Perspectives Of Crime Flashcards
The functionalist perspective of crime
Functionalism - the source of crime is in the structure of society
The benefits - Durkheim:
Crime is inevitable, it leads to new/changes in law
- Sarah’s Law - record of child abuse
Durkheim states crime benefits as;
- Acts as a warning device
- Enables social change
Merton - Strain Theory:
Crime took place when there was a clash between the goals and how they are obtained
Everyone aimed for material success
Mertons modes of adaptations:
- Conformity - accept goals and means to achieve them
- Innovation - accepts goals but uses different means to achieve them
- Retreatism - rejects goals and means (druggie)
Cohen - Status Frustration:
They believe in the goals but their experience of education don’t give them legitimate means to achieve them
This is status frustration and to combat this they join delinquent subcultures
E.G: Robbing, Fighting, Rude
Hirschi - bonds of attachment:
Explains why we don’t commit crime because of Strong Social bonds
AO3:
x doesn’t explain white m/c crime
CONSIDER OR FOR IT IS OR IS NOT USEFUL
Subcultural theories of crime
Cohen - the delinquent subculture:
1) w/c boys want success but can’t achieve it
2) suffer from status frustration
3) an alternate set of norms and values are formed
Cloward + Ohlin - Illegitimate Opportunity Structure
- an illegal career within a subculture which means they achieve societal goals
Criminal Subcultures - utilitarian crimes
(Innovation)
Conflict Subcultures - status is achieved by violent acts — (Rebellion)
Retreatist Subcultures - drug abuse
(Retreatist)
Millers Focal Concerns
w/c values that encourage law breaking:
- Smartness - witty
- Trouble - create trouble
- Excitement - seek thrills
- Toughness - physically strong
- Autonomy - not to be pushed around
- Fate - fatalistic values
- Willis - “The lads”
- Parker - “w/c Scousers”
Charles Murray:
- Welfare Dependecy
- Perverse Incentives
- Lone Parenthood
- deviant subcultures
Matza - Techniques of Neutralisation:
- Denial of Responsibly, of victim, of injury
- appeal to higher loyalties:
More important issues were at stake
AO3:Taylor - underclass exists because of inequality and less job opportunities
AO3: Matza - Techniques of neutralisation (denial of responsibility)
AO3: Subterranean Values - crime can occur because we enter a state of drift
Interactionist Perspective of Crime
Becker - Labelling:
1) Moral Entrepreneurs label behaviour as deviant
2) other see them within the label
3) Becomes a master status
4) Individual sees them self within the label
5) produces a SFP
6) Develop a deviant career
Stan Cohen:
Moral Panics create a folk devil
Media create Symbolic Shorthand:
Characteristics of a criminal e.g: Clothing
Jock Young - Labelling and MJ use:
MJ use Retreatist subcultures from society
Lemert - Primary + Secondary Devience
Primary - insignificant acts, that are not labelled - e.g: Speeding
Secondary - committing a publicly labelling act - e.g: drug use
Goffman - Mental Patients
Mortification Process - individuals identity is removed - (given a number)
Society creates a secondary devience
Circourel - Typifications:
Typifications are stereotypes of what a typical criminal is like
This leads to higher arrests of Young Black Males…
Negotiation Of Justice:
Those who aren’t typified can negotiate their way out of an arrest
Marxist perspective of crime
(Meta-narrative theory)
Gordon - Criminogenic Capitalism
Poverty - crime is the only way to survive
Consumer goods - use crime to get it
Alienation - violence being used
As capitalism is “dog eat dog” - white collar crime can occur between m/c
Selective Law Enforcement:
- criminals are “social failures”
- imprisonment of w/c opposition
- justification of imprisonment
Chambliss - The State + Law making:
Law enforcement serves the need of capitalists
- Laws to protect private property is the cornerstone of a capitalist economy
- Organised Crime is major in the WEST
so authorities turn a blind eye to crime by senior figures
Pearce - Ideological Functions:
Laws such as health and safety act appear to benefit the w/c
Pearce argues this creates a fake caring face of capitalism
The w/c blame criminals instead of capitalism
Neo-Marxism:
A structuralist and interactionist approach + looks at why ppl comit crime
EXAMPLE: Labelling due to capitalism (social failures) leads to crime
Postmodernist perspective of crime
(Meta-narrative theory)
Crime is a social construction
Henry and Milovanovic:
Crime is people using power to show disrespect and harm:
- Harms of Reduction - power is used to cause immediate loss or injury
- Harms of Repression - power is used to restrict further human development
e.g: Sexual Harassment
(EACH CRIME IS UNIQUE)
Katz and Lyng - Edge-work:
Katz - crime is seductive due to it being Thrilling
Lyng - edge-work is committing crime for thrills as it is borderline security and danger - (explains non-utilitarian crimes)
Postmodernism - Surveillance:
Surveillance promotes conformity and prevents crime:
This is penetrating more aspects of our social lives as we have surveillance like CCTV
Left Realist perspective of crime
LR - takes crime seriously and argues Most crime is committed by w/c against the w/c
- they focus on the victims
Lea + Young - Marginalisation:
There is a growing army of young and unemployed w/c societies
- lack of goals and obtainable interests
3 Key Concepts:
- Relative Deprivation
-Marginalisation
- Subcultures
:Cause crime
Bulimic Society:
Those who commit crime are not prepared to give up the idea of not being able to afford material goods
(Won’t vomit the idea out)
Growing Individualism - we are focused on our self’s and less about others
Understanding and Tackling Crime*:
It is important to study the relationship between these 4 elements:
- Formal Social Control -how law reacts
- Informal Social Control - how ppl react
- Offender - why they did it
- Victim - why they are a victim
SOLUTIONS;
- Improve Community Cohesion
- Tackle Deprivations
- Restorative Justice
- Democratic Control Of Policing
Right Realist perspective of Crime
RR = heavy punishment will deter crime
Features of Right Realism:
- Community Control
- Crime will always exist
- Rational Choice
Rational Choice Theory - Cornish and Clarke:
The cost of crime Vs the rewards are considered by a criminal, crime therefore occurs when the benefits outweigh the cost
Broken Windows Thesis - Wilson and Kelling:
Deterioration of neighbourhoods happen when anti-social behaviour is normalised
When a person sees an area that looks uncared for, crime occurs
Murray:
crime is as a result of the underclass, his solution is promoting nuclear families and getting people back into work
Right-Realist Solutions:
1) Zero-Tolerance
2) CCTV
3) Target Hardening
4) Deterrence Sentences
