functionalism, strain & subcultural theories

it is universal and inevitable

• socialisation

• social control

• not everybody is effectively socialised

• there is a diversity of lifestyles and values

• boundary maintenance

• adaptation and change

crime produces a reaction from society which unites its members by reaffirming shared norms and values

all changes start with deviance, so for a society to progress, there first must be a deviant act

safety valve

crime such as prostitution acts as a safe channel for men to release their sexual frustration without threatening the monogamous nuclear family

warning

when crime or deviance occurs, it can be taken as a warning that an institution is not working properly

licensed deviance

there are certain situations where deviant behaviour is accepted

• durkheim offers no way to measure the correct level of crime

• crime providing functions doesn’t explain why they exist

• ignores how crime affects groups or individuals

• crime does not always promote social solidarity

• useful in showing the ways deviance is integral to society

• provides important and interesting analysis that directs attention to deviance’s latent functions

theories that argue people engage in deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means

• structural factors

• cultural factors

the goals a culture encourages individuals to achieve and what the institutional structure of society allows them to achieve legitimately

americans are expected to pursue the goal of material success and status by legitimate means

• conformity

• innovation

• ritualism

• retreatism

• rebellion

• shows how both normal and deviant behaviour can derive from the same mainstream goals

• explains the patterns in official crime statistics

• lower class crime rates ARE higher due to less access to legitimate means

• takes official statistics at face value

• all wc face strain, but only some deviate

• marxism - ignores power of ruling class to criminalise the poor

• assumes there is a value consensus

• only accounts for utilitarian crime

• ignores the role of group deviance

delinquent subcultures

• merton ignores that much of deviance is committed in groups

• merton ignores non-utilitarian crime

anomie in a middle class dominated school system so they suffer from cultural deprivation

when wc boys cannot achieve status from legitimate means

spite, malice, hostility and contempt for outsiders (inverted mainstream values)

• offers an explanation of non-utilitarian deviance

• assumes all wc boys start off sharing the mc success goals

• ignores the possibility that they never shared values

different subcultures respond in different ways to the lack of legitimate opportunities because of unequal access to illegitimate opportunity structures

• criminal

• conflict

• retreatist

• provides youths with an apprenticeship for a career in utilitarian crime

• arises in neighbourhoods with a history of stable criminal culture

• in areas of high population turnover

• young people have loosely organised crime networks

• closest to cohen’s subculture

• not everybody who aspires to be successful criminals succeeds

• double failures turn to retreatism e.g., drug use

• cultural transmission theory

• differential association theory

• social disorganisation theory

• strain theory has had major influences on later theories of crime & government policies e.g., ohlin and JFK

• ignores the crimes of the wealthy

• overpredicts wc crime

• ignores wider power structure

• draws boundaries between different types of crime too sharply

• assumes everyone starts off sharing the same goals

• miller - lower class has its own independent subculture

• matza - most delinquents are not strongly committed to their subculture

messner and rosenfeld

regarding the american dream, economic goals are the most valued so other institutions are undermined and welfare is neglected so high rates of crime are inevitable

• dawnes and hansen - survey of crime rates and welfare - societies that spend more on welfare have lower rates of imprisonment