crime and deviance - functionalism

What does durkheim say on crime?

• crime is inevitable and universal

• “Crime is normal…an integral part of all healthy societies.”

What are the two reasons for why c&d are found in all societies?

Durkheim:

1. unequal socialisation - link to cultural deprivation, some will be prone to deviate

2. Different subcultures - particularly in complex modern societies, there’s a diversity of lifestyles and values. Different groups develop their own subcultures and distinctive norms, which may differ from those of mainstream society.

How does Durkheim link the division of labour to c&d?

modern societies tend towards anomie, the rules governing behaviour become less clear cut. This is because modern societies have a complex division of labour, which leads everyone to be increasingly different from each other. This weakens the collective conscience and results in higher levels of deviance.

What does Durkheim argue that the two positive functions of c&d are?

1. Boundary maintenance = crime produces a reaction from society, uniting its members in condemnation of the wrongdoer and reinforcing their commitment to the shared norms and values. This may be done through the rituals of the courtroom, which dramatize the wrongdoing and publicly stigmatise and shame the wrongdoer. This discourages others from deviating. This explains the function of punishment (not to remove crime from society).

2. Adaptation and change =  all change starts with an act of deviance. Individuals with new ideas, values and ways of living mustn’t be completely stifled by the weight of social control. If those with new ideas are suppressed, society will stagnate and be unable to make necessary adaptive changes.

What does Davis argue about another function of c&d?

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

Who is Davis supported by?

Polsky - pornography safely ‘channels’ a variety of sexual desires away from alternatives such as adultery, which would pose a much greater threat to the family

What does Cohen identify as another function of c&d?

a warning that an institution isn’t working effectively. For example, high rates of truancy may tell us that there are problems with the education system.

What is Merton’s strain theory?

argues that people engage in deviant behaviour when they’re unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means. Deviance is the result of a strain between two things: the goals that a culture encourages people to achieve, and the legitimate means of achieving them in the structure of society.

How is Merton evaluated?

(+) He explains the patterns shown in official crime statistics: most crime is utilitarian crime (because material wealth is valued and encouraged), w/c crime rates are higher, because they have the least opportunity to obtain wealth legitimately.

(-) takes official crime statistics at face value – these over-represent w/c crime. It’s also too deterministic – the w/c experience the most strain, yet they don’t all deviate.

(-) it assumes that there is a value consensus – that everyone strives for ‘money success’ – and ignores the fact that some people don’t share this goal.

What does Merton use as his example for strain theory?

The American dream - expected to pursue the goal of ‘money success’ by legitimate means: educational quals for example. The ideology of the american dream claims that their society is a meritocratic one - reality differs → strain produces frustration and a pressure to deviate. He calls this pressure, ‘the strain to anomie’.

How does Cohen evaluate Merton?

agrees that deviance is a largely lower-class phenomenon. Criticises on two grounds:

1. Merton sees deviance as an individual response to strain, ignoring the fact that much deviance is committed in or by groups, such as delinquent subcultures.

2. Merton focuses on utilitarian crime committed for material gain, he largely ignores crimes such as vandalism and assault, which may have no economic motive.

What are Merton’s deviant adaptations to strain?

He argues that an individual’s position in the social structure affects the way they adapt to the strain to anomie.

1.      Conformity = acceptance of the goals and strive to achieve them legitimately, likely among m/c people who have good opportunities to achieve.

2.      Innovation = acceptance of the goal, but use ‘new’, illegitimate means such as theft or fraud to achieve it. Those at the lower end of the class structure are under greatest pressure to innovate.

3.      Ritualism = give up on trying to achieve the goals, but have internalised the legitimate means. Typical of lower-m/c office workers, in dead-end routine jobs.

4.      Retreatism = rejection of both the goals and the legitimate means and become dropouts. Eg, ‘drug addicts, tramps and outcasts’.

Rebellion = reject the existing society’s goals and means, but they replace them with new ones in a desire to bring about revolutionary change and create a new kind of society. Rebels include, political radicals and counter-cultures such as hippies.