3 - Functionalist explanations for crime and deviance

Before functionalism, much early criminology was obsessed with finding biological explanations for crime. Some criminologists carried out empirical studies in prisons too look at the physical characteristics of criminals and to determine if you were born ‘bad’. Functionalists discounted these biological ideas and attempted to find social explanations for crimes levels.

Functionalists believe that the structure of society influence our behaviour, this is a positive thing because society is based on consensus.

consensus - the shared agreement that exists within society on norms and values.

1. Emile Durkheim - positive and negative aspects of crime for society

For Durkheim crime is inevitable in society, he argues that crime can have both positive and negative aspects.

Positive aspects of crime/deviance

• Durkheim argued that at the core of society was a set of shared values which guide our actions.

• one of the positive functions of crime is that it re-affirms social boundaries. every time that a person breaks a law and is taken to court, the resulting court ceremony and the publicity in the newspapers, publicly re-affirms the existing values.

• crime must be seen to be punished to reaffirm societies boundaries.

Albert Cohen - suggested carrying out deviant acts can be functional for members of anti-school subcultures because these will give each other status for deviant behaviour.

• being deviant within an anti-school subculture allows working classes to gain their own status. i.e. disrespecting school rules.

• therefore, deviancy deviancy is functional for individual and group sense of self but can also be a major contributor to educational failure.

The negative aspects of crime

Durkheim stressed that a limited amount of crime performed positive functions for society. According to Durkheim society is based on people sharing common values (the collective conscience)

Anomie - a state of normlessness. describes the brief period in which norms are suspended, and previously unaccepted acts or behaviour are displayed. For example the London riots in 2011 quickly escalated into looting and arson and the police had to be deployed on a mass scale. Before riots, many people would have walked past those shops and not even thought about stealing goods from the shops.

Criticisms of Durkheim

Durkheim assumes that society has a shared common values system, Marxists would criticise this and argue that no such shared common values system exists; the bourgeoisie (ruling class) impose their values upon the proletariat (working class) as opposed to there being consensus between groups.

2. Robert Merton (1938) - strain theory: people turn to crime when experiencing strain.

   • Merton developed Durkheim’s theory of anomie to explain why some individuals are more likely to turn to crime than others. Merton suggests that people commit crime because of a strain between society’s goals and the means of achieving them.

   • the societal goal of achieving the ‘American dream’ however, not everyone has the right skills, qualifications and opportunities to achieve this.

   • ^ this creates what Merton calls ‘the strain to anomie’, meaning this strain causes people to deviate from society’s norms and use illegitimate means, such as committing crime in order to be successful.

   • some groups are more likely to be blocked from the American dream and these groups are more likely to have to deviate.

   Five different adaptations; these are how people respond to the strain.

   • Conformity - this is most of the population who want the goal of success (American dream) and achieve it legitimately.

   • Innovation (criminal) - these are the people who want the goal of success, but cannot achieve it legitimately so must commit crime in order to achieve the goal.

   • Ritualism (deviant) - these people are deviant because they reject the goal of success, but use legitimate means, a good example is a person who is in a dead end job, but isn’t willing to do anything to change it.

   • Retreatism (deviant/criminal) - these people are criminal because they reject the goal of success and use illegitimate means. A good example of this may be an alcoholic.

   • Rebellion (deviant/criminal) - these people are deviant because because they reject the goal of success, but in favour of an alternative, they use illegitimate means to achieve this.

Criticisms of Merton

• Neo-Marxists criticise Merton for failing to recognise the wider power relations in society. Powerful groups like politicians and law makers have a strong influence on crime; they have the capability to make certain groups scapegoats to blame for social problems.

• Hall et.al’s study ‘policing the crisis’ argues that powerful groups in society scapegoats young black muggers to distract away from wider social problems like a recession in the 1970’s. Merton fails to recognise the importance of these powerful groups in the make-up of crime.

• Subcultural theorists criticise Merton for suggesting that people commit crime as individuals. People - especially young people - join groups which have distinctive norms and values which are associated with crime.

• Functionalist Albert Cohen argues that lower class youth experience status frustration at not being able to achieve society’s goals so choose to join subcultures, which can achieve success.

3. Cloward and Ohlin - illegitimate opportunity structure

   They use Merton’s strain theory to explain why some youth turn to crime. they argue that there is greater pressure for working class youth compared to middle class youth to deviate from mainstream norms and values because they have less opportunity to succeed within what they called ‘the legitimate opportunity structure’. They also suggest that working class youth are more likely to be in the ‘illegitimate opportunity structure.

The illegal opportunity structure had three possible adaptations or subcultures:

• criminal - where there is a thriving local criminal subculture

• conflict - no local criminal subculture to provide a career opportunity therefore people are likely to turn to violence.

• retreatist - this tends to be a more individual response and occurs where the individual has no opportunity or ability to engage in either of the other two subcultures. they are a ‘double failure’. the result is a retreat into alcohol or drugs.

Criticisms of Cloward and Ohlin

Cloward and Ohlin assume there is a Common value system to deviate from, Marxists don’t agree - they see these values as imposed by the ruling class.

4. Venkatesh - crime can functional for individuals

   Venkatesh called the Chicago gang lifestyle which he observed ‘outlaw capitalism’ he meant an alternative opportunity structure. He argued that his sample of working class men from ethnic minoritized backgrounds had a few opportunities since the level of unemployment was 80% in that area. They adopted a gang lifestyle since it offered an income, daily work and a fraternity.

Criticisms of Venkatesh

Venkatesh has been criticised for ignoring the negatives of gang life. Feminists suggest his viewpoint is too malestream, failing to consider the impact of the crimes such as prostitution upon the women who are pimped out. Feminists such as Harding point out that gangs are rarely functional for women who are kept low in the hierarchy and often used solely for their sexual capital.