AC2.3 Sociological theories of criminality Flashcards
what do sociological theories suggest
society influences a person to become criminal
explain functionalism
the theory that all aspects of a society serve a function and are necessary for the survival of that society.
sociological: functionalist theory: Durkheim
crime and deviance have a number of function, they both promote
- social solidarity, social integration, social order
there needs to be a consistent amount of crime in order for society to grow and develop. too much can lead to disintegration. too little can lead to stagnation.
why does crime occur??
non-criminals are socialised with norms and values in the family and these continue in education, feel a greater sense of belonging so don’t commit crime.
criminals aren’t socialised in the same way to accept society’s norms and values so will be more prone to deviate. also have a negative educational experience and don’t feel like they belong in society so may commit crime
anomie is when society contains many social groups each with different values so shared rules of behaviour become less clear resulting in higher levels of deviance
positive aspects of crime
1. boundary maintenance = reaffirms what is right and wrong by making an example of those who break the law e.g. through media attention
2. social change = for society to progress, existing norms and values must be challenged. this occurs via functional rebels that act in deviant ways to encourage changes in laws
3. social cohesion = after horrific crimes, society pulls together to reinforce sense of belonging. E.g. One Love Manchester concert after bombing at Ariane Grande concert
evaluation of durkeim
strength - he was the first to recognise that crime can have positive functions for society e.g. reinforcing boundaries between right and wrong by uniting people together
weakness - Durkheim doesn’t actually look at what the causes of crime might be just that its functional, healthy, and universal
weakness - ignores the issue of class, gender and ethnicity
weakness - Durkheim overlooks the fact that crime has significant disfunctions for victims
weakness - suggests crime strengthens solidarity but overlooks how it can isolate people. e.g. people may fear leaving the house
weakness - Durkheim’s theory also doesn’t indicate how much crime is the right amount
Sociological: functionalist theory: Merton
Merton suggests everyone is encouraged to strive towards the American dream of a big house and lots of money. But not everyone has an equal chance of achieving success legitimately because society is unequal. opportunities of working class people are often blocked by poverty and inadequate schools. this creates a strain between what society encourages people to achieve and the lack of legitimate means to do so
Merton’s adaptations
1. conformity - individuals accept culturally approved goals and strive to achieve them legitimately. Merton sees it as the typical response of most American’s.
2. innovation - individuals accept goals of money and success but use illegitimate means to achieve it. those at the lower end of class structure are at the greatest pressure to innovate.
3. ritualism - individuals give up on trying to achieve the culturally approved goals but have internalised the legitimated means and so they follow the rules for their own sake
4. retreatism - individuals reject both the goals and the legitimated means and become drop outs
5. rebellion - individuals reject the existing society’s goals and means but replace them with new ones in a desire to bring about revolutionary change
evaluation of merton
strength - shows how both normal and deviant behaviour arise from the same goals. e.g. conformists and innovators both pursue monetary gain but by different means
strength - explains why there’s so much working class crime, this is due to blocked opportunities
weakness - Merton ignores the crimes of the wealthy and over-represents/predicts the crime by working-class people
weakness - He sees deviance as an individual response, ignoring the group deviance of delinquent subcultures
weakness - Merton focuses on utilitarian crimes like theft and ignores crimes with no monetary motive like vandalism.
anomie
anomie is when society contains many social groups each with different values so shared rules of behaviour become less clear resulting in higher levels of deviance
sociological: interactionalism and labelling theory
it is not the act that is deviant but society’s reaction to the act. agents of social control (police, judges) label certain acts as deviant or criminal therefore crime is a social construct
Lemert states that labelling causes crime and deviance. primary deviance are acts that have not been labelled as deviant. secondary deviance results from labelling and once someone has been labelled as deviant further deviance is likely. once an individual has been labelled as a criminal, they internalise the label and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy so they live up to this label. when the label affects all aspects of their life it has become their master status. media contribute by demonising labelled groups causing moral panic, deviancy amplification and stereotypes
evaluation of interactionalism and labelling theory
strength - shows how attempts to control deviance can trigger a deviance amplification spiral lile moral panic and in turn create more deviance.
strength - shifts focus onto how police create crime by applying labels based on stereotypes and typifications. selective law enforcement may explain why working class and minority groups are over-represented in crime statistics
weakness - the theory wrongly implies that once someone is labelled as deviant that a deviant career is inevitable, therefore this theory is deterministic
weakness - the emphasis on negative effects of labelling gives offenders a ‘victim’ status ignoring the real victims. it also fails to explain why people commit primary deviance before they’re labelled
sociological: social structure theory: Marxism
there are two classes in society that are in conflict, the rich upper class bourgeoisie and the working class proletariat.
