Theories of Crime (copy)

Functionalism - Positive Functions of Crime

Durkheim:

A small amount of crime, can prevent anomie, if controlled/punished.
Egoism vs Anomie:
Egoism: Occurs when collective conscience becomes too weak to restrain selfish desires
Anomie: Uncertainty over certain behaviour causes individuals to feel less subject to social controls imposed by the collective conscience.

Positive Functions of Crime:
- Strengthening collective values (punishment can strengthen views on crime, eg. child abuse)
- Enabling social change
- Acting as a safety valve (minor crimes, alleviate stress)
- Acting as a warning device (high crime = social order falling)

Functionalism - Strain Theory

Merton:

Individuals face strain if dominant rules outweigh the needs ie. goals appearing more important than the means of attaining the goals.

1. Conformity (most common)
2. Innovation (prepared to bend rules slightly)
3. Ritualism (abandon goals)
4. Retreatism (drop out of achieving due to the judgement of society)
5. Rebellion (reject society and replace with alternative)

Subculturists - Status Frustration

Cohen:

Initially, working-class boys share the same mainstream values/goals. However, they are later denied status in mainstream society, and so experience status frustration.
They react to this by creating their own delinquent values/goals.

Gives them a chance to succeed at gaining a status - also acts as a revenge to society who denied them into mainstream society.

Subculturists - Gangs and Subcultures

Cloward and Ohlin:

If you are unable to achieve the valued goals (eg. success and money) through legitimate means, you may innovate and use illegitimate means.

- Criminal Subcultures - Useful crimes (eg. theft), develops in more stable w/c areas.
- Conflict Subcultures - Develops in socially disorganised areas with high population and little control, characterised by violence, gang warfare, and street culture.
- Retreatist Subcultures - Lower-class youths who are 'double-failures' (failed in mainstream society + gang culture). Retreat into drug and alcohol addiction, shoplifting, etc.

Subculturists - Focal Concerns

Miller:

Working-class boys have their own 'focal concerns', different to middle-class boys.
This explains the high level of deviance between w/c boys.

Focal Concerns of w/c Boys:
- Toughness and masculinity
- Being smart and 'streetwise'
- Being in trouble (accepting that life involves violence and fights)
- Valuing autonomy, freedom and excitement

Marxism - A Criminogenic Society

Gordon:

Crime is an in-built/natural part of a capitalist society, which emphasises economic self-interest, greed, and personal gain.
Relative Poverty - some struggle to survive or are excluded from consumer society, which encourage crimes like theft, vandalism, etc. because they feel socially excluded.

Gordon says we should not be surprised at the w/c crime rate, rather we should be surprised it doesn't happen more.

Marxism - Laws Reflect Ruling - Class Interests and Ideology

Chambliss - the Saints and the Roughnecks

Observed two high school criminal gangs for 2 years (Saints - u/c, and Roughnecks - w/c).
Identified differences in public and police perception of the two gangs.

The Saints:
- 8 young men
- White upper-middle class
- None were officially arrested during the 2 year study
- Utilised status and 'good reputation'
- Chose sites for weekend delinquency carefully, so not to be recognised.

The Roughnecks:
- 6 boys
- Lower-class backgrounds
- Constantly in trouble with the police and community
- They were perceived as 'typical gang members'.
- Police looked for opportunities to arrest them.

Marxism - Selective Law Enforcement

Pearce:

Biggest crimes are those committed by the ruling class.
Includes white-collar and corporate crimes (eg. fraud, tax evasion).
These crimes are rarely prosecuted, as we're told that w/c people commit more crime
Diverts w/c attention from exploitation they experience and the crimes of the ruling class
This redirects the attention back to the working class.
It is individuals, not the system, who are blamed for crime.

Interactionism - Labelling Theory and Master Status

Becker:

- Less concerned with the characteristics of deviants than the process by which they become 'outsiders'.
- A deviant label is an evolution of a person.
- It can become someone's master status which affects one's status.
- Others will respond to the person's master status and interpret any behaviours in relation to their label.
- The deviant identity becomes the controlling identity.

