GG

Functionalist Theories of Crime

Positive Functions of Crime

Boundary Maintenance and Social Cohesion

  • Thinker: Durkheim

  • Explanation:

    • Crime reinforces acceptable behaviour by publicly demonstrating the consequences of breaking rules.

    • Severe crimes unite society in condemnation.

Warning Sign

  • Thinkers: Clinard/Cohen

  • Explanation:

    • An increase in certain crimes indicates societal dysfunction, signalling a need for change.

Adaptation and Change

  • Thinker: Durkheim

  • Explanation:

    • Deviance is necessary for societal progress; its absence leads to stagnation.

Safety Valve

  • Thinkers: Davis/Polsky

  • Explanation:

    • Minor deviance prevents more serious crimes (e.g., pornography access preventing sexual offences).

Evaluation of Positive Functions of Crime

  • Marxism: Ignores the powerful's role in shaping definitions of crime and deviance, and the impact of social inequality.

  • Durkheim: Ignores the impact on individual victims, focusing instead on society.

  • Quantification: Fails to quantify beneficial crime levels.

  • Solidarity: Crime can cause isolation instead of solidarity.

Strain Theory

Thinker

  • Robert K. Merton

Overview

  • Crime results from the strain of achieving societal goals (American Dream) through legitimate means in the 1950s.

Types of Strain

Conformity

  • Accepting societal goals and the means to achieve them.

Innovation

  • Accepting societal goals but using alternate means to achieve them.

Ritualism

  • Following societal means without believing in goal attainment.

Rebellion

  • Rejecting societal goals and means, replacing them with new ones.

Retreatism

  • Rejecting societal goals and means without replacement.

Sub-Cultural Theories

Status Frustration (Cohen)

  • Frustration from an inability to achieve social goals leads to crime for status.

    • Willis: Working-class boys have different status ideas than middle-class boys.

      • Ignores female delinquency.

      • Focuses only on youth crime.

Illegitimate Opportunity Structures (Cloward and Ohlin)

  • Criminal subcultures: Socialise youth into crime.

  • Conflict subcultures: Lack social cohesion.

  • Retreatist subcultures: Fail to access criminal or conflict subcultures.

    • Assumes official crime statistics are accurate.

    • Exaggerates criminal opportunities for youth.

Focal Concerns (Miller)

  • The working class has different values that include hypermasculinity, leading to normalised criminal behaviour.

Control Theory

Thinker

  • Hirschi

Explanation

  • Focuses on why people don’t commit a crime, suggesting strong societal bonds prevent it.

Evaluation

  • Assumes inherent human badness, with society as the controller.

  • Doesn’t explain bond strength or formation.

  • Deviance can occur despite strong bonds (e.g., sexuality).