Labeling Criminal Offenders: Consequences and Social Stigma
Introduction
Unfortunately, crime is an integral part of society, and people are divided into those who engage in illegal activities and those who avoid them. The first category can include both those who were involved in a crime and atoned for their guilt and those who remain criminal offenders. However, the public, employees, and others often stigmatize both groups and label them, with negative consequences, and this should not be associated with offenders who have paid their debt to society.
Offender Labeling and Its Implications
To begin with, there are several ways that criminal offenders can be labeled. Individuals with a history of drug-related crimes are often considered to be using or selling substances, and convicted murderers are labeled as dangerous, insane, or maniacs (Siegel, 2020, Ch. 7-4e, p. 258). Labeling is closely associated with racial profiling, and convicted representatives of racial minorities will then suffer from arrests and increased suspicion.
As for juvenile crimes, children and teenagers are frequently labeled as deviants, stupid, dangerous, uneducated, and troublemakers (Siegel, 2020, Ch. 7-4b, p. 256). This phenomenon of assigning labels has numerous negative consequences, including damaged identity. Young people and adults can begin to identify with what others call them, and the risk of further criminal offending will increase. They can also join deviant cliques and use other ways to prove that the public is correct.
It is possible to say that these adverse consequences are unfair to offenders who have ‘done their time’ and that, once the criminal’s debt to society has been paid, labeling should not affect them. In some cases, individuals are involved in crimes involuntarily, and shaming and stigmatizing them for their whole lives is not humane.
According to Siegel (2020), many states’ legislation supports employees who refuse to hire people with a history of crimes (Ch. 7-4e, p. 258). Dimon (2021) states that this reduces these people’s chances of socializing and improving their behavior. This is unfair if they regret their deeds, truly try to avoid criminal activity in the future, and seek to make amends.
Conclusion
To conclude, there are many ways that society uses to label criminal offenders, naming them drug addicts, uneducated, troublemakers, dangerous, and insane. Some negative consequences of this phenomenon include increased illegal activity, the expansion of deviant cliques, difficulties integrating into society, and damaged self-identity. Although it is understandable why the public stigmatizes such criminals, it is still important to allow some of them to improve their lives.
References
Dimon, J. (2021). If you paid your debt to society, you should be allowed to work. The New York Times.
Siegel, L. J. (2020). Criminology: Theories, patterns, and typologies (13th ed.). Cengage Learning.
