Crime and deviance in Trinidad and Tobago

by tanille (student)

Tanille Spicer

Sociology

Upper 6 2

Mr. Ramdass

Essay: Crime and Deviance in Trinidad and Tobago is attributed to the limited access to the ‘legitimate opportunity structure’.

Crime, according to Brown (2001), is an act in violation of the criminal law that is subject to official punishment by the state. Whereas a deviant act, is simply an act which goes against the mainstream norms and value of society. With reference to Robert K. Merton, a functionalist theorist, and Cloward and Ohlin, subcultural theorists, both of whom argue to a large extent that the cause of crime and deviance is due to the lack of access to the ‘legitimate opportunity structure.’ On the other hand, Walter Miller, another functionalist theorist, disagrees with them. In this essay, it will be attempted to discuss whether the lack of access to the legitimate opportunity structure is the main cause of crime and deviance in the Caribbean, specifically, Trinidad and Tobago.

According to Robert K. Merton, deviance results from the culture and structure of society itself. He believed that society shares the same values, that is, goals are clearly set for the people to achieve such as the goal of educational attainment and the goal of success. He suggested that there is a separation between these legitimate goals which everyone desires and the socially approved means to success such as the institutionalized means like hard work and education that are not equally available to all members of society which leads to a little chance of success and causes anomie (state of normlessness or lawlessness). Therefore to him, limited access to the legitimate opportunity structure is a major factor in causing crime and deviance. Crime and deviance are alternative means to success when individuals feel the strain of being force to succeed in socially accepted ways and when they lack the necessary skills and tools for this success. As a result, Merton states that crime and deviance is a result of anomie. Caribbean countries have the same goals and methods by which to attain them as these European capitalist nations, however they cannot be fully applied to the Caribbean countries as they are still developing countries which had to contend with the retardation of industrialization and political independence by the developed countries. As well as, tourism is an integral part of the economy of Caribbean societies and the existent criminological theories do not take these factors into account as well as these factors negatively affect the social organization and structure of Caribbean societies.

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According to the UN Office on the Drug and Crime Report of 2002, the causes of crime and deviance in the Caribbean are poverty and unemployment among others which relate to the lack of access to the legitimate opportunity structure. In Trinidad and Tobago, Sangre Grande and Mayaro are among the poorest areas in the country with the lowest annual household income and the lowest levels of education, as well as, most criminal offenders come out of these areas. As well as, the Port of Spain division, the most industrialized area in Trinidad and Tobago, one person in each family has experienced some sort of crime within 2009, according to Trinidad and Tobago National Human Development Index 2012. Therefore, this supports Merton’s view that the lack of access to the legitimate opportunity structure leads to anomie and increases the existence of crime and deviance.

According to Cloward and Ohlin; Differential Opportunity Structures(1961), they believe in the existence of an ‘illegitimate opportunity structure,’ which is just as well-defined and access can be just as limited, just as the legitimate opportunity structure, which also contributes to crime and deviance. In the Caribbean, specifically Trinidad and Tobago, there exists an illegitimate opportunity structure in the form of activities such as illegal drug trade, kidnapping and prostitution. They maintain that the three subcultures may arise as a result of either complete or limited access to legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structures which are conflict, criminal and retreatist subcultures with relation to gang delinquency. They also suggest that the illegitimate opportunity structure is mainly achieved and sought after by the lower working class as a result of them having less access to the legitimate means by which to succeed.

In Trinidad and Tobago, this is looked at as a Caribbean island that is more industrialized than others and therefore, has a higher standard of living and higher income levels. According to Trinidad and Tobago 2012 Crime and Safety Report, the majority of violent criminal activity which includes homicides, kidnappings, assaults and others, is mostly gang and drug related. They further go on to state that a significant and growing proportion of this violence is attributed to the influence of gangs. Therefore it can be said that a lack of access to legitimate opportunity structure leads the working class to turn to illegitimate opportunity structures which causes crime in Trinidad and Tobago.

On the other hand, Walter Miller; Lower Class Subculture, he believes that the lower class has their own norms and values which encourages lower class men to break the law; he called this a destructive lower class subculture. Within the subculture, there are five focal concerns; firstly, toughness which is shown through strength, endurance and athletic skill as a result of female dominated households with no male role models, secondly, smartness where street sense is of higher value than intellectual accomplishments, thirdly, excitement where an evening out would consist of heavy intake of drugs, sexual promiscuity, gambling and night clubbing. Fourthly, fate, which depicts the future as a matter of fate rather than from gratificational methods, such as education and finally, autonomy which represents freedom from external authority. This theory suggests other causes for the occurrence of crime and deviance however it is not very common in the Caribbean, particularly Trinidad and Tobago. Nonetheless, it can still be seen in Trinidad and Tobago, to a certain extent, where, as there are many matrifocal families that contain no male role model, young male adolescents commit these crimes to prove themselves as masculine. As well as there is not many stable families in the lower class which can lead to a lack of educational attainment and success on the whole as the children are encouraged to work and make money as soon as possible and in any way.

In conclusion, from the statistical evidence given above to support the criminological theories it can be seen that to a large extent that a lack of access to the legitimate opportunity structure is a huge cause of crime and deviance in Trinidad and Tobago, however, there are still other factors to consider when evaluating the reasons for crime.

Crime and deviance in Trinidad and Tobago

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