Crime & Deviance: Theories of crime

For AQA ALEVEL Sociology Crime & Deviance. All perspectives on crime (functionalism, subcultural theory, marxism, neo-marxism, interactionalism and labelling theory as well as realist theories).

Functionalism & Crime

While too much crime is destabilising, crime is inevitable in society and performs some positive functions.

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The perfect amount of crime will keep society healthy and avoid anomie (Normlessness)

Positive functions of crime (Functionalist, Durkheim)

1. Boundary maintenance  


2. Adaptation and change  

Other functions (Functionalist, Davis)

Safety Valve- prostitution acts as a safety valve for the release of men’s sexual frustrations without threatening the monogamous nuclear family.

Other functions (Functionalist, Cohen)

**Warning devices**– theft, drug use and truancy alert us to other social problems in society/that institutions aren’t working effectively.

Critiques (Durkheim)

1. How much deviance is functional? 


2. Why does crime happen? 

Strain theory (Functionalist, Merton)

Strain to anomie.

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Goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve VS what the institutional structure of society allows them to achieve legitimately (goals vs means)

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An individual’s position in the social structure determines how they adapt or respond to this strain.

Conformity (Response to strain, Merton)

People that accept culturally approved goals and strive to achieve them legitimately (mostly among middle-class).

Innovation (Response to strain, Merton)

Individuals who accept the goals but use illegitimate means to achieve them as they lack the legitimate means.

Status frustration (Sub-cultural. A.K Cohen)

Status frustration. 

 

Agrees w/Merton but looks at subculture response rather than individual and explains non-utilitarian crime through the alternative status hierarchy. 

 


1. w/c taught m/c norms and values 


2. w/c children can’t achieve m/c norms and values legitimately 


3. this causes status frustration. 


4. so, they reject m/c norms and values and want to seek revenge 


5. form delinquent subcultures w/others in the same position and an alternative status hierarchy begins 


6. offers an alternative route to gain success by inverting the values of school and society (vandalism and truanting) 

Three subculture responses (Subcultural, Cloward and Ohlin)

Agrees with Merton but notes not everyone turns to innovation, different subcultures respond in different ways to the lack of legitimate opportunities. 

 

 There is also unequal access to illegitimate opportunity structures. 

 

__The subculture responses:__ 


1. criminal subcultures 


2. conflict subcultures 


3. retreatist subcultures 

Critiques (Cloward and Ohlin)

1. south – boundaries are too sharply drawn between these- drug use is also common in both conflict and criminal subcultures 


2. matza – most delinquents are not strongly committed to their subculture and will merely drift in and out of delinquency  

Strain theory responses (Functionalist, Merton)

__Responses:__


1. Conformity
2. Innovation
3. Ritualism
4. Retreatism
5. Rebellion

Marx

Karl Marx is the founder of Marxism, and in capitalist society, he believes there is a conflict between the bourgeoisie (ruling class) and proletariat (working class) as the ruling class who own the means of production exploits the working class's labour for profit.

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Capitalism is criminogenic.

Criminogenic Capitalism

Crime is inevitable in Capitalism.

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The working class commit utilitarian and non-utilitarian crimes because of poverty, constant advertising, alienation and a lack of control.  Even the ruling class feel the pressure to commit crime and get ahead.

Criminogenic Capitalism (Marxist, Gordon)

“Crime is a rational response to capitalism.”

The state and law making (Marxist, Chambliss)

Agues that laws and law enforcement only benefit the ruling class, specifically laws to protect private property are the cornerstone of the capitalist economy.

Selective law enforcement (Marxist, Snider)

The working class and ethnic minorities are punished harshly while the crimes of the powerful go unnoticed and the capitalist state is reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businesses or threaten their profitability in the first place.

Ideological functions of law (Marxist, Pearce)

Laws don’t just punish but perform functions to keep ***capitalism stable***. It also helps to build false class consciousness in the working class.

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E.g. Health and safety laws keep the working class able to work and give capitalism a ‘caring face’.

Seeing crime as a working-class problem diverts it away from capitalism.

Seeing criminals as disturbed also disguises the true nature of the crime.

