Criminology Unit 2 AC 2.3

Sociological theories of criminality

Social structure

• Marxism

• Functionalism

• Morton’s strain theory

Interactionism

• labelling theory

Realism

• right realism

• Left realism

What does sociological theories mean

Basic idea that it is society itself that influences a person to become a criminal, rather than their genetics. Most sociologists would agree crime is a product of external factors but there are also other interpretations

Social structure 1- Marxism

Theory focuses on how crime is a natural outgrowth of the capitalist system. It is argued that the criminal justice system works for the benefit of the rich/elite people and against the lower social classes and that this unequal structure shapes peoples behaviour.

Argues there is 2 classes: ruling capitalist class (bourgeoisie) who own the means of production and the working class (proletariat) whose labour the capitalists exploit to make profit

Marxist criminologists see power as being held by the bourgeoisie and believe laws reflect bourgeois ideology. The legal system all serve the interests of bourgeoisie.

Marxism 2

3 main elements:

Capitalism causes crime: crime is inevitable in a capitalist society as capitalism is crimnogenic. This means the capitalist system encourages criminal behaviour due to several reasons:

• exploitation of working class drives many people into poverty

• Inequality causes feelings of alienation and frustration

Law making and enforcement are biased: serves the interest of the capitalist class

• law making- William Chambliss argues laws are made to protect private property of the rich. E.g laws against homeless squatting in houses but not against rich owning multiple houses

• Selective law enforcement- white collar crimes are often overlooked but lots of working class people are prosecuted for petty crimes

Crime and law perform ideological functions: set of ideas that conceal the inequality of capitalist society

• selective enforcement makes it look as if crime is the fault or the working class

• Shits attention from more serious crimes in the ruling class

Weaknesses of Marxism

• Marxism largely focuses on class and ignores the relationship between crime and other inequalities, such as gender and ethnicity

• It over predicts the amount of working class crime, in this sense, it may be argued as being deterministic as it ignores the facts people have free will- not all poor people turn to crime

• Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates, e.g Japans homocide rate is only 1/5 of the USAs

Weaknesses of Marxism

• Marxism largely focuses on class and ignores the relationship between crime and other inequalities, such as gender and ethnicity

• It over predicts the amount of working class crime, in this sense, it may be argued as being deterministic as it ignores the facts people have free will- not all poor people turn to crime

• Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates, e.g Japans homocide rate is only 1/5 of the USAs

Social structure 2: functionalism

Functionalists such as Emilie Durkheim see society as a stable structure based on shared norms, values and beliefs about right and wrong. This produces social solidarity where all members feel they belong to the same unit. Most people conform to society’s norms and don’t deviate.

However, crime in inevitable because in every society some people are inadequately socialised so deviate from the norms. Most societies also contain subcultures with different values

Functionalism 2

According to Durkheim crime performs 4 important functions

• Boundary maintenance- crime produces a reaction that unites society’s members against the wrongdoer which reminds people of the boundary between right and wrong

• Social change- for society to progress, individuals with new ideas must go against the norms which will first be seen as deviant. E.g Nelson Mandela was jailed in South Africa for opposing apartheid but later he was elected president

• Safety valve- e.g David argues that prostitution acts to release men’s sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family

• Warning light- deviance indicates that an institution isn’t functioning properly e.g high truancy rates could indicate a problem with the education system

Strengths of functionalism

• Emilie Durkheim was the first to recognise that crime can have positive functions for society e.g reinforcing boundaries between right and wrong by uniting people against the wrongdoer

Weaknesses of functionalism

• Durkheim claims that society requires a certain amount of deviance to function but offers no way of knowing how much the right amount is

• Whilst crime might be functional for some, it is not functional for the victims of crime

Social structure 3: Merton’s strain theory

Robert Merton believes that the root cause of crime lies within the unequal structure of society. Society encourages us all the seek material success but not everyone can access this. Every can’t have the same opportunities to achieve this success legitimately. The working class is most likely to have blocked opportunities which can cause them to feel a strain between what they are expected to achieve and what they can achieve. This means they can either conform by achieving society’s goal legitimately or:

• innovate- think of a non conventional way the achieve it

• Become ritualistic- sight of their goals is lost so they plod along in a dead end job

• Become retreatist- drop out of society (drunks or drug addicts)

• Become rebels- set different goals and values to the rest of society

Strengths of mertons strain theory

• Merton shows how both deviant and non deviant behaviours arise from the same goals. Conformists and innovators both pursue ‘monetary success’ but through different means

• Merton explains the patterns shown in the official statistics; most crime is property crime because society values wealth so highly. Working class crime rates are also higher because they have less opportunity to obtain wealth through legitimate means

Weaknesses of mertons strain theory

• Merton ignores crimes of the wealthy and over-predicts the amount of working-class crime. This demonstrates the theory to be ignorant, that only those who identify as working class will go on to commit crime rather than other types of class or status

• Merton focuses on utilitarian crime e.g theft. Merton therefore ignores crimes with no economic motive e.g vandalism. We can’t exclusively say this theory would apple to other types of crimes, therefore drafting doubt upon its relevance

Interactionism- Labelling theory

Interactionists see our interactions with one another as being based on labels. For example the word criminal can be attach to someone (like young males) by other people (such as police)

The labelling theory states no act is criminal or deviant. It only becomes so when we create rules and apply them to others. For example, smoking cannabis only counts as a crime if society decides to make a law criminalising it. Therefore to understand criminality, we need to focus on how certain actions get people labelled as a criminal.

