Deviant Identity and Organized Crime: A Sociological Analysis

Introduction: Identity and Deviant Social Structures

What makes people commit to a deviant identity? What makes people adhere to the social structures of deviant groups? Why are members of deviant groups so deeply loyal to each other and to the organization? This paper endeavors to offer insight into these questions as part of a broader quest to understand deviant behaviors, deviant organizations, and the construction of identity, using sociological theories of deviance as its guiding framework.

The Continuum of Deviant Organizations and Identity Formation

The higher the degree of deviant behavior demonstrated to serve and/or participate in the group, the more desired attention becomes and the more loyalty to the group develops. Behaviors — deviant or otherwise — bond groups together. A team of soccer players bonds through shared experiences of tryouts, practices, games, victories, losses, and travel. Those behaviors are not considered deviant, yet they bond the team through shared experience. The military is one of the most well-known examples of bonding through shared behaviors and experiences, deviant or otherwise.

It follows, then, that young people drawn to a local organized crime family bond through the deviant behaviors they commit together, as well as through the shared experience of consequences — whether the deviance is perceived as a success or a failure. As newcomers to deviant or normative groups commit additional behaviors in order to join or participate in a group they have recently entered, the bonds among all members deepen. After a duration of time generally determined by senior and leading members of the group, newcomers are initiated and formally associated with the organization, including all of its prescribed and defining activities and behaviors. This is how an individual's identity formation directly links to participation and association with the group.

Those who are members of gangs and other organized crime groups are readily recognizable to each other as well as to outsiders such as civilians and law enforcement. Perhaps only the highest-ranking members of an organized crime group avoid public visibility as much as lower-ranking members. Consider the difficulty professional athletes or distinguished members of the military face when retiring or ceasing activity. These individuals often experience identity crises because they have been members of specific groups for so long that a great deal of their identities are tied to the shared behaviors and activities of the group — so much so that they do not know who they are without it. The same principle holds true for organized deviant social organizations such as gangs, drug dealers, hackers, and others.

Social Structure and Commitment to a Deviant Identity

The impact of commitment to a deviant identity — as shaped by various levels of social structure — depends heavily on how motivated the individual in question is. A person who is moderately to seriously committed will likely commit whatever deviant behaviors are necessary to advance within the ranks of the deviant social organization's hierarchy. People who lack motivation may be content to maintain basic affiliation and ties to the group. That level of participation may be enough to satisfy some people's need to belong and/or to express deviant desires.

There are also those who commit deviant behaviors not out of any interest in belonging to a particular group, but simply because they enjoy deviant participation. Others who are already part of a group may recognize similar or heightened levels of deviance in outside individuals. In such cases, the group may approach the individual rather than the individual approaching the group — a dynamic one might call deviant recruiting.

In seriously dedicating oneself to a deviant identity, a person may seek to change their position within the social structure of the deviant group. A few individuals within various groups may even seek to alter the group's social structure altogether. Those who succeed often become leaders — in some cases, of the entire organization. Those who fail may drop lower in the social hierarchy. Those who succeed will deepen their commitment to a deviant identity because that commitment was precisely what projected them into greater power. Those who fail may remain committed to the group and the same deviant identity, or they may develop a new deviant identity — one that seeks vengeance on those they failed to convince or overcome.

Whether or not a person successfully alters the social structure of their deviant group is ultimately secondary. What matters is that, in either case, the outcome results in a greater commitment to one or more deviant activities. Even those who do not wish to challenge the structure of a deviant group will still tend to increase their commitment to a deviant identity over time. It is clear that in order to rise within the social structure and gain social capital, one must commit increasingly daring and successful acts of deviance in the presence of a portion or the entirety of the group. Whatever the scenario, the social structure of a deviant organization profoundly affects a person's commitment to a deviant identity.

Conclusion

Whether the context is a street gang, an organized crime family, or a network of computer crackers, the sociological principles underlying deviant identity formation remain consistent. Shared behaviors forge bonds, social structures shape commitment, and the desire for belonging and status drives individuals deeper into deviant organizations over time. Best and Luckenbill's continuum provides a valuable lens through which to understand these dynamics and the construction of deviant identity across a wide range of social contexts.

References

Adler, P., & Adler, P. (2012). Constructions of deviance: Social power, context, and interaction (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Best, J., & Luckenbill, D. F. (1980). The social organization of deviants. Social Problems, 28(1), 14–31.