Marxist Evaluation

* Very deterministic, not all working class commit crime.
* Switzerland and Japan are capitalist but have low crime rates.
* Prosecutions against companies and the ruling class do happen.
* Left Realists say ignore intra-class crime - most working class crime is committed against working class people

Fully social theory of deviance (Neo-Marxist, Taylor)

Marco and micro levels of explanation. Unlike traditional Marxists, they see crime as a voluntary act, often with a political motive.

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1. Wider origins of the action itself
2. Immediate origins of the deviant act
3. The act itself
4. Immediate origins of social reaction
5. Wider origins of social reaction
6. Effects of labelling

Example of the fully social theory of deviance (Stuart Hall)

‘Policing the crisis’ - Mugging in 1970s (moral panic).

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1\. Street crime traditionally a survival strategy used by those at the bottom of the class system, particularly in economic crisis

2\. Afro-Caribbean migrants brought to Britain in 1960’s to do menial jobs not being filled. Recession in 1970’s hit black population (lower classes) especially + racism

3\. Black youth (2nd gen) less accepting of the inequality /racism. Small minority of Black youngsters turn to mugging as survival strategy which was politically motivated

4\. Media over report the muggings - Call for strong police response – press imply offenders are predominantly black – create a moral panic

5\. Capitalism in crisis – government having problems keeping control (strikes). Stability of society threatened. Focus on black mugger symbolises threat to social order Þ State powers increased. Need to stamp out mugging justifies increased state powers

6\. Acceptance by public of repressive policing – BUT many Black youths felt unjust and reacted to this with violence –SFP / deviancy amplified

White collar crime? (Marxist, Sutherlands)

“a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation”

Interactionist & Labelling theory on crime

They believe crime and deviance are socially constructed. It is not the nature of the act that makes it deviant but society’s reaction to it. Therefore, a deviant is simply someone who has been labelled as such.

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They do not take OCS at face value as they believe that at every stage of the criminal justice system, agents of social control make decisions about whether or not to proceed to the next stage. This outcome depends on the label they attach to the individual.

State two ways that crime and deviance are social constructions.

1. Historical differences
2. Cultural differences

Describe two ways that crime and deviance are social constructions.

One way in which crime and deviance are social constructs is because of historical differences. Behaviours and actions that were once seen as criminal no longer are, such as homosexuality. Behaviours and actions that were once legal are now illegal, like using certain drugs.

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Another way in which crime and deviance are social constructions is because of cultural differences. Crimes are determined by the state, meaning that there are differences from country to country. Additionally, cultures will have different norms, meaning that deviancy will vary from culture to culture.

Four ways that crime and deviance are social constructions.

1. Historical differences
2. Cultural differences
3. Contextual differences
4. Generational differences

Becker (Labelling theorist)

“Social groups create deviance by creating the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders".

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For Becker, a deviant is simply someone whom the label has been successfully applied and deviant behaviour is simply behaviour that people so label. Interactions believe deviance is defined by society and therefore socially constructed.

Typifications (Labelling theorist, Cicourel)

Officers have their ‘common-sense’ theories and stereotypes of what the typical delinquent is like leading to more policing of those people leading to more arrests and confirming their stereotypes.

Typifications (Piliavin & Briar)

In 1964 (before Cicourel’s typifications theory), they found those police decisions on whether to arrest youth or not were largely based on physical cues (such as manner and dress) from which they made judgements about the youth’s character. These decisions were often influenced by gender, class and ethnicity.

Negotiation of justice (Labelling theorist, Cicourel)

Negotiation of justice: When people don’t fit officers’ typical delinquent’ image (such as if they were middle class) they were more likely to be counselled, warned and released rather than prosecuted as those who did as they or their parents could negotiate with the police and convince them that the possible delinquent was sorry and would stay out of trouble.

Primary and secondary deviance (Labelling theorist, Lemert)

Primary deviance – acts that aren't publicly labelled as deviant and so have no effect on an individual’s self-concept.

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Secondary deviance- A result of society’s reaction. Labelling --> SFP

Master status (Labelling theorist, Lemert)

Master status- Once a person has been labelled, others may only see them as that label and therefore it becomes their controlling identity that overrides all others.

Young’s study on hippy marijuana users in Notting Hill (1971)

Can be used as an example of the effect of primary and secondary deviance.

