Crime control

Formal

Official ways of stopping people committing crime and deviance eg police

Informal

Unofficial ways to stop crime and deviance usually through social pressure for example families, local communities etc.

(AO2) Hirschi's Control Theory (1969)

Functionalist- Travis Hirschi argued that criminal activity occurs when an individual's attachment to society is
weakened. This attachment depends on the strength of social bonds that hold people to society. According to
Hirschi there are four social bonds that bind us together - Attachment; Commitment; Involvement and Belief.

Attachment

The degree to which we care about the opinions of others, including parents and
teachers.
The more sensitive we are to their views, the less likely we are to violate norms, both because we have internalized their norms and because we do not to disappoint them

Commitment

Investment of energy and emotion in conventional pursuits, such as getting a good education.

Involvement

The amount of time people spend on traditional pursuit of societies goals eg work

Belief

How strong is our personal moral code

Farington and West

Looked at 411 'working class'
males born in 1953 who were studied until their late 30s. Found that offenders were more likely to come from poorer, single parent families with poor parenting and parents who were themselves offenders.

This study suggests that good primary socialisation is essential in preventing crime.

NASUWT

Family breakdown and a lack of father figures could be to blame for pupils joining gangs
Children as young as nine are being drawn into organised crime for protection and to gain a "sense of belonging" because of the lack of positive role models at home, it is claimed. Others are being effectively "born into" gangs as membership is common among older brothers and
even parents in some areas. The problem is increasingly threatening some inner-city schools, with teachers
claiming that the influence of gang culture has soared over the past three years.

How does this support the New Right's view?

Murray- Inadequate socialisation

(AO3) Policies relating to Hirschi's control theory

Hirshi- string bonds integrate communities and individuals choose conformity over deviance and crime

Tighter control by institution
More parent responsibility
Neighbourhood watch
Supervision of offenders
Zero-tolerance policing
ASBOs
More policing and arrests

How does this link to Right Realism?

Situational crime prevention

(AO3) evaluation

Some crimes are more likely to be committed by people with lots of social connections - e.g. Corporate Crime

Doesn't focus on migrants

Interactionism - Middle class crimes are less likely to appear in the statistics - In reality the
attached (middle classes) are just as criminal.

By focussing on the crimes of the marginalised, the right wing elite dupe the public into thinking we
need them to protect us from criminals (whereas in reality we need protecting from the elite)

Durkheim

Crime and deviance are important for all healthy societies....
1. Re-affirming boundaries
2. Changing Values
3. Social Cohesion
4. Safety Valve
They allow social order to take place.

Althusser

Repressive state apparatus and ideological state apparatus

Heidensohn

Women are more controlled than men