Functionalist - Durkheim & Merton

What are functionalists and what do they believe in terms of crime?

They see society as a stable structure based on shared norms, values and beliefs about right and wrong. This produces social solidarity or integration, where all members of society feel they belong to the same harmonious unit. Most people conform to societies shared norms and do not deviate

Functionalists argue that some crime is inevitable, because in every society some individuals are inadequately socialised and likely to deviate. Society also contains many social groups. watch with different values, so shared rules of behaviour become less clear.

Durkheim 4 Key purposes of crime & deviance

Crime is functional - it serves a purpose.

Boundary maintenance - Crime produces a reaction that unites societies members against the wrongdoer, reminding them of the boundary between right and wrong and confirming their shared rules. For example, BLM movement

Social change - For society to progress, individuals with new ideas much challenge existing norms and values which will first be seen as deviance: For example, attitudes towards homosexuality

Safety valve - Harmless institutions that allow people to express their societal pressure such as prostitution which does not threaten the nuclear family.

Warning light - institutions that have high deviance rates that shows they are not working properly. For instance high truancy rates in school

Evaluate Durkheim

Strengths:

He is the first to recognise that crime can have a positive function for society such as reinforcing boundaries between right and wrong

Limitations:

He doesn’t actually look at what the cause of crime might be

He suggests crime/deviance can strengthen social solidarity but overlooks how it can also isolate people - females/ the elderly who may fear crime outside of their homes

Argues that a certain amount of crime/deviance is healthy for society but does not indicate how much is the right amount

He ignores the issues of class, gender, ethnicity etc. He suggests that the criminal justice system benefits everyone in society by punishing criminals however Marxist and Feminists would argue crime demonstrates that not all criminals are punished equally and thus crime and punishment benefit the powerful rather than the powerless.

What is Merton’s strain theory

Merton’s Strain Theory says people turn to deviance when society pushes them to achieve big goals, like wealth or success, but blocks their access to fair and legal ways of getting there. This mismatch, called strain, can lead to rule-breaking. Merton identified five ways people respond: conforming, innovating, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion.

What was Merton’s 5 ways people may respond to strain

1. Conformity: members of society conform the norms of society. They achieve success through the normal means

2. Ritualism: They reject the goals of success (revision will get you a good job) but accepting the means

3. Innovation: Accept the goals but do it in their own ways (sometimes illegal such as utilitarian crimes)

4. Retreatism: dropouts who reject both goals and means of society.

5. Rebellion: people who try to replace societies goals and means with their own ones.

Evaluate Merton’s theory

Strengths

Merton shows how both normal and deviant behaviour arise from the same goal - conformists and innovators pursue ‘money success’ but by different means (one legal, another illegal)

The working class crimes rates are higher because they have less opportunity to obtain wealth legitimately.

Limitations:

Ignores the crimes of the wealthy and over predicts the crimes of the working crime

Focuses on utilitarian crimes and ignores other crimes with no financial motives.

He sees deviance as an individual response but ignores the group deviance of delinquent subcultures.