Functionalist Subculture Theories of Crime Flashcards

1
Q

Albert Cohen - delinquent subcultures

A

Cohen studied delinquent gang members in low income inner cities in the USA. He argued that young working class boys often find it hard to achieve success by society’s conventional means. The boys in his studies often left as though they had been defined as ‘losers’, resulting in them feeling a sense of status frustration, leading to joining delinquent subcultures, committing non utilitarian crimes in order to gain positive recognition by their peers.

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2
Q

Albert Cohen - criticisms

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Cohen assumes all individuals start life sharing society’s values - the cultural deprivation theory counters this. Fails to consider external aspects.
Why do people of higher classes commit crimes? Why don’t all people from working class backgrounds experiencing status frustration commit crime?
Plenty of crimes don’t bring status - how does Cohen make sense of those?

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3
Q

Cloward and Ohlin - subcultural theories of crime and deviance

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Studied gang behaviour in the USA, believed that Cohen failed to consider the different types of gangs and how environmental factors can often influence these.
The criminal subculture:
Gangs that are well structured and have a clear hierarchy, but there is still an illegitimate opportunity structure that exists. They learn ‘tricks of the trade’ from criminal role models and are involved in crimes that have financial rewards. Prisons are sometimes referred to as the ‘universities of crime’.
The conflict subculture:
Gangs that are poorly structured with no clear leadership. There is no illegitimate opportunity structure and members are not successful criminals. These groups focus on violence and fighting over ‘turfs’ and ‘patches’. Formed in areas that lack a form of social control.
The retreatist subculture:
Gangs that aren’t criminal or violent but are instead loosely organised and usually involve members ‘hanging around’ and getting drunk and high. Could be working class or higher class youths, usually formed in areas with lack of investment.

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4
Q

Cloward and Ohlin - criticisms

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Outdated (theory was made in 1961), the nature of gangs changed over time and show elements of all three subcultures now.

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5
Q

Street gangs - 18th street

A

Shows elements of all 3 subcultures. 60% of members are illegal immigrates.

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6
Q

County lines - drug trafficking in rural areas in the UK

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Children, young people, vulnerable people are targeted, mainly those without a criminal record, but still in materially and culturally deprived positions. They have ‘clean skins’ and it can be possible to successfully cuckoo their property.
This links to Cohen’s research through the need for positive recognition by doing these crimes and succeeding in the gang and delinquent subcultures.
This links to Cloward and Ohlin’s research by sticking to the criminal and conflict subcultures: through ‘remote mothering’ by older members and using threats of violence to ‘underlings’ wanting to leave the gang.

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7
Q

Walter Miller - lower class subcultures

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There are a number of different value systems which different groups follow. The working class have a distinct set of cultural values that can often be seen to stand in opposition to those of wider society. These are certain ‘core values’ which Miller refers to as ‘focal concerns’.
- acting tough, leading to fights,
- being ‘smart’ and ‘witty’ by conning people,
- searching for excitement through joy-riding and robbery.
Since working class youth often place importance on these values, it is unsurprising that they often commit crime or other deviant acts. These values become a defining feature of behaviours they exhibit, creating gangs of those who share the same values.

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8
Q

Walter Miller criticisms - David Matza, delinquency and drift

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Weakened bonds (Hirschi) and lacking a sense of identity and direction can put young people in a state of drift. In this state, peer groups can provide a sense of identity, excitement and status. However, despite being vulnerable to delinquency, young people do not have a commitment to criminal or deviant activity, since they express remorse or attempt to justify their actions. Matza calls these techniques of neutralisation. This shows that young people share society’s values but occasionally go against them. Subcultural theories are accused of over-exaggerating the extent of youth, gang related crime.
- denial of responsibility
- denial of injury to victim
- denial of victim
- condemnation of condemners
- appeal to higher loyalties
As they get older, most young people age out of crime, showing that subcultural theories are wrong to assume people stay committed to crime and deviance. Can also criticise Densley and Stevens, Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin’s research too.

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9
Q

Densley and Stevens - gang talk

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Interviewed 69 self confessed gang members in London.
These researchers define gangs as self formed associations of peers in criminal activities. They found that there are 4 outcomes to a gang members career, impacting the rest of their life:
- increased violence
- increased victimisation
- regular contact with the police
- strong prospect of imprisonment
Densley and Stevens also found that gang life is linked with poverty: the members often felt forced to commit crime due to feeling regulated to neglected by society, seeing no valuable employment and consumption in their current lives, and it’s a fast way to make quick money.
‘White society’ can also be something to blame. Gang members may not see opportunities for jobs as black graduates, and can suffer from generational racism, racist policing, racist stereotyping, leading to a master stereotype and conforming to said stereotype.
Possible gang members are given a criteria to ‘screen and select’, based on likelihood of them contributing to the reputation of the gang, protecting existing members from police scrutiny and local rivals, prior connections with current gang members.
However, when they eventually age out of the gang, ex gang members face a lot of struggles. Criminal records, violent reputations, scars, tattoos and continued labelling and suspicion from their community all contribute to uncertain futures outside the gang, who can likely try to ‘take revenge’ for leaving.

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10
Q

Street gangs - the Blood and the Crips

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The Crips and the Bloods, two majority-Black street gangs founded in Los Angeles (LA), California, have been engaged in a gang war since the 1970s.

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