Drug testing in organizations: Applying Horwitz's theory of the effectiveness of social control

Folk crimes, offenses that do not impair the public identity of offenders as respectable, law‐abiding citizens, were studied among a group of New England shellfishermen. Through observation, it was discovered that a pattern of mutual accommodation between enforcers and violators distinguishes folk crime from other violations of the same law. The subjective interpretation of the offenses and accommodation as a reaction is based on considerations of rule intent, logical implications of relevant rules, costs and consequences of rule invocation for enforcers, evaluation of violators’ motives, perceived consequences of violations, and the imputed identity of violators.