Crime and Deviance- Sociologists

Question 1

Durkheim- What crimes have in common

Answer 1

They’re all acts that are disapproved of by the society in which they take place.

Question 2

Durkheim Key Functions of Crime

Answer 2

Functionalist

• Reminds everyone of boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour
• Creates social cohesion in the unified sense of shock a community feels.
• Safety Valve- for example prostitution saving a marriage if one of the partners sleeps with someone else.
• Adaption and change- creating change in a society- for example people questioned why homosexuality was wrong and it went on to become legal.

Question 3

Criticisms of Durkheim

Answer 3

• that many crimes damage communities and harm victims, as opposed to performing a positive role
• that his functions are relevant to a smaller scale society as opposed to large scale, modern, industrial societies
• Marxists would say it ignores the functions of crime concerning power, and how the law functions in the interest of the bourgeoisie.

Question 4

Merton’s Strain Theory

Answer 4

A structural theory explaining the causes of crime and deviance in terms of anomie.
Culturally defined goals (of economic success)-> Limited opportunities to access the means (opportunities)-> strain and anomie (working class people who don't have the means (opportunities) to succeed through legitimate (socially acceptable) mean, so there is a mismatch between goals and means, leading to a condition of anomie, leading to the person turning to crime to achieve the goals.

Question 5

Anomie

Answer 5

a situation of normlessness in which the norms that regulate people’s behaviour break down.

Question 6

Responses to Strain (Merton)

Answer 6

• Conformist
• Innovator
• Ritualist
• Retreatist
• Rebel

Question 7

Marxism- Capitalist Values

Answer 7

1. Materialism- having as much money and possessions as possible
2. Consumerism- having the newest stuff
3. Competition- that we’re in competition with eachother to have the best stuff
   -Media fuels this (adverts etc)
   People then think to be the best they have to have the best and newest stuff, so they break the law, eg steal stuff instead.