Howard Becker uses the labelling theory to explain criminal behaviour. He argues crime and statistics are socially constructed, and crime is a subjective concept. Agents of social control (police and judges) label certain things as deviant or criminal and then punish the behaviour accordingly.

Labelling theory 2

Edwin Lemberg believes there are two types of deviance: primary and secondary

• primary deviance- something not yet labelled as deviant by society. They are often trivial and mostly go untaught such as travelling on public transport without paying. Those who commit these acts don’t generally see themselves as criminals

• Secondary deviance- something which society has already labelled as deviant. People may treat the offender purely in their label which then controls their identity. They would be seen as a thief (for example) by overriding other statuses like father, workmate or volunteer

This may result in the offender being rejected by society and joining crime. This is then known as a self-fulfilling prophecy

Strengths of labelling theory

• it shifts the focus onto how police create crime by applying labels based on their stereotypes of the ‘typical criminals’. This selective law enforcement may explain why the working classes and minority groups are over-represented in crime statistics

• Labelling theory shows that the law is not a fixed set of rules to be taken for granted but something those construction we need to explain

Weaknesses of labelling theory

• labelling theory wrongly implies that once something is labelled a deviant career is inevitable. This means that this theory is deterministic, ignoring the ability for free will

• It doesn’t explain where the power to label comes from. It only focuses on officials such as police who apply these labels, rather than on the capitalist classes who make the rules.

• Labelling theory emphasises the negative effects labelling concurs, which concludes that the offender is the victim in this scenario. The theory fails to recognise the true victims of crime

Realism 1- right realism

Right realists have a right wing, conservative political outlook. They see crime (especially street crime) as a growing problem. They are mainly concerned with practical solutions to reduce crime. In their view, the best way to do this is through crime and punishment rather than rehabilitating offenders. They reject the Marxist view that factors such as poverty are the cause of crime. Instead they argue it is the product of 3 factors:

• biological differences between individuals- according to Wilson and Herrnstein biological differences make some individuals more likely to commit crime. In their views traits like aggressiveness and risk-taking are innate

• Inadequate socialisation- effective socialisation can reduce the chances of someone offending by teaching then correct values. Right realists see the nuclear family is being undermined by generous welfare benefits. The underclass- Charles Murray argues welfare dependency is creating an ‘underclass’ who fail to socialise their children properly. Absent fathers means boys lack discipline due to no role model so they turn delinquent.

• Offending is a rational choice- rational choice theory assumes we are rational beings of free will. Deciding to commit crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the consequences (weighing risk and reward)

Weaknesses of right realism

• Rettig + Feldman studies were experiments; the results may therefore not apply to real offenders, as the settings are artificial. This then casts doubt upon the real likelihood that rational choice theory takes place, as the variables wouldn’t be applicable to real life offending

• Not all crimes are the result of making a rational choice. Violent crimes are often impulsive- offenders under the influence of drugs/alcohol may also be unable to calculate the risks/rewards before offending

Weaknesses of right realism

• Rettig + Feldman studies were experiments; the results may therefore not apply to real offenders, as the settings are artificial. This then casts doubt upon the real likelihood that rational choice theory takes place, as the variables wouldn’t be applicable to real life offending

• Not all crimes are the result of making a rational choice. Violent crimes are often impulsive- offenders under the influence of drugs/alcohol may also be unable to calculate the risks/rewards before offending

Realism 2- left realism

Left realists have a left wing socialist political outlook. They see inequality in capitalist society as the root cause of crime. They argue the main victims are disadvantaged groups: the working class, ethnic minorities and women. Crime rates are highest in working class areas. Evidence that police take crimes against these groups less seriously. Left realists propose to reduce crime by making society fairer. Lea and Young identify 3 related causes of crime:

• relative deprivation- how deprived someone is to others. Lead and Young argue 2 factors increase a persons sense of relative deprivation. The media urge people to seek material possessions while on the other hand, society is becoming more unequal due to cuts in benefits.

• Subculture- a subculture is a persons way of solving relative deprivation. They all share a goal but when legitimate ways to achieve them are blocked, they resort to crime.

• Marginalisation- according to Lea and Young, marginalised groups are ones that lack organisations to represent their interests. E.g unemployed youth are a highly marginalised group. They feel powerless and resentment of injustice which they express through violence and crime

Strengths of left realism

• left realism draws attention to the importance of poverty, inequality and relative deprivation as the underlying structural causes of crime

• Left realism draws attention to the reality of street crime and its effects, especially on victims from deprived groups. This is further supported by crime statistics which indicates how property crimes are higher amongst certain groups

Weaknesses of left realism

• Henry & Milovanic argue that left realism accepts the authority’s definition of crime as just being the street crimes of the poor. It fails to explain white collar and corporate crimes ignoring the harm done to the poor through the crimes of the powerful

• It over-predicts the amount of working class crime, not everyone who experiences poverty will commit crime which makes it deterministic as it rejects free will

• It’s focus on high crime inner-city areas give an unrepresentative view and makes crime appear a greater problem that it is