Supporting Studies:
Cohen - Labelling used by the media generated more of the deviance it apparently condemned.

Interactionism - Selective Law Enforcement (Police Negotiations)

Cicourel:

- Argues law-enforcers have subjective perceptions on criminal labels.
- Studied juvenile delinquency in 2 US cities.
- Argues that the process of dealing with potential deviants involves the police making judgements based on preconceived ideas about what is suspicious/unusual.

City 1:
Middle-class youth have 'good backgrounds' and family support.
Behaviour seen as 'temporary' with no charges.

City 2:
Held opposite perceptions of working-class youth.
More formal police action taken.

Feminism - Mainstream Sociology

Heidonsohn and Silvester:

- Two themes of malestream criminology:

- Amnesia (women being forgotten).
- Neglect and Distortion (people don't care).

- Gender issues and female offending were forgotten and ignored until recently.
- Studies of crime never considered working-class girls.
- Female victimisation is ignored, particular those by men in forms of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

- Most academics and researchers are men in sociology.
- Middle-class sociologists romanticise male working-class deviance, improving their street cred.
- Low levels of female criminality, and 'invisible' female crime like prostitution.

Feminism - Double Deviants

Smart:

- Women offenders are seen as 'double deviants'.
- They not only break the law, but they break traditional gender roles too.
- This results in higher stigmatisation than crimes by men, even if they are less serious.

Left Realism - Working-Class Turning to Crime

Lea and Young:

- Relative Deprivation - Not deprivation that causes crime, rather if they feel like their deprivation is relative.
- Marginalisation - Face social exclusion from society, combined with above can cause anti-social behaviour to express frustration.
- Subcultures - Response to above, legitimate crime to get what they need in gangs.

Left Realism - Bulimic Society in Late Modernity

Young:

- Everyone (including the w/c) are surrounded by adverts from the media, therefore forcing everyone into a consumer culture.
- Raises expectations of what life should be like.
- Those in the bottom classes are socially and economically excluded from the 'perfect life', creating a 'bulimic society'.
- People gorge themselves on media imagery, then due to economic circumstances, 'vomit' out their raised expectations.

Right Realism - Value Consensus and Shared Morality - Broken Window Theory

Wilson:

- If one window is broken and not replaced, it creates an unhealthy environment where it allows crime to be committed.
- Broken Window = symbol for low-level deviance.
- Low-level deviance can only increase into more major crimes.
- Response included zero-tolerance policing - '3 strikes and you're out' policies for drunkenness and prostitution.
- Ended up reducing crime by 40%, and helped maintain a value consensus and social solidarity.

Right Realism - Community Control

Murray:

- Links crime to 'workshy underclass'
- Broken communities increase chance for crime and deviance.
- Welfare dependency, dysfunctional families, lack of respect for authority, lone parenthood all to blame for lack of proper socialisation.
- Links to a lack of control of children, and a rise in deviance.
- Community fails and needs more control.

crime

behaviour against legislation of country

deviance

behaviour that goes against norms/values

social construction

phenomena created by society

social construction of crime and deviance

historically (homosexuality), contextually (bikini), culturally (abortion), age (8y/o clubbing)

Clinard and Cohen functionalist

warning signs, indication something in society isnt functioning

Durkheim functionalist

boundary maintenance and social cohesion (reinforce acceptable behaviour), adaption and change (society progression)

Davis and Polsky functionalist

safety valve, prevent more serious crimes

Merton functionalist

strain theory, a response to strain to achieve goals and values - conformity, innovation, ritualism, rebellion, retreatism

Cohen functionalist

status frustration, turn to crime for achievement

Cloward and Ohlin functionalist

illegitimate opportunities - criminal, conflict and retreatist subcultures

Miller functionalist

WC have different focal concerns e.g hyper masculinity

Hirschi functionalist

strong bonds with society stops people from committing crimes

eval of positive functions

ignores how the powerful define crime and role of inequality (Marxist), doesnt acknowledge impact crime has on individual, doesnt say how much crime is beneficial, crime doesnt always lead to solidarity

eval of strain theory

exaggerates importance of financial success, underestimates crime by successful people, doesnt explain why they choose a reaponse, doesnt explain non-utilitarian crime

eval of subcultural theories

WC and MC boys have different status ideas (Willis), ignores female crime, only youth crimes, official statistics may not be accurate, subculture membership short lives

