Functionalism and Crime

Question 1

Durkheim - Functionalism

Answer 1

• Crime is functional and positive
• where there are elements of dysfunction, this is a sign of anomie
• Crime is as a result of modernity
- due to secularisation, there is a weakened value consensus where now people are more likely to experience anomie

Question 2

Anomie

Answer 2

Anomie is the breaking down of rules, morals, values and standards
• Normlessness
• Causes society to be less integrated and more individualistic

Question 3

Why is crime inevitable?

Answer 3

• Not everyone is equally socialised into the exact same shared norms and values
• There is a diversity of lifestyles and values
-> what mainstream culture may see as deviant may be normal in a subculture

Question 4

Durkheim: Boundary Maintenance

Answer 4

• Crime produces a reaction from society, members are united in order to condemn
the wrongdoer
• punishment is to reaffirm society’s social solidarity
• Cohen (1972): media coverage of crime often creates “folk-devils”

Question 5

Durkheim: Adaption & Change

Answer 5

• All change starts with a form of deviance
-> people within society must have some scope to challenge and change existing norms and values
• If those with new views are surpresed, society will stagnate and be unable to make necessary adaptive changes
• :( Too much crime threatens to tear the bonds of society apart while too little crime means that society is over-controlling it’s members

Question 6

Davis: Safety Valve

Answer 6

Crime acts as a safety valve for men to release their sexual frustration without threatening the traditional nuclear family
- Polsky (1967): pornography channels a variety of sexual desires away from alternatives such as adultery