Functionalist theories of crime and deviance

What is the functionalist view on society?

• Structural theory, argues that the sources of crime and deviances are located in the structure of society

• Crime is caused by society not by individuals being evil

• Consensus theory, claim that social order and cohesion are based in values consensus and the agencies of social control seek to protect this

What did Durkheim argue about crime?

Crime occurs when there is anomie- a lack of value consensus e.g. Crime has steadily increased since industrialisation as there has been a breakdown in shared values. Identified 4 functions of crime:

• Enables social change

• Boundary maintenance

• Social cohesion

• Early warning device

What is meant by crime acting as a ‘safety valve’?

The idea that deviance can have positive functions as some low level crime allows people to relieve stress without causing any real social harm.

What two sociologists argued that crime acts as a ‘safety valve’?

• Davies argued that prostitution allowed men to release sexual frustrations without threatening monogamous nuclear families

• Polsky argued that pornography safely ‘channeled’ a variety of sexual desires away from more sinister alternatives like sexual assault

Evaluation of functionalisms view on crime

• Useful in showing that crime is inevitable and functional

• Ignores the impact on individual victims

• Feminists argue that the safety valve theory is patriarchal ideology

Who developed the strain theory?

Merton

What is the strain theory?

Started from the idea that everyone in society has shared goals, although everyone shares these goals not everyone has equal access to legitimate means of achieving them which causes strain.

What 5 ways do people respond to strain between the goals and means according to the strain theory?

• Conformists, accept the shared goals and use the accepted means of achieving them

• Innovators, accept the shared goals of financial success but turn to illegitimate means

• Ritualists, those who ‘give up’ on trying to achieve the goals but have internalised the legitimate means and so they follow the rules for their own sake

• Rebels, reject the goals and create new goals instead and new means of achieving them

• Retreatists, reject the goals and means of achieving them and completely isolate themselves from mainstream society

What are the similarities and differences between the ideas of Durkheim and Merton?

Similarities:

• Both start from a point of assuming value consensus

• Both take a structural approach to understanding the causes of crime

Differences:

• Durkheim ignores why certain groups are more/less likely to commit crime, Merton does explain this

• Durkheim’s argument could be applied to all types of crime, Merton’s is purely about utilitarian crime

Evaluation of Merton’s strain theory

• Young argues that his work shows the capitalist social structure as the cause of crime

• Box claims that Merton fails to acknowledge that the powerful benefit from the capitalist system

• Fails to consider crimes committed by individuals in powerful positions

What is culture?

Shared way of life of a particular society such as language, diet, dress, norms etc

What is a subculture?

A group which lies within and/or beneath the ‘dominant culture’ which is different in certain respects.

What is the difference between how structural functionalists and subcultural theorists explain crime?

SF explain deviance in terms of the position of an individual in the social structure whereas ST explain deviance in terms of a subculture of a certain group.

What are the basic subcultural ideas?

Developed in the 50s/60s as a response to the criticisms made by the traditional functionalist approach, they instead focus on the position of groups in the social structure rather than individuals.

• Share the belief that people who commit crime usually share different values from mainstream society

• They accept official crime statistics at face value

Who came up with the idea of status frustration?

Cohen

What did Cohen argue about status frustration?

Agrees with Merton that deviance is largely a lower class phenomenon due to strain. However, he made two major criticisms:

• Crime and deviance is a collective response

• Merton did not explain crime that did not have monetary reward

Who came up with alternative status hierarchy?

Cohen

What did Cohen argue about alternative status hierarchy?

Argues that WC boys are unable to achieve their goals due to cultural/material deprivation, leading to status frustration. They then turn to delinquency to gain an alternative status, an alternative set of norms and values are adopted- a delinquent subculture, which values deviant acts helping them gain high status within their subculture.

Evaluation of Cohen’s ideas

• Are WC deviants aware they are inverting MC values or are they just looking for fun? Lyng argues people actually get a thrill from ‘Edgework’- committing acts that are on the edge of deviance)

• Box argues that its wrong to assume that WC boys has accepted mainstream values, instead delinquency is a result of feeling shame and resentment at being called ‘failures’ by teachers etc

Who talked about delinquency and opportunity?

Cloward and Ohlin

What did they argue about delinquency and opportunity?

They argue those who cannot reach the goals of society may have to use an illegitimate opportunity structure but the individuals response to strain will depend on the social environment. They go on to suggest that the varied social circumstances in which WC youths live will give rise to three type of subculture:

• Criminal, where crime is a legitimate business

• Conflict, focus on violent crime against rival subcultures

• Retreatist, where young people fail to join/be successful in either a criminal/conflict subculture they retreat to drug and alcohol abuse.

Evaluation of Cloward and Ohlin

• They explain WC deviance which is not just concerned with material/monetary gain

• They ignore the overlap between their different types of subcultures e.g. criminal gang members often deal drugs

Who came up with the social disorganisation theory?

Shaw and McKay

What did Shaw and McKay argue about the social disorganisation theory?

They examined the ecological organisation of cities and discussed cultural transmission, arguing that a person’s physical and social environments are primarily responsible for the behavioural choices that a person make. Delinquency is a normal response by normal individuals to abnormal conditions.

What evidence and examples do Shaw and McKay give to support the social disorganisation theory?

• Neighbourhoods with the highest crime rates have at least three common problems: physical dilapidation, poverty and high levels of ethnic and cultural mixing.

• The constant movement of people in/out of inner city areas prevents the formation of stable communities and undermines existing social controls.

Who came up with focal cocerns?

Miller

What does Miller argue about focal concerns?

Argues that the WC have their own values which they see as superior (their focal concerns). Suggests that each class has its own set of values, and these are passed on from one generation to the next. These develop to help WC males cope with their experiences of low skilled and low paid work unique focal concerns: Toughness (macho behaviour), smartness (look goof, acting sharp), excitement (looking out for fun).

Evaluation of Millers focal concerns

• Little evidence that these focal concerns are restricted to WC males, just as likely to be found in a MC rugby team etc

• Overgeneralisation of WC males

Matza’s critique of subcultural theories: Delinquency and drift

• Critiques subcultural theory → says it is too deterministic (people have choice).

• Delinquents are not fundamentally different from others; most share mainstream values.

• Everyone has “subterranean values” (e.g. excitement, toughness) → usually expressed acceptably, but can lead to deviance in certain situations.

• Techniques of neutralisation allow individuals to justify deviant acts.

• Young people “drift” in and out of deviance (not permanently criminal).

• Delinquency is often occasional, not a committed criminal lifestyle.

• Criticises Albert K. Cohen and Walter B. Miller → no fixed working-class delinquent subculture.

Evaluation of subcultural theorists

• Feminists argue its ‘malestream’

• Traditional Marxists are critical for ignoring corporate crime and the way in which subcultures develop as a resistance to capitalism

• Postmodernists dispute the idea that there are rigid subcultures