Marxism suggests that capitalism causes crime is inevitable in a capitalist society because capitalism is a criminogenic system.
- the proletariat are kept on low wages by the bourgeoisie causing some to have to commit crime to survive.
- capitalism continually pushes consumer goods resulting in utilitarian crimes to obtain them
- inequality causes frustration and alienation resulting in non-utilitarian crimes e.g. vandalism and violence
- capitalism causes crime among capitalists themselves. the profit motive promotes greed encouraging capitalists to commit corporate crimes to gain an advantage e.g. tax evasion
Marxism sees that law making and enforcement are made by bourgeoisie and therefore protect the bourgeoisie.
- Marxists believe the law is selectively enforced against working class but not upper class. white collar crime is much less likely to be prosecuted than working class street crime. Corporate crime is also often less severely punished for example with fines rather than jail
Marxists argue that ideas about crime and law are an ideology - a set of ideas that conceal the inequality of capitalist society. encouraging workers to blame the working class criminals for their problems rather than capitalism shifting attention away from more serious ruling class crime
evaluation of marxism
strength - shows how poverty and inequality can cause working class crime and how capitalism promotes greed and encourages upper class crime
strength - shows how both law making and law and enforcement are biased against the working class and in favour of the powerful
weakness - focuses on class and ignores gender and ethnicity
weakness - not all capitalist societies have high crime rates for example Japan’s homicide rate is only 1/5 of the USA’s
weakness - Marxism theory overpredicts the amount of working class crime
what do all realist theories suggest
1) believe there’s been a significant rise in the crime rate, especially in street crime, burglary and assault
2) are concerned about the widespread fear of crime and the impact of crime on its victims
3) argue that other theories failed to offer realistic solutions to the problem
sociological: realism theories: left realism
left realists are socialists and favour quite different policies for reducing crime
Left realism suggests there are 3 reasons for crime
1) marginalisation - marginalised groups lack both clear goals and institutions to represent their interests. so express frustration through criminal means as they’re powerless to improving their position through political means
2) relative deprivation - it refers to how deprived someone feels in relation to others. this can lead to crime when people resent others unfairly having more and so resort to crime to obtain it.
3) subcultures - subculture is a groups collective solution to relative deprivation. some groups may turn to crime to close the ‘deprivation gap’. others may turn to religion. criminal subcultures still subscribe to the goals of society but use street crime instead to achieve these goals.
evaluation of left realism
strength - it draws attention to the importance of poverty, inequality and relative deprivation as the underlying causes of crime.
strength - it draws attention to the reality of street crime and its effects on victims from deprived groups
weakness - only focuses on street crimes of the poor, it fails to explain white collar and corporate crime.
weakness - over-predicts the amount of working class crime; not everyone who experiences relative deprivation and marginalisation turns to crime
weakness - focuses of high crime, inner city areas which gives an unrepresentative view and makes crime appear to be a greater problem than it is
sociological: realism theories: right realism
right realists share a conservative political outlook
right realism suggests there are 3 reasons for crime:
1) biological differences - Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) argue that crime is caused by a mixture of biological and social factors. biological differences make some people more predisposed to committing crime than others. They also argue that one of the main causes of crime is low intelligence levels.
2) inadequate socialisation - Murray (1990) argues that effective socialisation reduces risk of criminality, as it ensures transference of norms, values, right and wrong and self control. Murray argues that crime is increasing because of growing underclass who are failing to socialise with their children properly. according to Murray, the welfare system is one huge factor in creating more of an underclass which encourages members to become reliant on the state. Murray argues that lone parent families aren’t adequate socialisers, especially if the man is absent from the child’s life as the boy lacks a role model and paternal discipline
3) rational choice to offend - Clarke argues that the decision to commit crime is due to a choice based on a rational calculation of the consequences. if it’s perceived that the rewards outweigh the costs, then someone may turn to crime. right realists argue that at the moment in society, perceived costs of committing crime are low.
right realists suggest crime prevention policies should reduce rewards and increase cost of committing crime such as greater use of prison.
