Functionalist theories of crime Flashcards
What do functionalists believe crime does for society?
- believe deviance challenges value consensus
- see crime as inevitable and universal and every society has some crime and deviance
value consensus = the general agreement of morals within society and what our norms + values are which help to maintain social order
Durkheim (1893) - reasons why crime is within society
socialisation
- believes socialisation leads to social solidarity and lack of it is why social control is around
- social control can be either formal (the police) or informal control (social norms)
Anomie
- the idea of being insufficiently integrated into society’s norms + values
-causes people to become more individualistic and do not show social solidarity and value consensus
- leads to weak CC and people do not follow expectations of society so modern societies have loss of norms which in turn leads to crime
Durkheim’s positive functions of crime
Boundary maintenance - reaffirmation of societys value
- crime produces a reaction from society as seeing a person punished for deviance reinforces morals and this in turn unites members into showing their dissaproval of what is wrong and goes against the norms
- further solidifies what is right and wrong
Adaption and change - change is healthy for society
- all change starts with an act of deviance so there must be some scope for people to be able to change societies norms
- by people committing these deviant acts it allows for society to change and progress through new laws
- leads to change in norms + values
Other sociologists that developed durkheim theories that it has a positive function
-cohen(add him to paragraph about durkeims theory of change)
- says crime and deviance act as a warning for society that something is not working properly and something needs to happen
e.g high levels of truancy indicate problems within the education system
erikson
- believes society is organised to promote deviance and the police want to sustain a certain level of crime rather than get rid of it
- in social situations where deviance might be more prone - allows them to cope with the strains of society because it is the ‘norm’
of that time/place or group e.g underage drinking, protests, drug use
- allows society to manage and control deviance as these can be outlets for the stresses of life
Criticisms of durkheim
- durkheim says that society requires a certain amount of crime to function but when will we know what is the right amount of crime - could be 20% or 60%
-effects of crime strengthen social solidarity but does not mean society created crime with the intention of strengthening solidarity
- however society has become desensitised to crime so they fail to show solidarity and support to the victims involved which does the opposite of strengthening society
social isolation
- can have the opposite effect of solidarity
- can lead to people becoming more isolated in fear of crime e.g forcing women to stay inside for fear of atttack
Merton theories of crime and deviance
- adopted durkheim concept of anomie ( the idea that people are insufficiently integrated into society) to explain deviance but instead interpreted it to mean a disconnection of norms as people know what the norms + values are but they cannot achieve them
- argues that people engage in deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means
legitimate means = education - employment - wealth
illegitimate means = crime - wealth
What two key elements does merton outline?
structural factors
- societys unequal opportunity structure because of western society
- this can be based on class divisions causing people to have more levels of strain
cultural factors
- the strong emphasis on success and goals and the weaker emphasis on using legitimate means to achieve them e.g capitalism
- believes there is a strain between these as they engage in criminal activity when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means
What strains may people experience?
- having children
- unemployement
- low wages
- homelessness
- academic strain
from this people may commit acts such as theft, drugs, abuse, fraud, betting/gambling which could lead to prison, getting in trouble with the law, mental conditions etc.
Why does merton believe that deviance occurs?
- believes it occurs when individuals find that they cannot achieve the success and goals of society in a normal way
- causes a ‘strain’ between goals and peoples abilities to achieve them
- he recognised the importance of shared goals and values of society
- interpreted as anomie to mean a disconnection of norms as people know what the norms and values are but they cannot achieve them
What does merton believe are the 5 responses to value consensus ?
- conformity
- innovation
- ritualism
- retreatism
- rebellion
- believes an individuals position in the social structure will affect the way they adapt or respond to the strain to anomie
What example does merton use to illustrate the strain theory?
The American dream
- in american society there is a great importance attracted to achieving the material goals but no one seems to care where the money comes from
- when the rules are ignored to a greater extent, a situation of anomie occurs where deviance and crime is encouraged
Evaluation of merton
- this theory assumes crime happens because of strain within society such as unemployment, homelessness etc so they do crimes that involves money. Assumes that all crimes involve money when not all crimes are related to money
- assumes people aspire to have the American dream and when it is not able to be fulfilled they turn to crime and deviance - not everyone want to achieve the goal of the American dream
- the w/c benefit because they experience the most strain within society and lack wealth and wealth is seen to be a sign of success
- essentially it targets w/c people and is prejudice because there are people who are well that commit crime