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Originally, drugs were just peripheral to the hippies’ lifestyle (primary deviance). However, due to persecution and labelling by the control culture, the hippies increasingly saw themselves as outsiders and so began to retreat into more closed groups and developed into a deviant subculture where drug use became a central activity (secondary deviance). This attracted further attention from the police and a self-fulling prophecy.

Deviance amplification spiral (S.Cohen)

Cohen studied how the media has often demonised youth culture.  This happened to ***mods and Rockers*** in 1964 who were seen as modern-day ***folk devils*** who threatened social order.

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The moral panic led to youths being arrested more and therefore more media attention led to the demonisation of mods and rockers and marginalisation which lead to more deviance. Although, his research found that actual acts of deviance were minimal.

Reintegrative shaming (Labelling theorist, Braithwaite)

Disintegrative shaming- the offender is also labelled as bad (along with the offence) and excluded from society

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Reintegrative shaming- labels act not actor Avoids pushing people into secondary deviance but still focuses on negative impact of their actions.

Deviance amplification spiral

This idea says that sensationalist reporting by the newspapers distorts the act of crime or deviance and increases public awareness.  Public pressure is put on the police and courts to act.  This creates a ***moral panic*** where certain acts or groups are seen as a threat to social order. This causes more deviance to occur leading to more control and so on.

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An example of this can be seen in Young’s study of hippies.

Labelling theory evaluation

•Deterministic

•Ignore real victims of crime

•Marxists argue fail to explain origin of the labels

Realism on crime?

Realists see crime as a real problem and not just a social construction. They argue that there has been a significant rise in the crime rate (particularly in street crime, burglary and assault). They are also concerned about the widespread fear of crime and the impact of crime on its victims.

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Unlike other theorists, they try to offer realistic solutions to the problem of crime and they propose practical policies to reduce it.

Two types of realism

1. Right Realism
2. Left Realism

Right vs left realism?

•**BOTH** take **OCS** at **FACE VALUE –** use them as a **VALID** resource

•**BOTH** see w/c street crime as a **REAL**/serious problem – not a social construction created by control agencies

•**BOTH** concerned about the victims of crime

•**BOTH** try to explain crime – give reasons for it

•**BOTH** try to offer practical **REALISTIC SOLUTIONS to crime,** that other theories failed to give

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•**BUT both have very different approaches!!**

•RR share a new right/neo-conservative political outlook

•LR are socialists

Right Realism Causes

•Causes:

•Biology/Inadequate Socialisation/Underclass

•Rational choice/Routine activity theory

Biology (Right realist, Wilson & Herrnstein)

Biological differences make some people innately more strongly predisposed to commit crime (certain personality traits such as aggressiveness, low impulse control etc) = greater risk of offending.

Biology (Right realist, Herrnstein & Murray)

Main cause of crime is low intelligence, which they see as biologically determined.

Inadequate Socialisation / Underclass (Right realist, Murray)

Argues that crime is rising due to a growing underclass who are defined by their deviant behaviour and who fail to socialise their children properly.

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Argues most crime is committed by the ***underclass*** (unemployed).  A recent upsurge in lone-parent families has led to poor socialisation (as he believes lone-mothers cannot socialise their children properly) and encouraged these people to be ***welfare dependant.***

Rational choice theory (Right realist, Clarke)

Ron Clarke (1980) suggests that people rationalise their choice to commit crime by weighing up the ***cost vs benefits***.  If the benefits (money) outweigh the costs (prison) then they will commit crime.

Routine activity theory (Right realist, Felson)

Routine activity theory- for crime to occur needs motivated offender, a suitable target and absence of a capable guardian. Offenders are assumed to act rationally so the presence of the capable guardian should deter them.

Right realism & tackling crime

__Make crime less attractive to criminals by (____***formal control):***__

• Zero tolerance – harsh sentences *‘broken windows’.*

•Target hardening – make it difficult to access private and public buildings.

•More surveillance – CCTV.

Zero tolerance, ‘Broken Windows’ (Right realist, Wilson & Kelling)

Broken windows article- essential to  maintain the orderly character of neighbourhoods to prevent crime taking hold. zero tolerance- any crimes even smaller ones must be dealt with immediately.