Gordon marxist

crime is a rational reaction to capitalist society which is why its in all social classes, greed, frustration etc

Reiman marxist

ruling class more likely to commit crime but less likely to have it treated as a criminal offece e.g social security fraud, selective law enforcement

Chambliss marxist

law shaped to protect the rich, laws are socially constructured

Box marxist

the rich often engage in criminal injuries e.g injury, fraud, theft, but they are protected under the law (e.g health and safety laws)

Snider marxist

governments reluctant to pass laws which regulate businesses or threaten profitability due to affecting donations

Pearce marxist

laws that seem to protect WC benefit the ruling class through loopholes and lack of prosecution - ideological functions of crime to give reasons for social control

eval of marxism

ignored other causes/inequalities, says WC are passive when committing crime and that criminals are not to blame but society is, communist states are not crime free, ignores the victims, law makers are elected and reflect range of interests

neo-marxist theory

fully social theory, capitalism is based on epxloitation which is key to understanding crime, state creates and enforces law for RC, capitalism should be replaced which classless society

fully social theory NM (Hall media panic)

wider origins of deviant act (1970s, social crisis), immediate origins (inner city riots and strikes), act itself (muggings, police suggest more likely afro-caribbean), immediate social reaction (media outrage, racism in police), wider social reaction (need to find a scapegoat), labelling (sense of injustice within EM, loss of confidence in CJS)

crime is voluntarist NM

make concious choice to commit crime, political motives, not passive puppets, free will

eval of NM

overly romantic view of criminals (Rock), majority of crime is against working class (Left Realist), gender blind so no explanation of different motivations (Feminist), not all crime politically motivated, crime is opportunistic (Right Realist), overly idealistic and difficult to apply

labelling theory

self fulfilling prophecy, deviancy amplification (greater attempts to control lead to more deviance (Young), master status (identified by certain aspect)

Becker LT

relativity of crime and deviance - contextual, historical period, cultural, generational

moral entrepreneurs LT

those who decide whats morally acceptable

lamert LT

primary deviance (commits deviant act but nobody else knows so no label), secondary deviance (deviant act witnesses and labelled)

cicourel LT

labelling leads to sleective law enforcement and negotiation of justice, if group labelled as deviant then police more likely to focus on group and reinforce stereotype

agencies of social control

formal - police, cjs and courts, informal - peers and society

eval of LT

emphasuses social construction, identifies role of powerful, shows how deviant careers can be established, says the deviant is the victim, determinsitic, doesnt explain original deviance, doesnt explain where stereotypes come from

realist view

look at causes and solutions to deal with it

left realist

unequal society, gradual change necessary, relative deprivation (Lea and Young), marginalisation, subcultures/blocked opportunities (Cohen)

eval of left realist

only considers street crime (Milovanovic), doesnt explain motives (interactionist), assumes vlaue consensus, not all those who experience deprivation commit crime, focus on inner city areas so unrepresentative

right realist

neo-conservative, street crime destroys cohesion, biosocial differences e.g aggression and poor socialisation (Wilson and Herrnstein), underclass (Murray), rational choice/cost-benefit (Clarke), criminal activity needs to be made less attractive e.g target hardening

eval of right realist

ignores wider structural causes, overstates rationality, ignores corporate and white collar crime

reasons for unreported crime

embarrassment, fear, dont know they are a victim, deal with it themselves, distrust the police

reasons for unrecorded crime

not all crimes entered into official figures, police priorities and targeting, status of victim, work relations

police recorded crime

based on police reports, investigated - police dont record all crimes

victim surveys

part of BCS, asked if theyve been a victim in past year - people dont always know, may record crime as something different to police, relies on memory

