Theories Flashcards
Durkheim, causes of crime
Inadequate socialisation
Diversity of lifestyles and values
Anomie- occurs during rapid change, structural cause (loss or normallessness), a loss of norms which makes it more likely for a person to commit a crime as they are more disconnected from society
Durkheim, positive functions of crime
Social change, defying laws seen as outdated, Helps society to function more effectively, corrects laws.
Reaffirm boundaries - boundary maintenance
clarify the boundaries of acceptable behaviour, feel secure, Speeding tolerated but pedophillia is not
Social cohesion - collective consensus
crime can create social integration, bonds society against certain criminals and crime e.g terrorism
Durkheim, social cohesion
Crime can create a social integration
Bonds society against crimes
Merton, strain theory
Goals and means of society
Agree goals and ways to how achieve these aims for everyone in society
Goals, eg wealth, success
Mean, eg hard work
American dream
Strain, Unequal access to goals and means, response can be crime
Functionalism, subcultural theory
Marxism, cause of crime
Changes to the labour market
Globalisation causing deindustrialisation, business moving their production to counties with less work regulation, increase of crimes against the wc
Lash and urry, disorganised capitalism where businesses move to LEDs for cheap labour and exploit workers
Criminogenic capitalism
Selective law enforcement
Offcial stats suggest crime is working class - due to selective law enforcement
Chabliss - one law for the rich one law for the poor
Pearce - ‘the crimes of the powerful’ white collar crime are rarely prosecuted
Divert attention away from the upper class crime and exploitation of WC
Law making
Chabliss- reflect the values and beliefs of the ruling class.
Box - definition of serious crime is ideologically constructed. Used to control WC
Snider- rarely enforce corporate laws
Law appear to help everyone but favour u/c
Evaluation of Marxism causes of crime
Neo-marxism
Traditional Marxism is too deterministic- not all working class commit crime
Gilroy- black crime as a form of resistance to upper class oppression
Post modernity and crime
Diversity, fragmentation and uncertainty
Groups with different interests and lifestyles.
Definition of a crime
Crime as a social construction
Based on legal definitions
Defined by now these in power think people should act
Henry and milovanovic
Harm of reduction- power used to cause victim immediate loss or injury
Harm of repression- power to restrict future human development.
Social construction of crime
Becker - crime definitions are based on views of moral entrepreneurs
Leads to master status and criminal careers.
Crimes vary over time periods
Lemert - consequences of labelling
Primary deviance, a crime which has not been labelled and has few consequences
Secondary deviance, when someone commits a crime and gets caught, leading to them getting labelled, causing a self fulfilling prophecy
Who gets labelled
Piliavan and briar, police decisions youth based on gender, class and ethnicity, time and place e.g. those stopped late at night in high crime areas ran a greater risk of arrest
Young, hippies had been labelled for their primary deviance, saw themselves as outsiders, developed a deviant subculture, police attention increased, self-fulfilling prophecies cause more crime
Cicourel, the negotiation of justice
Police decisions in when to arrest people are influenced by their stereotypes
Effects of labelling
Deviance amplification
Becker deviance can be amplified by the act of labelling
Master status e.g drug addict
Shapes how others see them
Media can amplify crime and create moral panics
Cohens mods and rockers
Braithewaite
Labelling can be positive or negative
Two types; disintegrative shaming:
crime and criminal are labelled and excluded from society
Reintegrative shaming: labels the act, but not the actor
Positive functions of crime - warning device
Clinard, warning function highlighting there is some wrong with a social institution, allows opportunities for society to change
Cohen, deviance acts as a warning that an institution is not functioning properly
Positives of crime, safety valve
Davis, prostitution acts as a safety valve for the release of men’s frustrations without threatening the nuclear family
Polsky, pornography acts as a safety valve for the nuclear family as it may prevent adultery
Right realism
Rational choice
Poor socialisations
Biological reasons
