Functionalism - Durkheim

Question 1

Durkheim

Answer 1

sees crime as an integral part of a healthy society

he sees crime and deviance as inevitable as people are always going to test the boundaries

argues that a value consensus is important because if it doesn’t exist then anomie will occur

Question 2

Durkheim - Upright consciousness

Answer 2

stresses the importance of social solidarity and how certain events bring people together

Durkheim sees crime as one of these events because we all share an ideas of what’s right an wrong, a ‘collective conscience’

a collective conscience may be expressed through a shared sense of shock, outrage etc

Question 3

Durkheim - Anomie

Answer 3

a small amount of crime and deviance can prevent anomie, as long as it’s punished

too much can result in a breakdown of social order, threatening society’s stability

as normal order is removed, deviance and criminality may increase

Question 4

Safety Valve

Answer 4

deviance can act as a safety valve allowing individuals to ‘let off steam’ preventing worse deviance

Question 5

Davis (1961)

Answer 5

suggests that due to sexual behaviour being restricted to the family context, this can create conflict leading to rape or promiscuity. Thus, prostitution, which isn’t as damaging to society, is a ‘safe’ outlet for these sexual tensions

Question 6

Evaluating Durkheim

Answer 6

his ideas are very influential and can be applied to real life

he doesn’t explain WHY individuals commit crime - if we all share a value consensus, why do some still break the law

he doesn’t explain WHY it happens
why some people DO IT MORE than others
why people are deviant in DIFFERENT WAYS
he doesn’t consider the NEGATIVE EFFECTS of crime