Crime and Deviance Flashcards
what does Durkheim say about society?
-we have a valued CONSENSUS
-there are NORMS which people are expected to follow.
-by following these norms and values, it creates SOCIAL SOLIDARITY.
the purpose of the process of SOCIALISATION, is to teach us the norms and values of society.
why does Durkheim say crime is not inevitable
-not everyone is socialised into the same norms and values
-diversity of lifestyles in modern society - weakens the collective conscience.
example of behaviour in modern society that has become weak
divorce
5 key positive functions of crime
1.BOUNDARY MAINTENANCE: crime reaffirms shared values and social solidarity. - people come together to condemn wrongdoers.
2.ADAPTIATION AND CHANGE: all changes start with an act of deviance.
3.SAFETY VALVE:
Davis: prostitution acts as a safety valve for men to release their sexual frustration.
Polsky: pornography safely channels men away from committing adultery.
4.WARNING: crime acts as a warning for when an institution isn’t functioning properly.
5.LISCENCED DEVIANCE: the functions of agencies of social control i.e police - sustain a certain level of deviance
what is a criticism of the functionalist view on functions of crime?
-functionalist fails to ask ‘funtional for whom?’
-ignores how the crime impacts individuals.
what is strain theory’s main argument
they argue that people engage in deviant behaviour when they can’t achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means.
2 elements of strain theory
STRUCTURED FACTORS: society’s unequal opportunity structure
CULTURAL FACTORS: strong emphasis on success goals and the weaker emphasis on using legitimate means to achieve them
for Merton, deviance is the result of strain between 2 things:
1) the goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve.
2) what the institutional society allows them to achieve.
what is the american dream?
how american culture values ‘money success’ and high status
5 of Merton’s adaptations to strain:
CONFORMITY: by conforming to the norms and values of society, people achieve their goals.
INNOVATION: people may not be able to use legitimate means so instead turn to crime
RITUALISM: giving up on goals but still going on about life as normal
RETREATISM: people give up on crime and believe there is no point in trying to achieve them, so turn to crime
REBELLION: rebelling against society and rejecting their goals.
evaluating strain theory
-assumes there is a value consensus to earn money ; ignores possibility that not everyone may share this goal.
-only accounts for utilitarian (money) crimes.
what is meant by a subculture?
groups that deviate from norms and values of society
what do subcultures provide according to the theory?
subcultures provide an alternative opportunity structure for those who cannot achieve in legitimate ways. –
from this point of view, subcultures are solutions to problems and are therefore functional for members.
Cohen’s evaluation on merton’s strain theory
agrees but disagrees with merton’s strain theory.
AGREES that deviance is a L/C phenomenon - deviance occurs when members of L/C struggle to achieve mainstream goals in legitimate ways.
DISAGREES - merton ignores that much deviance is committed in or by groups.
only focuses on utilitarian crimes rather than other crimes such as assault and vandalism.
cohen’s study (1955): status frustration and alternative status hierarchy.
-w/c boys face material and cultural deprivation.
-they are placed in lower status in school because of not having required skills to achieve highly.
-they become frustrated with their status.
-boys then invert mainstream values through a subculture of deviance.
-providing an alternative hierarchy status
evaluation of Cohen’s study
provides what merton’s theory lacks- an explanation for no-economic crimes such as vandalism and assault.
Cloward and Ohlin
agree and build upon Merton’s ideas
came up with 3 different subcultures which respond in different ways to people’s lack of opportunities.
CRIMINAL SUBCULTURE: youths associate with adult criminals who act as role models and provide them with opportunities as criminal
CONFLICT SUBCULTURE: emerges in high population turnovers- results in high levels of social disorganisation preventing a stable criminal network developing.
here violence acts as a release of frustration.
RETREATIST SUBCULTURE: individuals are seen as ‘double failures’ - they fail as a law abiding citizen as well as a criminal.
Miller
L/C don’t value success to begin with- meaning they are not frustrated to be failures
South
the drug trade is both criminal and conflict- this theory states you can only be part of one subculture when this may not always be the case
Matza
delinquents are not strongly committed to their subcultures.
Strain Theory
official statistics provide an accurate picture of crime patterns
main aim of these theories is to discover the causes of crime and to provide solutions to the ‘problem of crime’
Labelling Theory (Becker)
do not regard OS as hard facts but social constructs.
asking how and why people commit and why some acts are labelled as deviant
symbolic interactionism
individuals construct social world though face to face interactions.
Becker
crime is socially constructed
no act is inherently deviant and criminal- it only comes to be deviant when people label it as such.
‘Deviance is in the eye of the holder’
The role of moral entrepreneurs
people who lead moral campaigns to change the law.
NEW EFFECTS:
creation of a new group called ‘outsiders’
creation / expansion of social control agencies to enforce laws
Pillivan and Brier
police decisions to arrest youths are often based on physical cues
CLASS AGE GENDER ETHNICITY.
Cicourel: The Negotiation of Justice
officer’s decisions on who to arrest were mainly based on stereotypes and typifications.
justice is not fixed but negotiable
The Dark Figure of Crime
top of the iceberg - crimes that have been reported and recorded.
bottom of the iceberg: crimes that have NOT been reported or recorded.
