypothetical circumstance. Therefore, I suffer through these scary conceptions in the hopes that I may better understand the society around me.

Page 212 of the textbook suggests that society is dependent upon peaceful and predictable coexistence, which is only possible when enforced by social control. According to this theory, social control could then also be defined as “a mechanism intended to influence people within a society to conform to the behavioral expectations of the group.” The two dichotomies established by legal sociologist Donald Black create four types of social control mechanisms: direct formal, direct informal, indirect formal, or indirect informal. Some examples of Formal Direct social control would be an arrest, incarceration, a lawsuit, and a trial and sentencing by an agent of the state. Informal Direct social control could be hate crimes, gang activity, a Homeowners' Association, and social shame. Formal Indirect would be the threat of legal sanctions due to knowledge of or witnessing the punishment of a crime, and Informal Indirect could be reinforced by viewing and participating in the trial experience.

Black also identified penal, therapeutic, compensatory, and conciliatory as four legal styles of social control. Personally, I adhere to a philosophy most akin to the theory of Restorative Justice. I trust that when individuals break the natural balance of justice, by choice, circumstances, and/or biology, it should be corrected and bettered if possible. Three parties are wronged by a crime, according to Restorative Justice: the victim, the community, and the criminal. In order for this theory to be applied, ALL parties must be restored to the same, if not better, level of justice as before the crime. I appreciate this legal style because it allows for the rehabilitation of the victim, of the criminal, and of the offended community, as well as punishment for the crime. These instances being so, each case is forced to be viewed individually for the most part because with each case, each party will be wronged to varying degrees and in differing manners; this allows for more accurate sentencing and justice.

For more information on Restorative Justice please visit http://www.restorativejustice.org/?Prison-Ministries.info.

Rehabilitation is essential if the court wishes to successfully change the behaviors of a criminal. The idea of punishing “the effect,” with the intent of deterring others from similar actions, without even acknowledging “the cause” seems futile to me. Deterrence applies to very few people to begin with. Only individuals of RATIONAL minds and who utilize “cost –benefit” analysis for the crime can possibly be deterred. Within my own experience, this scare tactic applies only to those individuals in the position to lose much more than the average citizen and those with moral compasses glued to due north. I know that most of the rebellious youth of my hometown will continue in their delinquency, whether their friends are in “Juvi” or not, and that most of the law-offending adults will remain just as vigilant in their illegal diversions, whether part or all of their family has been incarcerated or not.

I found the statistics on plea bargaining interesting, but not necessarily shocking. Ninety percent of all felony suspects agree to a guilty plea in exchange for… well that depends. I want inside the minds of these felony suspects. How many are guilty right off and save their skin, and would rather confess than try to cover their tracks? How many were in the wrong place at the wrong time and plead guilty to a false charge merely to escape a “fate worse than death?” And how many criminals make up the remaining ten percent that fight their fights. How many come away unscathed despite their guilt? How many are sentenced to their just terms? How many their unjust terms? And what will become of these men once we have “disposed” of them? And just how many of those instances involved capital punishment, I wonder?! To properly explain my feelings about capital punishment I would just have to say that I agree with every argument the text mentions against it.

To wrap things up, I would be amiss not to mention The Patriot Act. Raised in a true blue Midwestern home I spent my entire childhood listening to my parents and grandparents echo remarks akin to Benjamin Franklin’s, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” After 9/11 my family was grievously distraught and yearned for some call to action. A month later, The Patriot Act is passed and our national “call to action” is one of inaction, ignorance, and consumerism. So, for starters, my mom, as an employee of the Danville Public Library, rallied against The Patriot Act, which would require access to all the public library records of books that an individual checks out. The library no longer keeps those records just so that the government cannot stick its head where its nose should not be. This has been most inconvenient to the customers and use of the library has decreased dramatically since the no-record implementation. To continue my woes, I fly to and from campus at the semester breaks. I do not think we need yet another reminder of just how tight and unfair the security systems at international airports are today.

Shudders and cringes aside, I ultimately understand the need for some social control, but I still fear the possibilities presented by its misuse and abhor its track record of abuse.