topic 1 - functionalist, strain and subculture theories

The inevitability of crime

Functionalists see crime as inevitable and universal. Every known society has some level of of crime and deviance for Durkheim crime is normal and integral part of all healthy societies

Two reasons why crime and deviance are found in all societies.

Firstly not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values so some individuals will be prone to deviate

Secondly particularly in complex modern societies there is a diversity of lifestyles and values. Different groups develop their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values

The positive functions of crime

For Durkheim not only is crime inevitable it also fulfils two important positive functions:

1. Boundary maintenance - the purpose of punishment is to reaffirm society’s shared rules and reinforce social solidarity. This may be done through the rituals of the courtroom which dramatise wrongdoing and publicly shame and stigmatise the offender

2. For Durkheim all charge starts with an act of deviance. Individuals with new ideas, values and ways of living must not be completely stifled by the weight of social control. There must be some scope for them to challenge and change existing norms and values and in the first instance this will inevitably appear as deviance

Other functions of crime

Others have developed Durkheim ideas that deviance can have positive functions. For example Kingsley Davis argues that prostitution acts as a safety valve for the release of men’s sexual frustrations without threatening the monogamous nuclear family

Criticisms

Crime doesn’t always promote solidarity. It may have the opposite effect leading to people becoming more isolated for example forcing women to stay indoors for fear of attack

Mertons strain theory

Strain theories argue that people engage in deviant bvr when they are unable to archive socially approved goals by legitimate means for example they may become frustrated and resort to criminal means of getting what they want

Mertons explanation combined two elements:

Structural factors - society’s unequal opportunity structure

Cultural factors - the strong emphasis on success goals and the weaker emphasis on using legitimate means to achieve them

The American dream

Americans are expected to pursue this goal by legitimate means: self discipline, study, educational qualifications and hard work in a carer

However the reality is different many disadvantaged groups are denied opportunities to achieve legitimately for example poverty

The resulting strain between the cultural goal of money success and lack of legitimate opportunities to achieve it produces frustration and this in turn creates a pressure to resort to illegitimate means such as crime

Deviant adaptation to strain

Merton argues that an individuals position in the social structure affects the way they adapt or respond to the strain to anomie.

5 types of adaptations

Conformity - individuals accept the culturally appraised goals and strive to achieve them legitimately. Middle class

innovation- individuals accept the goal of money success but use “new” illegitimate means such as theft to achieve it. Lower end of class structure

Ritualism - individuals give up on trying to achieve the goals but have internalised the legitimate means and so they follow the rules for their own sake. Lower middle class

retreatism - individuals reject both the goals and the legitimate means and become dropouts eg: drug addicts

Rebellion- individuals reject the existing society’s goals and means but they replace them with new ones in a desire to bring about a revolution

Evaluation of Merton

• it assumes there is a value consensus - that everyone strives for “money success” and ignores the possibility that many may not share this goal

• It only accounts for utilitarian crimes and not crimes of violence vandalism it is also hard to see how it could account for state crimes such as genocide or torture

cohen status frustration

Cohen agreed with Merton that deviance is largely a lower class phenomenon. It results from the inability of those in the lower classes to achieve mainstream success goals by legitimate means. However cohen criticises Mertons explanation of deviance on two ground

1. Mertons sees deviance as an individual response to strain ignoring the fact that much deviance is committed in it by groups especially amongst the young

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

Cohen focuses on deviance among working class boys. He argues that they face anomie in the middle class dominated school system. They suffer from cultural deprivation and lack the skills to achieve. Their inability to succeed in this middle class world leaves the at the bottom of the official status hierarchy. As a result of being unable to achieve status by legitimate means the boys suffer status frustration

In cohens view they resolve their frustration by rejecting mainstream middle class values and they turn instead to other boys in the same situation forming or joining a delinquent subculture

Cohen evaluation

One strength of cohens theory is that it offers an explanation of non utilitarian deviance. Unlike Merton whose concept of innovation only accounts for crimes with a profit motive

Cohens ideas of status distraction value inversion and alternative status hierarchy help to explain non economic delinquency such as vandalism and truancy

The stages on cohens status frustration

• W/C then rejects M/C norms and values

• W/C children can’t achieve M/C norms and values

• W/C suffer status frustration

• W/C then reject M/C norms and values

• Delinquent subcultures form

• This offers an alternative route to gain status

Different explanations of criminal bvr

Cultural transmission theory- Clifford shaw and Henry McKay thy notes how some neighbourhoods develop a criminal tradition or cultural that is transmitted from generation while other neighbourhoods remain relatively crime free over the same period

Differential association theory - Sutherland interested in the process by which people become deviant. He argued that deviance was bvr learned through social interaction with others who are deviant. This involves learning both criminal values and skills

Social disorganisation theory - Robert park and Ernest burgess they argue that deviance is the product of social disorganisation changes such as rapid population turnover and migration create instability disrupting family and community structures

3 types of deviant subcultures

criminal subcultures - provide youths with an apprenticeship for a career in utilitarian crimes. They arise only in neighbourhoods with a long standing and stable criminal culture with established hierarchy of pro adult crimes. Young associates with adult criminals who provide them with training and role models

Conflict subcultures - arise in areas of high population turnover. This results in high levels of social disorganisation and prevents a stable professional criminal network developing. It absence means that only illegitimate opportunities available are within loosely organised gangs. They can gain status that they can earn by winning “turf” from rival gangs

Retreating subcultures - in any neighbourhood not everyone who aspires to be a professions criminal or a gang leader actually succeeds just as in legitimate opportunity structure where not everyone gets a well paid job

Evaluating cloward and ohlin

They agree with Merton and cohen that most crime is working class and thus ignoring class of the wealthy similarly their theory over predicts the amount of working class crime - like Merton and cohen they too ignore the wider power structure including who maes and enforces the law

While they agree with cohen that delinquent subculture are the source of much deviance, unlike cohen they provide an explanation ruin for different types of working class deviance in terms of different subcultures