Labeling and Discrimination

Victoria Wright
Intro to Criminal Justice
Term Paper
Fall 2012

Labeling and Discrimination

The focus of the Labeling Theory is the criminal process. It is the way people and actions are defined as criminal. The one definite thing that all “criminals” share is the negative social reaction as being labeled as ‘bad”. Law-abiding society often shuns the offender causing them to be stigmatized and stereotyped. The negative label applied to an offender often shapes their self-image and often leads them to live up to their newfound identity by committing acts that are more criminal. Edwin Lemert described this as being secondary deviance caused by primary deviance. The self-concept identifies two major theoretical perspectives. The first concept being that deviant labeling may subsequently influence deviance by altering a person’s self-worth. The role of self-dynamics and symbolic reaction amplifies negative expectations of society. The second concept focuses on social structure aspects of exclusion of offender’s by blocked access to structural opportunities. (Matsudo, 1992) This ultimately becomes discrimination for people labeled by society as “criminals”. “Felon” is a label that is given to ex-offenders by society that confirms the degrading status that accompanies conviction. This is labeling. An offender is discriminated against because society views them as being “bad”. In short, a “felon” is a legal outlaw and social outcast. Not all the good that a person may have done previously suddenly matters and society assumes that there is nothing but despicable traits left in this person’s character. Their integrity is lost forever. Society assumes that “felons” cannot change and it becomes a struggle to be given a second chance to prove that people can, and do change, if the will to do so is there coupled with the tools needed to achieve a crime free life are also.
The stigma attached to “felons” is so great that most opportunities for education, employment, and housing are not easy to obtain. These opportunities (tools) are often blocked because the offender has a criminal conviction. If society wants a lower crime rate then it seems that these opportunities should be available to individuals in this category. In order to rehabilitate individuals there must be a way for them to raise their self-image and seek out a crime free life. A sense of self-pride and achievement for many offenders could be the turning point in life needed for them. In turn, the crime rate would decrease. (Bodwitch, 1993, Freeman, 1991, Hagan, 1991, Link, 1982, Sullivan, 1989)
These peoples are no less human or equal than any other except that they have made a mistake. Our society has somehow decided it to be acceptable to treat this group of people, and there are more than two million in the United States, as outcasts, undeserving of housing, employment, or education. Society has decided that “felons” should not only serve the sentence given as punishment for their crime, they should be punished for the rest of their lives. This seems very unfair and cruel. In my opinion, we as a nation should be not be discriminating against this group of people, but instead should be giving them equal opportunity to be educated so that they can obtain employment to support themselves and their families. They should have the same opportunity to live in adequate housing just as the rest of society does. This would be a step in the right direction to help increase the self- image that has been shattered by labeling and possibly deter any behavior by responding to this labeling by continued criminal activity as a means of defense, adaptation, or by attacking back at society. (Bernberg) Education is the first step to rehabilitating an offender. Many offenders do not even have a high school education. Some cannot read or write. In order to obtain gainful employment sufficient to support one 's self or a family, they must have at least a basic education. If not, some form of crime will be used to compensate for the lack of income provided by employment. In order to be employed by any company you must have a high school diploma or a GED certificate. Denying education is a form of discrimination to suppress a group of people from gainful employment. Employment is one of the hardest things for an offender to obtain. Employment applications ask for any convictions to be listed. If an offense is not listed on the application, it can be a reason for termination. Anyone that does choose not to disclose their convictions runs the risk of losing benefits from years of employment such as their retirement benefits and/or medical coverage. More often than not, if an offense is listed on the application it will be a disqualifying factor for consideration of the position. Even if the offense does not disqualify the applicant the mere fact that there are so many people looking for work that the applicant without any previous convictions will probably be placed ahead on the qualifying list for employment. Most employers view a “felon” just as the rest of society does. They do not want a person of this character working for them because they may view them as being dishonest, or they might even be frightened of the “felon”. This practice of asking for convictions on employment applications is also a form of discrimination. It greatly reduces the possibility of gainful employment for “criminals” by asking for this information. The past convictions of a person does not have any bearing on whether or not they are the best qualified applicant for the position offered by a company. If any person is denied employment and has no way to support himself or his family, that person will ultimately turn to some form of crime in order to do so. The offender will adapt and live up to societies expectations of them. If this type of discrimination stops, there is a possibility that more offenders will conform to the expectations of society and rehabilitate into productive citizens, thus, decreasing crime in our communities. Another area of discrimination for offenders is the housing market. Society does not want anyone with a “criminal” past living in their community among them. An offender can have a conviction that is over twenty years old and still be denied housing in many communities such as mobile home parks, apartment complexes s, private rentals, and even from some home loans. Some communities will not allow anyone with any type of criminal history to live there. A person could have had their offenses dismissed by the court and still be denied because of the accusation alone. Many of the government programs offered to help low-income people are not available to anyone with a felony. A “felon” is automatically disqualified from receiving any help from government programs. Offender’s often end up living in communities that are offered by “slum lords” in areas that have a bigger crime rate than in other areas. This practice of discrimination could lead to offenders falling back into committing criminal acts because other criminals surround them, thus, reinforcing a negative self-image possibly leading to a return to criminal activities. “If society continues to accept the criminology theory it will continue to cause social problems for both the community and the offender”. Labeling is a stepping stone in the development of criminal careers.”(Benrburg) This social problem ruins people’s lives and creates a pattern of recidivism. The goal of society should be to try to find ways to decrease crime, not condone practices that will potentially increase crime. Everyone deserves a second chance in life to correct the mistakes that have made. If society was as quick to give a second chance, as it is to label and condemn someone for their mistakes, we could possibly rehabilitate a good number of offenders into productive citizens. Our nation could even possibly decrease the crime rate at the same time. None of the other practices of the criminal justice system seems to be working very well, maybe an approach of removing the barriers blocking education, employment, and housing might make a positive difference.

Works Cited

Robert M. Bohm, Keith N Haley. Introduction to Criminal Justice. 7th edition vols. n.d.

Works Cited

Bernburg. "Criminal Justice Essays." n.d. Criminal Justice- Labeling Theories.
Bodwitch, 1993, Freeman, 1991. Hagan, 1991, Link, 1991, Sullivan, 1989. Criminology Theories. 1994.
Lemert, Edwin. Intro to Criminal Justice. n.d. 83.
Matsueda. "Social Structure and Social Exclusion." Crimiinology Studies of Theory (1992).
Messner, Liska and. "Deviant Labeling." (1991): 118-125.
Robert M. Bohm, Keith N Haley. Introduction to Criminal Justice. 7th edition vols. n.d.
Sketnick, Schwartz and. Encyclopedia of Criminologyy. 1992.

Cited: Bernburg. "Criminal Justice Essays." n.d. Criminal Justice- Labeling Theories. Bodwitch, 1993, Freeman, 1991. Hagan, 1991, Link, 1991, Sullivan, 1989. Criminology Theories. 1994. Lemert, Edwin. Intro to Criminal Justice. n.d. 83. Matsueda. "Social Structure and Social Exclusion." Crimiinology Studies of Theory (1992). Messner, Liska and. "Deviant Labeling." (1991): 118-125. Robert M. Bohm, Keith N Haley. Introduction to Criminal Justice. 7th edition vols. n.d. Sketnick, Schwartz and. Encyclopedia of Criminologyy. 1992.