Crime And Deviance Flashcards
Summarise functionalists view on crime:
- Society is based on value consensus + social solidarity.
- 2 reasons Crime is inevitable: (Durkheim)
1- Not everyone socialised into same norms/values
2- Complex modern societies, diff groups develop own Subcultures.
2 positive functions of crime:
1- BOUNDARY MAINTENANCE: Crime produces reaction from society, uniting members + reinforcing shared N&Ms.
Purpose of punishment > reinforce social solidarity
(Rituals of courtroom)
Cohen ~ Role of media (dramatisation of evil) + media coverage of crime creates FOLK DEVILS.
2- ADAPTION + CHANGE: (Durkheim). All change starts with act of deviance.
Individuals must have scope to challenge existing N&Ms.
(Authorities persecute religious visionaries who bring new message, later find that it gives new morality.
- Davis ~ SAFTEY VALVE. (Prostitution makes marriage stable, adultery not needed)
- Cohen ~ Crime acts as a WARNING. Tells us when an institution is not functioning properly.
Criticisms of Functionalism + crime:
- Crime doesn’t always promote solidarity. May lead to people being more isolated (women indoors due to fear of attack)
- Just because crime strengthens solidarity, doesn’t meant this is why it exists in the first place
- Ignores how crime affects individuals + groups.
(Not functional for victim)
Summarise Mertons Strain theory:
Strain theory ~ People engage in deviant behaviour as they’re unable to achieve goals by legitimate needs.
Deviance result of strain between 2 things:
- Goals culture encourages Individuals to achieve
- What institutional structure of society allows them to achieve legitimately.
The American Dream:
- American dream tells Americans that society is meritocratic.
- However, disadvantaged groups denied opportunities, so they get frustrated + turned to crime.
- American culture puts more pressure on achieving success rather than legitimate means.
Summarise the 5 responds to strain theory:
CONFORMITY: Accept culturally approved goals + try to achieve them legitimately. (Middle class)
INNOVATION: Individuals accept goals but use “new” illegitimate means such as theft.
RITUALISM: Give up on trying to achieve goals, but internalised legitimate means. (9-5 workers)
RETREATISM: Reject both goals + legitimate ways to get them. (Druggies)
REBELLION: Reject societies goals + replace with new ones. (Political radicals)
Criticisms of Strain theory:
- Not everyone shares materialistic views.
- ignores roles of group deviance. (Delinquent subcultures)
- Ignores powers of the working class.
Summarise Cohen’s status frustration + alternative status hierarchy:
- Cohen focuses on deviance among
W/c boys. They face anomie in m/c dominated school system. > bottom of status hierarchy. - So boys suffer from status frustration.
Resolves this by forming/ joining delinquent subculture, by rejecting mainstream m/c values.
Alternative status hierarchy:
- Subcultures inverts values of mainstream.
- Subculture offers alternative status hierarchy.
- Boys create own illegitimate structure, where they gain status through peers through delinquent actions.
Criticisms of Cohen’s status frustration:
- Cohen assumes that W/c boys start off sharing m/c success goals.
Ignores the possibility that they don’t share these goals + never see themselves as failures.
Summarise Cloward + Ohlins 3 subcultures:
- They try to explain why diff subcultural responses occur.
Reason: Unequal access too ILLEGITIMATE opportunities - Study of Chicago school: Found diff neighbourhoods provide illegitimate opportunities for young ppl, to develop criminal careers.
3 types of deviant subcultures:
1) CRIMINAL SUBCULTURES: Young associate with adult criminals + provide them opportunities for criminal careers.
2) CONFLICT SUBCULTURES: Results in violence. They can earn by winning territory from rival gangs.
3) RETREATIST SUBCULTURES: “Double failures”. Fail in illegitimate + legitimate opportunities. Based on illegal drug use.
Criticisms of Cloward + Ohlin:
- Matza ~ Delinquents are not strongly committed to oke subculture. They drift in and out of diff ones.
- Miller ~ Lower class has own independent subculture, who don’t value success in first place. So they’re not annoyed by failure.
Summarise the labelling theory + Becker:
Becker: Not the nature of the act that makes it deviant, it’s SOCIET’Y’S REACTION to the act.
- Moral Entrepreneurs ~ People who lead to a moral “crusade” to change the law
- Social control agencies may change law to increase own power.
(Marijuana) - Labels depend on factors:
~ Interactions with agencies of social control
~ Background, appearance
~ Situation + Circumstance of offence
Summarise Cicourels negotiation of justice + Social construction of crome stats:
Cicourel : Officers TYPIFICATIONS (stereotypes of what delinquents look like), led them to concentrate on certain types.
- Led to law enforcement + class bias, w/c areas people fitted typifications + so were closely monitered.
- Agents of social control also hold these stereotypes. (Probation officers)
- Justice is not fixed, its NEGOTAIABLE. m/c youth arrested, they’re less likely to be charged + parents can ngeotiate easily.
Social construction of OCS: (INTERACTIONISTS)
- Stats dont give valid picture of patterns of crime + cannot be used as facts for crime.
- OCS should be topic to duscuss + investigate the process that created them.
- Statistics are just counts of decisions made by social control agents.
Summarise Primary + Secondary deviance:
- Primary Deviance ~ The act that has not been publically labelled.
Generally not seen as deviant. - Secondary Deviance ~ Result of societal reaction. When you’re publically labelled + stigmatised.
- May result in Master Status (label overrides all other identities)
May result in a crisis in their self concept > accepts the label (self fulfilling prophecy) - Secondary deviance provokes more hostile reactions > may lead into Deviant Careers.
(Mods and rockers) - Hostile societal reaction creates deviance.
Summarise Deviance Amplification spiral:
- Term used to describe the process where control of deviance, leads to an Increase in the level of deviance.
- More and more control > more and more deviance
- Cohen: Fold devils (actions are “over labelled”)
“Mods and rockers” caused moral panic which led to more deviance - To reduce deviance, we should make less rules + should do less of naming and shaming publically,
Disentregative shaming ~ Crime + criminal is labelled bad
Reintrgrative shaming ~ Labels the act, not the actor.
Criticisms of labelling theory::
- Tends to focus on less serioud crimes
- Implies that without, deviance would not exist.
- Ignores that some may actually choose deviance.
Briefly summaruse what Marxists believe of class and crime?
- Capialist society determines structure, which is made up of institiutions, state + law.
- Function is to serve ruling class
- Crome has 3 main elements:
1) Capitalism is Criminogenic
2) State + selective law making
2) Ideological function of crime
