Crime - functionalist theories of crime Flashcards
whats crime
activities or behaviours that break the laws set by the criminal justice system of a society e.g embezzlement
whats deviance
acts that go against norms and values and are seen as anti-social e.g playing loud music on a bus
what are the types of social construction in crime
contextual
cultural
historical
generational
what do functionalists believe about crime
society cant exist without it and is necessary because of inadequate socialisation and inequality
whats durkheims view on crime
crime is inevitable, normal and positive as in complex modern society, not everyone has the same norms and values
whats durkheims view on positive crime - boundary maintenance
crime produces a reaction that strengthens the existing norms and values, often by punishing the perportrator. brings social solidarity e.g vigils
whats durkheims view on positive crime - adaptation and change
when a law is out of line with the feelings of the majority, legal reform must happen - legitamises social change by reflecting the views of society e.g suffragetes, stonewall
how much crime should society have according to durkheim
too much and society is torn apart, but too little and society wont progress
whats davis view on positive crime
prostitution provides a positive function as it allows men to release sexual frustration without threatening nuclear family - acts as a safety valve
whats polsky view on positive crime
pornography acts as a safety valve - prevents domestic violence
what is cohens view on positive crime
a warning sign that an institution isnt functioning right e.g truancy from school and london riots
whats mertons strain theory
argued people are deviant when theyre unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means, becoming frustrated and gaining them through criminal means (w/c)
whats the american dream
the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society
how does the american dream lead to crime according to merton
places more emphasis on goals rather than legitimate means of how to gain them
what is mertons two factors of crime and deviance
structural factors - society has unequal opportunity structure based on class
cultural - strong emphasis on success goals and weaker on legitimate ways of achieveing them
whats mertons first adaptation to strain - conformity
accepts goals and the means - most of americans: people who want to achieve the goals of society and have opportunity to do so
whats mertons second adaptation to strain - innovation
accepts goals but reject means - people who want to achieve the goals but turn to illegitimate means e.g career criminals, drug dealers
whats mertons third adaptation to strain - ritualism
reject goals but accepts means - people who give up on achieving goals but believe its their own fault as they had the means to do so, carry on in dead-end jobs
whats mertons fourth adaptation to strain - retreatism
reject both goals and means - e.g homeless people
whats mertons fifth adaptation to strain - rebellion
form their own goals and means to accept society e.g gangs, terrorists
whats a marxist evaluation of merton
criminalises the poor and ignores that the rich commit crimes
what are other evaluations for merton
only explains utilitarian crime (monetary gain) and not violent crimes
focuses on individuals and ignores the role groups play in crime
subcultural strain theory - what does a.k cohen say about merton (2 criticisms)
agreed with merton that crime is mainly a w/c occurance, but criticises him in 2 ways - fails to account for group crime & fails to explain violent crimes (only explains utilitarian crime)
what is a.k cohens status frustration theory
focused on w/c boys in school who fail to succeed in m/c environments - cohen says this failure makes them likely to join delinquent subcultures
whats alternative status hierchy - a.k cohen
Cohen believes that these delinquent subcultures offer an illegitimate opportunity structure for working class boys who couldn’t get it in the mainstream legitimate way. These subcultures give ways to achieve status by delinquent behaviour
subcultural strain theory - what do cloward and ohlin say about merton
agree that people have unequal access to legitimate opportunity structure but they say some have unequal access to illegitimate opportunity structure too
cloward and ohlin 3 subcultures - criminal subcultures
these provide ‘apprenteships’ for utilitarian crime, existing in areas with stable criminal cultures and involve criminal hierarchies e.g drug dealers have a boss, underboss, associates etc
cloward and ohlin 3 subcultures - conflict subcultures
gang organised by young people, based on claiming territory e.g turf wars, gangs. allows young mens frustration with blocked opportunities, finds alternative status
cloward and ohlin 3 subcultures - retreatist
formed of people who fail in both legitimate and illegitimate means, may turn to illegal drugs and alcohol, known as ‘double failures’ e.g junkies
what are evaluations of cloward and ohlins subcultures
ignores crimes done by the wealthy, instead all w/c
however it provides explainations for different types of crimes/subcultures and those who engage in violent crimes
