durkheim - structural theories

what are structural theories?

• structural theories of crime focus on how society’s structure causes individuals to commit criminal behaviour.

• structural theories are usually broken down into functionalist and marxist theories.

• a prominent functionalist that research causes and effects of crime was emile durkheim, who suggests crime performs different functions for society.

how did durkheim view crime?

• saw crime as having both positive and negative effects on society as it alternated the value consensus of social norms and values.

• crime is a reflection both of changing norms and values in society and the decline of social norms - anomie.

• too much crime in society could cause social breakdown, too little could cause society to stagnate.

what is the first function of crime?

• durkheim argued one function of crime was to reinforce social norms and values - a process called boundary maintenance.

• crimes that went against social norms and values - e.g. murder - are condemned by large sanctions of society.

• people come together to pledge to punish those that offend this way and reaffirm their commitment to norms and values.

what was the second function of crime?

• durkheim also suggested that some deviance (often through criminal behaviours) was necessary to change views in society.

• outdated laws and ideas - e.g. segregation in the USA - need to change and through breaking the law and gaining public support for doing so, introduces the idea that the law is wrong.

• as more people break that law, society evolves and the new behaviours are no longer seen as deviant e.g. cannabis usage in the USA.

what were the final 2 functions of crime?

• safety valve and warning sign.

• certain crimes are seen as a way of releasing frustrations according to functionalists.

• moral crimes, e.g. prostitution is a form of allowing males to release tensions whilst maintaining family unit.

• crime also acts as a warning sign that social norms and values are declining - protests against use of fossil fuels or deporting of migrants.

what are the strengths and limitations of functionalism?

• strengths: acknowledges that crime serves beneficial functions for society as a whole and can be applied to reactions to crime.

• limitation: fails to describe how much crime is functional or how crime occurs in the first place as it largely focuses on impacts of crime.

• victims of crime are ignored - as with many structural approaches the focus is on society rather than the individual.