functionalism - notes

  • Durkheim

Crime is found in all societies because:

  1. individuals are exposed to different influences & circumstances, so not everyone is equally & effectively socialised into the shared norms of society

  2. diversity of lifestyles may be deemed deviant or criminal

Crime is inevitable & necessary:

~ Boundary maintenance - when a crime occurs society unites to condemn the act, this reaction clarifies the boundaries of acceptable behaviour & shows what will and will not be tolerated which strengthens social solidarity & reinforces the collective consensus

e.g. London Riots 2011 - courts implemented harsh sentences, even for minor offences, to reinforce social boundaries & act as a deterrent

~ Adaption & change - crime & deviance can expose injustice, inequality, or outdated practices, promoting social change by encouraging new ways of thinking - silencing those who challenge norms risks preventing social development

e.g. Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela were arrested for challenging racist laws & inequalities and brought about important social change

~ Safety valve - provides an outlet for frustration & discontentment that might otherwise build up & cause more serious unrest

e.g. protests & riots can be seen as expressions of dissatisfaction with inequality, injustice, or state power - London Riots 2011

~ Warning device - high levels of deviance suggest that social institutions are failing to regulate behaviour or support individuals effectively

e.g. increased gang violence & drug use in some UK urban areas during the 1990’s were seen as signs of failures in institutions such as the family & education system

  • Evaluation

~ Highlights that crime can serve positive functions in society

~ Highlights that through social engineering, crime rates can be reduced by strengthening social cohesion & reintegrating marginalised groups into mainstream society

~ Doesn’t specify how much crime is the right amount for society to function properly - makes it difficult to apply his theory

~ Focuses on the functions of crime but overlooks how crime might disproportionately affect certain groups or individuals

~ Crime does not always promote social solidarity, it can lead to greater social division

  • Merton

Strain theory

Crime & deviance occurs due to the strain between:

  1. The goals society encourages people to achieve

  2. The limited opportunities available to achieve those goals legitimately

The American Dream (shared goal) - the belief that anyone can achieve success & happiness through hard work

Americans are expected to reach this dream through legitimate means (education), however, disadvantaged groups (poverty, racism) often lack access to these opportunities - creating strain

Since this success is so highly valued, people may prioritise winning over following the rules, making crime & deviance the only way to succeed

Responses to strain:

~ Conformity - accept societal goals & legitimate means of achieving them, continuing to strive for success through socially approved methods - a student working hard to achieve good grades

~ Innovation - accept societal goals but reject or find new means to achieve them (often illegitimate) - theft, fraud

~ Ritualism - reject societal goals but rigidly adhere to socially approved means, even though the effort won’t achieve success - worker who goes to work everyday without ambition to advance

~ Retreatism - reject both societal goals & means, often withdrawing from society entirely - drug addicts, vagrancy

~ Rebellion - reject existing societal goals & means, they replace them with new ones to create a different system or set of values - a revolutionary seeking to overthrow the government

  • Evaluation

~ Explains the patterns shown in official crime stats:

. Most crime is property crime because American society values material wealth so highly

. Lower-class crime rates are higher because they have the least opportunities to obtain wealth legitimately

~ Official stats over-represent working class crime

~ Ignores the power of the ruling class to make & enforce the law against the poor

~ Assumes there is a value consensus - not everyone wants to make money/be successful

  • Cohen

Found: working-class boys face anomie/cultural deprivation in the middle-class dominated school system. As a result of being unable to achieve status by legitimate means, the boys suffered status frustrations

Resolved this frustration by rejecting mainstream middle-class values & forming their own ‘delinquent subculture’ to gain status & respect

  • Evaluation

~ Helps explain crimes that are not purely driven by economic motives but status, such as violence

~ Assumes working-class boys start off with the same middle-class success goals, many may not have ever viewed themselves as failures because they don’t share these values

  • Cloward & Ohlin

individuals join different types of subcultures based on the types of opportunities available in their community:

  1. Criminal subcultures - form in areas where there is an established network of organised crime. Provide opportunities for individuals to achieve success, mostly financial gain, through illegal means (theft, drug dealing)

  2. Conflict subculture - emerge in communities with social disorganisation & limited opportunities (violence, poor education). Individuals in these areas may not have access to criminal networks, so they turn to violence to assert dominance & gain status & respect

  3. Retreatist subculture - form in response to failure in both legitimate & illegitimate opportunity structures because of this, Individuals are rejected by criminal groups & mainstream society. As a result they turn to drugs, alcohol, as a way to escape & cope with their failure & frustration

  • Evaluation

~ Helped shape US government policies on crime

~ Over-predict working-class crime & ignore the crimes of the powerful & rich

~ Draw boundaries too sharply - the drug trade is a mixture of both criminal & conflict subcultures

~ Assumes that everyone has shared goals & that a value consensus exists