Crime And Deviance Flashcards
What is crime and deviance
Both socially constructed, dependant on society’s reaction to specific behaviours.
Sociologists often examine how crime and deviance occur - causes.
Also concerned with impacts on the order of society and how we can control criminal behaviour.
Functionalist views on order and control
- social control is maintained through socialisation into value consensus and the collective conscience.
- Durkheim examines impacts of crime and deviance on social order, suggesting crime performs both positive and negative functions.
- Merton examines the role of social structures on individuals, society is unequal.
Subcultural views on order and control
- suggest that some groups react negatively to the norms and values of society.
- structural disadvantages lead to young males rejecting the value consensus of society and so develop their own structures of norms and values.
- form subcultures to achieve status which is denied in wider society, often includes criminal activities.
Marxists views on order and control
- Marxists suggest that the ruling class uses its power to exert control over the working class.
- ruling class maintains order through social institutions, force or ideological.
- crime demonstrates a lack of control over parts of the working class by the ruling class and punishment is a form of control over the masses.
Feminists views on order and control
- control leads to women having less freedom and therefore less likely to commit crimes
- carlen and heidensohn suggest that the control of women leads to lower levels of female deviance in society.
- Adler suggests controls on women are diminishing which is leading to higher female crime rates.
Interactionist views on order and control
- crime is a product of the interactions between individuals and the way they are portrayed by social institutions such as media.
- media is a form of social control, which tries to maintain social control through generating moral panics.
- negative labelling by social institutions leads to withdrawal from society and greater status from those with similar characteristics.
Realist theories on order and control
- Both left and right realists both see crime as a real problem that requires solutions to establish social order.
- right realists focus more on control of individuals who do not conform, by controlling their opportunities to commit crime and by inflicting harsh punishments to restore order.
- left realists believe social order would be corrected by tackling the inequalities in society which cause criminal behaviour.
Durkheim’s functionalist theories
- Durkheim suggests crime is a normal part of a healthy society and performs functions for society. Optimal amount of crime is required for society to function, but too much or too little would lead to atrophy or a stagnated society.
Positives of crime:
- Boundary maintenance -
Criminal and deviant behaviour helps to reinforce the value consensus of society.
Some behaviours help to reinforce peoples belief in the collective conscience - society’s moral code.
Society unites to condemn the wrong doers and this leads to a collective agreement that the behaviour is wrong and shouldn’t be repeated. - Adaptation and change -
Deviant behaviours demonstrate a changing attitude of the population to the established social order. These behaviours, performed by small social groups begin to be accepted by wider society as the norm and are ultimately ceased to be viewed as deviant.
Examples include protests for the civil rights movement, stonewall riots for the gay rights movement and womens liberation movement used unconventional means to push for equality. - Safety valve -
Crime warns society that there are issues which need to be addressed. Polsky and Davis suggest that minor criminal and deviant behaviour can act as a release, which prevents worse crimes from occurring. - Evaluation of Durkheim -
Difficult to measure the optimal amount of crime in society.
Durkheim offers little explanation as to why crime occurs other than that it’s due to frustration.
Merton’s functionalist theories of crime and deviance
Merton suggests that crime and deviance are a product of dysfunction in society. He suggested that there was structural inequality and that the inability of some members to achieve the American dream led to a strain to anomie.
- Mertons strain theory -
Merton suggested that people would react in different ways to the American dream. Some would continue to accept socially approved goals (American dream) and strive to achieve those through either legitimate or illegitimate means. Others would reject these goals and either deviate or conform to socially approved behaviours.
Deviant adaptations to strain
- conformity
- innovation
- ritualism
- retreatism
- rebellion
Conformity
Majority of Americans accepted the American dream and worked hard to achieve it through legitimate means such as pursuing and education and choosing the right pathways.
Innovation
This is where individuals accepted the socially approved goals but found that these could not be achieved through legitimate means and so they innovated by turning to organised crime, fraud, white collar crime and corporate crime.
Ritualism
Accepted that they were unlikely to achieve the American dream of wealth and power, but continued to conform to the norms and values of society, working hard and gaining qualifications.
Retreatism
Saw routes to achieve goals being blocked, and would therefore reject the norms and values of society. With little motivation or conformity, these individuals would ‘retreat’ from society and instead turn to alchohol, drug abuse and petty crime.
Rebellion
Challenged the socially approved goals and looked to achieve their own goals in society. These individuals rejected legitimate means of achieving goals and would look to adopt their own methods such as activism and protests.
Evaluations of Merton
Recognised that the role of structural inequality in crime has highlighted the lack of opportunity available to some.
Strain is dependant upon people actually wanting to achieve the socially approved goals. Offers explanation for utilitarian crimes but not crimes of passion or why some choose to victimise others.
Cohens Subcultural theories of crime and deviance
Cohen was influenced by mertons ideas of inequality in society and agreed that crime is caused by a reaction to blocked opportunities. However, cohen suggested that it was not individuals, but Subcultural groups that were responsible for most crime.
Cohen examined young males from low income backgrounds in the USA in the 1950s. As a response to educational failure and inability to achieve status through legitimate means, these males suffered from status frustration. They turned to Subcultural groups in order to obtain status from their peers.
