Crime

Is crime a normal part of society?

Émile Durkheim

• Point: Crime is normal and necessary

• Evidence: Durkheim (1895) – crime exists in all societies

• Explain: Crime creates boundary maintenance + social cohesion + change

• Critique: Too much crime → anomie (breakdown of norms)

Why do people commit crime in unequal societies?

Robert K. Merton

• Point: Crime results from strain between goals and means

• Evidence: Merton (1938) – innovation = crime (e.g. fraud, drug dealing)

• Explain: People want success but lack legitimate opportunities

• Critique: Doesn’t explain why not everyone commits crime

Is crime caused by inequality and power? (Conflict theory)

• Point: Crime reflects material inequality + power struggles

• Evidence: Martin Luther King Jr. – “riot is the language of the unheard”

• Explain: Marginalised groups may use crime as resistance

• Critique: Overly focuses on inequality, ignores individual choice

Why do working-class youths form deviant groups?

Albert Cohen

• Point: Crime comes from status frustration

• Evidence: Cohen (1955) – working-class boys reject middle-class values

• Explain: Form subcultures that invert norms (e.g. vandalism)

• Critique: Paul Willis (1977) – crime may be for “fun,” not frustration

Is crime socially constructed?

Howard Becker

• Point: No act is inherently deviant — it depends on labelling

• Evidence: Becker (1963) – Outsiders

• Explain: Society creates deviance by labelling “outsiders”

• Critique: Doesn’t explain why primary deviance happens

How does labelling lead to more crime?

Edwin Lemert

• Point: Labelling leads to secondary deviance

• Evidence: Lemert (1972) – primary → secondary deviance

• Explain: Label becomes master status, reinforcing crime

• Critique: Deterministic — not everyone accepts labels

Why do some people NOT commit crime?

Travis Hirschi

• Point: Crime occurs when social bonds weaken

• Evidence: Hirschi (1969) – attachment, commitment, involvement, belief

• Explain: Strong social ties prevent deviance

• Critique: Doesn’t explain crimes by well-integrated individuals

Is crime a rational decision?

Gary Becker

• Point: Crime is a cost-benefit calculation

• Evidence: Becker (1968), Ehrlich (1973)

• Explain: People weigh risk vs reward

• Critique: Ignores emotions + social context

Does situational prevention reduce crime?

• Point: Crime can be reduced by limiting opportunities

• Evidence: Clarke (1997) – target hardening, surveillance

• Explain: Makes crime harder, riskier, less rewarding

• Critique: Displacement — crime may move elsewhere

Why is crime data unreliable?

• Point: Crime is underreported and socially shaped

• Evidence: Only 43% of crime reported (BCS 2009–10)

• Explain: Hidden crimes (abuse, domestic violence)

• Critique: Victim surveys also have limitations

How does policing affect crime reporting?

• Point: Police behaviour affects trust + reporting

• Evidence: Desmond et al. (2016) – 22,200 fewer 911 calls after police violence

• Explain: Misconduct reduces civic engagement

• Critique: Context-specific (US case)

How do gender and crime relate?

• Point: Gender shapes crime patterns

• Evidence: Frances Heidensohn (1985) – women controlled more → less crime

• Explain: Social control limits female offending

• Critique: Freda Adler (1975) – liberation thesis

How does ethnicity affect crime patterns?

• Point: Crime reflects structural inequality + bias

• Evidence:
  

  • Black people up to 29× more likely to be stopped (EHRC)

  • Higher custody rates (Hood, 1992)

• Explain: Over-policing + systemic bias

• Critique: Doesn’t fully explain offending rates

Does prison reduce crime?

Erving Goffman

• Point: Prisons may increase deviance

• Evidence: Goffman (1961) – “mortification of the self”

• Explain: Identity stripped → reinforces criminal identity

• Critique: Some argue prisons deter crime

Are alternatives to prison more effective?

• Point: Restorative justice may reduce reoffending

• Evidence: UK RCT – 27% reduction in reoffending

• Explain: Focus on repairing harm

• Critique: Limited availability (<1% access)