Sociological Theories Of Crime Flashcards
What are the four sociological theories of crime?
Functionalism
Marxism
Interactionism
Realism
What do functionalists argue about crime in society?
Believe crime is functional for society- helps society run smoothly
Crime only becomes dysfunctional when the rate of crime is too low or too high
Who is the main functionalist and what does he argue about crime ?
Durkheim
He argues crime strengthens social cohesion, reinforces value consensus and sets boundaries
How does functionalists argue crime promotes social solidarity?
Shared outrage leads to people expressing public temper; we all share the same values, referred to as collective conscience
Who refers to deviance as a ‘safety valve’?
What is an example of this?
Davis
Letting of steam through prostitution is less threatening than committing rape- prevents worse crime
How does crime set boundaries?
Once someone commits a crime they are punished, showing others in society what is accepted and what is not; public punishing reinforces this
How is Durkheim criticised?
He does not explain why an individual commits crime- if we all follow the same value consensus there shouldn’t be crime
Doesn’t consider the negative impacts of crime
Doesn’t take into account those with powers to dodge the law
Who came up with the concept of the ‘strain theory’?
Merton
What is the ‘strain theory’?
There are clear goals in society and means to achieve them, however when people can achieve these goals through legitimate means they seek alternatives
What does Merton mean by a strain towards anomie?
If alternative means become accepted and even preferred then anomie will occur- goal becomes more important than the means
What are Merton’s five modes of adaption?
Conformity- earning money in legitimate ways eg, working hard at school
Innovation- individual has goals but not the means, is prepared to ‘bend’ the rules
Retreatism- those struggling to achieve may drop out of society, often reject family/friends
Ritualism- lowering aspirations as some don’t strive for great wealth; lack ambition
Rebellions- reject society’s goals but replace them with alternatives
How is Merton’s theory criticised?
A person may fall in more than one category of the modes
More goals in life rather than financial success eg family love etc
Déviance can be communal not just individual
What do interactionists argue about crime?
Believe crime is subjective; result of judgments and assumptions
Labels are given which influence people to turn to crime
What does interactionists believe about official statistics?
They are socially constructed
Not a true reflection of crime
What is a ‘master status’
When someone is constantly given a label people respond to this and they are know as the label- link behaviour to this
What is self fulfilling prophecy?
Person who’s given a label lives up to the label which affects their self-concept
Who referred to the two types of deviance and what are they?
Edwin Lemert
Primary deviance- deviant act not socially labelled as deviant
Secondary deviance- an act labelled as deviant
What is the impact of public labelling?
Media demonises people socially labelled as deviant- creates moral panic making those appear as folk devils
Deviancy amplification
What are the studies on labelling?
Plummer: ‘deviant career’- when a person comes out they get labelled as homosexual which becomes their master status
Malinowski: studied Trobriand islands, found that when someone was public-ally accused of incest there was uproar when normally people turned a blind eye.
Becker: only when something is public is when it becomes a serious issue
What are the criticisms of interactionists?
Ignores other social factors influencing crime; socialisation, attitudes, opportunities.
Not everyone who is labelled turns to crime.
Most people are labelled after committing an act of crime eg rapist/murderer.
Cant be certain labelling increases deviancy.
What is deviancy amplification?
Once moral panic has been created in society, those labelled as deviant appear as folk devils which marginalises and alienates them in society.
This amplifies the situation as that deviant person finds it difficult to change the publics opinion.
What are the impacts of deviancy amplification?
Police crackdown of certain groups in the public; stop and searches
Increase in publicity in the media
Stereotyping
What do Marxists argue about crime?
Capitalism creates crime in society as there is inequalities between the classes in society.
Those in lower classes don’t have the same opportunities as higher classes so turn to illegitimate ways to achieve
What are the names used for the rich and the poor in society.
Rich= Bourgeoisie Poor= Proletariat
What do Marxists argue about social control?
Formal and informal control reinforce this capitalist view on crime. Different social classes are policed differently; working class are more heavily policed so therefore more crime is detected
What does Marxist Box argue?
Explains murder is ‘avoidable killing’
For example- a director of a company cuts health and safety regulations to save money but an accident occurs where people die. These deaths were avoidable but not seen as that serious.
Usually committed by the rich and powerful - unpunished
What does Marxist Bonger argue about crime?
There is a clear link between crime and economic conditions
Crime is caused by poverty- poor conditions, lack of money
How can crime be seen as a rational response?
Depending on someone’s situation crime can be seen as rational
For example- a mother has no money and needs to feed her children, she steals so she can provide
What does Marxist Chambliss argue about crime?
Capitalism creates the desire to want the latest things and therefore people are willing to turn to crime to access these
For example trainers and technology
What are the 2 types of realism?
Right and Left Realism
What do right realists believe about crime?
They see crime from a political perspective and argue we should get tougher on crime.
Who is the leading right realist?
Charles Murray
Why does Charles Murray say someone is more likely to commit crime?
He argues that those who don’t have strong ‘social bonds’ are more likely to commit crime.
eg: how attached someone is to family/friends
commitment towards their job
strong beliefs/morals
What does Murray say about the ‘underclass’?
Boys who grow up in the underclass will end up turning to crime to prove their masculinity - as they don’t have the appropriate role models
What do right realists argue crime is a result of?
Poor social control
What right realist suggests long term trends in crime are due to 3 factors?
Wilson
What are right realist Wilson’s 3 factors for long term trends in crime?
- young males are aggressive and have short-term prospects
- social and cultural changes in society, that influence peoples norms/values
- economy/availability of jobs at certain times
What are the criticisms of right realism?
Focus too much on street crime
Accept crime statistics as realistic
ignore the wider causes of crime- poverty etc
ignore the gap between the rich and the poor- creates resentment
What are the strengths of right realism?
Offers a more realistic approach to tackle crime
Research by Flood Page et al supports the view of decline of the family - lone parent boys are found to be more likely to offend
What do left realists believe about crime?
They believe crime occurs due to inequalities created by capitalism
Why do left realists argue capitalism creates crime?
Capitalism encourages people to want the latest things - people will commit crime to have the desirable things in society.
Those motivated by consumerism and materialism turn to crime
Why do left realists say poorer people turn to crime?
They are excluded in society- steal to try and fit in
They live in relative deprivation
What do left realists say needs to happen to tackle the problem pop crime?
Gradual social change- wealth distributed more equally
Education improved for all
Raise living standards
What do both realists argue about punishments?
Right: believe punishments should be tougher on crime
Left: believe punishments should not be tougher, rehabilitation should take place
What are the criticisms of left realists?
Doesn’t explain why not all people in relative deprivation turn to crime
Is a mixture of other theories
Fails to address white collar crime
Who came up with the ‘broken windows’ idea?
Wilson and Kelling
What is the broken windows idea?
Wilson and Kelling argue that areas where there is low levels of crime can escalate into potentially more crime:
Good people move out of an area and deviant move in influencing more crime- the worse an area looks the more deviant the area is.