Alternate status hierarchy. As status was unobtainable through legitimate means, these groups formed their own norms and values which subverted those of society. Status was awarded based upon deviant activities rather than conformity.
Cohens work focused on non utilitarian crime which had little financial motive, such as criminal damage, joy riding, violence and anti social behaviour. Reaction to blocked opportunities - cohen argued that behaviours were a result of seeking revenge against society.
However, cohen fails to explore the opportunities for further criminality based on location.
Becker’s interactionist theories of crime and deviance
Becker examined the impact of labelling on individuals in education. He also examined social reactions to the deviance (the outsiders). Claimed that acts are only deviant because society deems them to be. Individuals may not consider these acts to be deviant themself. For example, a fight in sport is not viewed as deviant but a fight on the street is.
Once an activity is labelled as deviant, this label becomes attached to the individual. Based upon the initial deviant action, the individual may be labelled as violent or a thief or junkie. This then becomes their master status, which overrides all other characteristics.
Individual is labelled as deviant, they are then blocked from opportunities and further deviance occurs as a reaction. Self fulfilling prophecy.
Becker focuses on the underdogs of society which gave sociology greater understanding of how criminals were stigmatised. Did little to explain why initial acts of crime were committed. Often sided with criminals rather than the real victims of crime.
Althusser’s Marxist theories of crime and deviance
As a Marxist, Althusser focused on the reproduction of inequality in society. Ruling class controlled the behaviours of the working class through social institutions.
Ideological state apparatus. Where the dominant norms and values are passed on by the ruling class. Effective in making people control their own behaviour. Ideas such as meritocracy made the working class feel as though they did not deserve high status.
Repressive state apparatus. Some people reject the ideology of the ruling class and this renders the ISA ineffective. Social order and control needs to be established through the repressive state apparatus, such as police force, legal system and armed forces to control dissenting voices.
Not based on actual research. People can reject the ideology of the ruling class without resorting to actions which require the RSA to intervene. Democratic principles in the UK require the state to obtain the consent of the masses in order to govern.
Marxist criminogenic capitalism
Marsists suggest that capitalism is responsible for much of the crime committed in society. Bonger (1916) suggested that by its very design, capitalism was criminogenic. Capitalism creates false needs whilst simultaneously denying people the means to achieve these.
Advertising promotes goods and services which people desire despite not needing (false needs). Capitalists keep wages low in order to maximise profit. People turn to crime in order to meet these false needs.
Chambliss (1976) crime is universal throughout the social class system due to the individualistic and utilitarian nature of capitalism. Working class criminals have limited means to commit crime and gravitate towards violent acts and exploitation of weaker individuals. The ruling class have unlimited means and so can commit more subtle forms of crime such as corporate crime (false accounting).
Gordon (1976) capitalism is a dog eat dog society and competition generated leads to criminal activities. Crime is a rational act in order to get ahead of others in competitive positions. Especially in USA, working class criminals commit crime to survive due to reduced welfare safety nets.
Structural inequality caused by capitalist system has been cited by many as a reason for crime. Doesn’t explain why working class criminals don’t target higher social classes for criminal activity. Doesn’t explain why some working class people don’t turn to crime despite precarious financial situations.
Marxist selective law enforcement
Focus on the crimes of the working class leading to more arrests for petty crimes rather than corporate crimes and white collar crime. Perception that street crime is more harmful to society and so law enforcement agencies act on street crime.
2019 - 47,000 knives or sharp instruments related offences in UK.
2019 - 69,000 people seriously injured and 147 died in work related accidents.
Snider (1993) argued that corporate and white collar crime costs society more than street crime. Individuals involved in corporate crime are rarely prosecuted and even less likely to receive custodial sentences. Corporate witnesses for Grenfell injury were given immunity from prosecution for testifying.
Focusing on working class crime causes misrepresentation of working class as criminals. Gordon (1976) prosecutions of corporate crimes suggest that the criminal justice system is fair.
Evidenced by increasing policing of working class and ethnic minority areas. Complex nature of corporate crime and financial power of companies leads to lower rates of conviction. National audit office - fraud cost private sector businesses an estimated £144bn and individuals £10bn in 2015.
Marxist law creation
Marxists argue that the ruling class has control over the ability to make laws. Chambliss argued that the purpose of law was the protect private property from the masses. Laws protecting the interests of the ruling class started to appear with the ownership of private property.
Ruling class utilises connections within elected officials to pass laws that protect private property. Large companies use lobbying groups to pass laws in the interests of the ruling class. The use of the media to make working class activities appear deviant and in need of control.
By criminalising the acts of the working class this benefits the ruling class as they protect their property. Theft, trespass and copyright laws protect the interests of the ruling class who can continue to make profits. Snider pointed out that governments are reluctant to pass laws that interfere with running of businesses.
Tax legislation - allows companies to avoid paying tax in the UK with registered offices in tax havens. Failure to implement recommendations of grenfell inquiry due to cost to businesses. Transatlantic trade and investment partnership abandoned in 2019.
Evaluations
Laws are created for the harmonious running of society.
Laws protect us from violence, theft and fraudulent activities.
Consumer rights legislation protects the rights of consumers.