Is Crime Inevitable?

Functionalists argue that crime and deviance are inevitable, as not everyone can be fully integrated into the norms and values of society. They believe that crime exists in all societies and has many benefits, such as showing people the difference between right and wrong. 

However, other sociologists, such as conflict theorists, are more critical of the view that crime and deviance are beneficial for all individuals and for society as a whole. For example, the construction of crime could be seen to serve the interests of powerful groups. 

Evaluate the view that crime and deviance are inevitable and beneficial for individuals and for society as a whole. 

‘has many benefits’

• Functionalists argue that crime is inevitable and there is the right amount of it taking place

  • Too much - society tears apart

  • Too little - members are over controlled

• Durkheim - not everyone is equally committed to the collective conscience and follows the mainstream NVAs. Crime has benefits:

  • Reinforces social solidarity

  • Generate social change e.g. women’s rights

  • Reaffirms societal values

• This shows that crime can benefit individuals and society

• C - doesn’t view the negative affects of crime and how it can impact people for the rest of their lives

other functionalist

• Crime can also be good for maintaining society

• It can act as a safety valve (Davis), some crimes can allow people to let out frustrations harmlessly without fully threatening society

• Cohen - It can act as a warning device to show that society is malfunctioning (higher suicide rates in prison can spark discussion about NVAs)

• Cohen - prostitution is a good form of crime as it can allow the client to let out stress without threatening the client’s life or the nuclear family

• However, Merton develops Durkheim’s idea on how too much crime could be bad e.g. strain to anomie (acting normlessly in a society that isn’t balanced

‘serve the interests of powerful groups’ (Marx)

• Marxists believe that capitalism is the cause of crime and it serves the interests of the powerful

  • Capitalism creates conditions where people resort to crime

  • Gordon - criminogenic capitalism - alienation and powerlessness, proletarian revenge, values of capitalism

  • Dog eat dog mentality

• Despite corporate crime’s existence, it often goes unpunished (Reiman rich get rich and poor get prison)

• HSBC

• This allows prisons to soak up the unemployed, and to also make the proletariat lives miserable

• Focus on street crime can act as a scapegoat in moral panics (Hall), and can help maintain order

• Official stats show that the working class commits significantly more crime but this may just be to instill fear and maintain order - benefits rich only

• C - focus too much on capitalism

Social Action

• Labelling and making stereotypes can have such a negative affect that it affects the criminal justice system

• Cicourel study showed that typifications are made in regards to gender, ethnicity, and class

• This is a good theory as it focuses on intersectionality

• C - not the case in all cases e.g. Waddington et al available population addresses the issue with the police