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Right realists believe crime can only be tackled with this zero tolerance policy.

Right realism evaluation

__**Criticisms**__

* Doesn’t explain white collar crime
* Ignores issues wider structural issues like poverty.
* Scapegoats the underclass.
* Overstates the role of rationality.
* Crime displaced to other areas.
* Overemphasises biological factors- Lilly et al, IQ differences account for less than 3% of offending
* Zero tolerance: urban myth? Crime rate had been falling since 1985 in New York and zero tolerance was only introduced in 1994.

Left realist causes?

Lea and Young identified 3 causes of crime in 1984:

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__Causes:__

•Relative deprivation and growing individualism/subcultures

•Marginalisation/Media saturated late modernity/de-industrialisation

•cultural inclusion and economic exclusion

Relative deprivation (Left realist, Lea & Young)

Relative deprivation (concept by Runciman) is about how deprived someone feels in relation to others and their own expectations which can lead to crime. In today’s society, there’s a paradox as society is both more prosperous and more crime-ridden as people become more aware of relative deprivation due to media and advertising. This combined with growing individualism has created a pursuit of self-interest at the expense of others. Subcultures may also grow from relative deprivation.

Marginalisation (Left realist, Lea & Young)

Marginalised groups are those who ***lack clear goals or representation***.  Young W/C are powerless and unrepresented which leads to violence and rioting.

Modern society and exclusion (Left realist, Lea & Young)

A lack of jobs for the W/C and being outpriced out of the property market has left many socially excluded.  Jock young says we live in a ‘***bulimic society’*** where we are exposed to a large variety of consumer products which the W/C cannot purchase.

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Economic exclusion but cultural inclusion.

Left realism & tackling crime

__Make things better for people by (____***informal social control***____):__

•Giving them housing conditions to be proud of.

•Better job opportunities.

•A better relationship between police and the public, being more democratic will help the flow of information.

•Policies tackling social inequality

Accountable policing and multi-agency approach (Left realist, Lea, Young & Kinsley)

Policing must be made more accountable and police should focus on creating positive relationships with the community and a multiagency approach is needed.

Left realism evaluation

* Doesn’t explain white-collar crime or domestic violence.
* M/C could be relatively deprived and individualistic, yet don’t commit as much crime.
* Deterministic – not everyone who experience relative deprivation turn to crime.

Explain the difference between occupational and corporate crime

Occupational crime: crime committed by an employee simply for person gain- often against the organisation (e.g stealing from the company or its customers).

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Corporate crime: committed by employees for their organisation in pursuit of its goals (deliberately mis-selling products for profit)

Briefly describe TWO types of corporate crime

Financial crimes: covers all types of crimes do with with money which includes tax evasion, money laundering, bribery and illegal accounting. Victims include companies, shareholders, tax payers and governments.

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Crimes against employees: this includes discrimination against workers, violations of wage laws, of rights to join a union or take industrial action, and health and safety laws. Tombs – calculates that 1100 of work related deaths in a year including employees breaking the law (which is more than the annual total of homicides.

Identify 3 reasons for the invisibility of corporate crime

* The media: give very limited coverage to corporate crimes (therefore reinforcing the stereotype crime is a working class phenomenon) and when they do cover it they use very sanitised language.

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* Lack of political will: only ‘tough on’ street crime

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* Underreporting: victims may be unaware they’ve been victimised and even when they do may feel it’s not a “real” crime or may feel powerless against a big company

What do labelling theorists mean by ‘de-labelling’ and how does this impact the validity of OCS?

Nelken describes ‘de-labelling’, or non-labelling, as how businesses and companies often have the power to avoid labelling with expensive experts to help them avoid activities they’re involved in (tax avoidance schemes, being labelled criminal and getting any charges reduced.

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Likewise, the reluctance or inability of law enforcement agencies to properly investigate and prosecute these cases leads to the number of offences officially recorded. Therefore ocs on corporate crime are invalid and do not show the reality of what’s happening.

How do Marxists explain corporate crime, and its relative invisibility?

Corporate crime is a result of the normal functioning of capitalism as its goal is to maximise profits at any cost. However, as Box describes, capitalism has successfully created what he calls a “mystification”. It has created the ideology that corporate crime is less widespread or harmful than it is.