court records

cases taken to prosecution - doesnt include those that dont go to court

prison records

composition of prison system e.g groups, sentence - not all crimes have prison sentence, court records can be biased to WC

self report methods

if they have committed a crime in past year - people may not know, relies on memory and truthfulness

func/NR/RR on statistics

accept official statistics at face value, reliable and valid

LT on statistics

social construction, useful for stereotypes

Marxist, NM on statistics

biased view, constructed by RC, ignore white collar crime

Feminism on statistics

underrepresent female crime and crimes against women

LR on statistics

broadly correct but underrepresent white collar and corporate crime, exaggerate WC crime

types of crime by women

property offences, benefits, shoplifting, fraud, prostitution

types of crime by men

violent crime, sexual offences, white collar crime, corporate crime

gender prison statistics

by 40, 9% women, 32% men have convictions

Pollack chivalry thesis

women are less likely to be convicted/charged as CJS made up of most men who are chivalrous

eval of chivalry thesis

there are now more wmen in CJS which disregards chivalry thesis, may be just because their crimes are less serious, women face double deviancy (going against gender norms)

Less detectable offences

shoplifting, petty theft

Sex Role Theory

Parsons - women commit less crime due to socialisation (boys have less role models), makes a biological assumption that women are nurturing

Control Theory

Heidensohn - women commit less crime due to patriarchal control in public, home, work, less opportunities

Class and Gender deals

Carlen - class deal (material rewards in work which enable women to purchase goods), gender deal (conform to traditional roles to gain emotional rewards and support), women may turn to crime to gain these

Adler liberation thesis

feminism, less patriarchal control - however can be argued crime rates started rising before feminism

feminisation of poverty

women more likely to be in poverty which can force them into crime - however not all in poverty do and doesnt explain non-utilitarian crime

Messerschmidt masculinity theory

show masculinity - however this is not the reason for all

Labelling theory for men

often stereotyped as more violent, SFP, labelled as providers - not all men are criminals, no longer seen as sole providers

opportunity for male crime

men have more opportunity, more access to white collar crime - but doesnt explain why they commit crime

ethnicity trends

black people make up 3% of population but over 13% of prison population, 3x as likely to be stopped and searched, more likely to be given custodial sentence

Morris ethnicity statistics

BAME groups contain a disporpriate amount of young people compared to white ethnic majority, young more likely to commit crime

Phillips and Browning

EMs are overpoliced and underprotected

Gilroy

myth of black criminality, stereotyping, they feel alienated by racism, crime becomes a form of protest

police targeting

could be caused by moral panics, targeting leads tp higher criminality which leads to targeting...

Waddington

certain areas more densely populated with EMs, more likely to live in zones of transition (less cohesion) which have more crime

Holdaway

canteen culture, police officers reinforce and hold stereotypes which are acted on duty

McPherson Report

highlighted insitutional racism in police force

Hirschi

social and cultural theory - asian families have stricter control over families which leads to lower crime

Lea and Young

LR, ethnic minorities suffer from marginalsiation and relative deprivation, subcultures can take deviant forms

Sewell

triple quandry - three risk factors responsible for high crime among black boys, lack of father figure, negative experiences of white culture, media influence

trends for social class

made up more of WC, WC more likely street crimes e.g theft and assault, MC more likely white collar and cyber crime

white collar crime

using job/company to commit crime for personal gain e.g embezzlement, fraud, insider trading

corporate crime

committed by company to increase profits and standing e.g health and safety violations and below minimum wage pay

explanations for SC differences

selective law enforcement, selective law creation, labelling

reiner

explains WC and MC crime using strain theory, no limit to financial or material success

murray and hirschi

underclass responsible for majrity of street crime, underclass more likely to lack impulse control and bonds which prevent them from committing crime

gordon

capitalism encourages WC to be criminal with a culture of envy, commit utilitarian crime to survive, commit non-utilitarian crime to vent frustration

Becker

working class less likely to be able to negotiate CJS to their advantage, police patrol WC areas more

rational choice, opportunity

MC have more chance to commit white collar crime and corporate crime, job posititons