Social control refers to the methods through which the community tries to influence human behavior to enable them to maintain a given order. According to Vélez (2014), social control is the systems of the devices where the community subjects its members into conformity with the behaviors that are acceptable within the community. Social control can be in the form of either formal social control or informal social control. While formal social control is regulated by the sanctions of the law such as laws, police force and military, informal social control involves indirect methods that members use to pressurize members to conform and do not involve any aspect of the law. Informal social control involve the pressure that is exerted on the group members by an unofficial authority such as the community, friends, and family to behave in a particular manner.
Importance of Informal Social Control
Though not very commonly relied upon for maintaining law and order in the society, informal social control exists in every community. Studies have shown that communities could only exist if the members of the society can share a collective conscience. This describes how informal social control works. People in the society have various norms and cultures that dictate what is right and wrong. When one commits what is considered wrong by the community, such a person can face certain consequences which include loss of status as well as people talking negatively about that person. Whenever a person thinks of committing a crime, such a person will think of the connection with the community, which identifies crime as unacceptable behavior and thus causes a change in mind not to do crime in the first place. There is always a social bond and attachment to the society, and this attachment makes one want to do what is acceptable. There is always a general fear of going against the community norms because of the social consequences that it may cause.
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Every society has norms and cultures that states what is expected from every member of the community. People show commitment and involvement to the norms and beliefs of the society which bind them together and prevent them from being ostracized in the society. For example, if a person thinks of committing a crime, they can decide to change their minds if they weigh on what they might lose as a result. Criminals in the society may lose their social status as well as freedom which can have negative impacts on them. The family remains the dominant player in the informal social control. Parents are responsible for nurturing their parents to adhere to the rules of the community. They play a key role in shaping the behavior of individuals by aligning them to what is acceptable within the community ( Lindblad, Manturuk & Quercia, 2013 ). Further studies have also shown that most youths from low-income families tend to get involved in the criminal activities. Low-income families get influenced by the high-class families making them also to want to get rich, a situation which can make them get involved in crime.
Social values that are present in the individuals are deemed to be the products of informal social control that is exercised by the community through various ways such as norms and customs. People can internalize the values of the society either consciously or unconsciously. The major sanctions that result from informal control can include shame, sarcasm, ridicule as well as criticism which can make people to shy away from straying away from the norms of the society. In some cases, the unacceptable behavior may attract social discrimination and exclusion. Reports have shown that informal social control can have adverse effects on the individuals because the social values of the community become internalized making it become an aspect of individual personality. The role of the informal sanctions is to do a check on the deviant behavior in the community. Informal controls can either reward or punish acceptable behaviors within the community. This varies from one individual to another or from one group to the next. Such rewards and punishments play a key role in helping pressurize people to conform to the norms of the society.
Various social groups can also exert pressure on the group members to conform to the group norms. Social groups of people normally have their rules and norms that govern their interaction as well as other activities. Members of such groups are subjected to pressure to conform to the norms of that group whether they agree with such actions or not. Group pressure can, therefore, be useful in having positive behavior development among the group members in the society.
Central Debate Regarding Informal Social Control
Informal social control is an issue that people face on a daily basis. According to Drakulich and Crutchfield (2013 ), people are more likely to take part in the criminal activity if their attachment to the society gets weakened. Research has shown that if the attachment among people was to increase, then the level of criminal activity can decrease. In a study carried out among the working class to determine the cause of crime among most people, it was found that family plays a key role in the behavior of individuals. As a result, many have argued that informal control can always lead to crime and hence non-effective in the individual's behavior control.
Many functionalists are of the belief that informal belief is an effective way to maintain law and order in any community. Many argue that despite the connections that might exist between individuals and the community, the method may not be effective in helping shape the behaviors of individuals. Because the informal social control does not have any specific punishment for the offenders as in the case of the formal system, people may take advantage of this to get involved in the unacceptable activities. It is the view of the functionalists that this form of social control is of less significant without being applied hand in hand with the formal social control. This group argues that unless there are laws in the society to govern the actions of the individuals, the society can get into lawlessness where crime becomes the rue of the day.
A heated debate has been on the issue of the ability of the informal social control to make people conform to the acceptable behavior of the community. Some scholars argue that informal social control cannot be effective in making people conform to the expected behavior within the community. While people may have a connection with the community, this bond might not help avoid crime despite the ability to influence the behavior. However, proponents of the informal social contract have argued that it can exert pressure on the individuals to conform to the acceptable behaviors within the community. People feel bind by the norms and culture of the community through which they strive to adhere to. When tempted to get involved in any unacceptable behavior, people feel the pressure of the norms of the society making them change their minds.
Informal Social Control and Criminology
While some researchers argue that informal social control can help minimize the impacts of crime in the society, others are of the view that this type of social control may never be effective in crime control unless it is backed up by the formal social control. Every society has norms and rules which identifies what is right and wrong. As children are born in the society, they grow up being taught these acceptable norms and behaviors within the society. This is usually important in shaping the behavior of individuals. Any time one thinks of crime, this person will think of the attachment he has to the society and the norms and as a result, may choose not to engage in crime. Furthermore, researchers argue that informal social control has various forms of rewards and punishments for both those who adhere to the accepted code of conduct and those who deviate from the norms of the society. This is significant in exerting pressure on community members to conform to the norms and customs of the society. It is undoubtedly true that no community permit crime as acceptable behavior in the society and therefore chances that people who conform to the social norms will get involved in the crime is minimal.
Despite this argument, a group of researchers still view informal social control as insignificant in controlling crimes in the society. People get involved in the criminal activities for various reasons which can include poverty. As a result, people may get into criminal activities for gain even if they will be perceived to be against the norms of the society. Unless formal social control which involves the use of police force and the law is used, it will be impossible to have a crime-free society. Some researchers have even argued that social groups can impact negative behaviors of individuals. A certain group of people or other social collection and attachment of people can have a greater influence on people getting into criminal activities. These researchers, therefore, claim that the existence of informal social groups without the formal social group cannot be effective in controlling crimes within the society.
References
Drakulich, K. M., & Crutchfield, R. D. (2013). The role of perceptions of the police in informal social control: Implications for the racial stratification of crime and control. Social problems , 60 (3), 383-407.
Lindblad, M. R., Manturuk, K. R., & Quercia, R. G. (2013). Sense of community and informal social control among lower income households: The role of homeownership and collective efficacy in reducing subjective neighborhood crime and disorder. American journal of community psychology , 51 (1-2), 123-139.
Vélez, M. B. (2014). Informal Social Control. In Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice (pp. 2490-2500). Springer New York.
