Theories explanations on crime Flashcards
Functionalism, Marxist, Neo-Marxist, Labelling (interactionist) and Left and Right Realists
Functionalist (positive functions of crime)
Durkheim- Boundary Maintenance
A reaction.. and reinforce…
Shared… reinforces…
Without this
A reaction from society to remind others about the boundaries and reinforce a commitment to the value consensus.
Shared condemnation reinforces social solidarity
↪ Without this, crime rates increase and lead to anomie: a state of normlessness
Functionalist (positive functions of crime)
Durkheim- Adaptation and change
Change starts…
Durkheim views..
Therefore crime,….
Change starts as an act of deviance- new ideas challenge the existing norms and values.
Durkheim views low levels of crime/deviance as undesirable, as change is being prevented.
Therefore crime, in tiny amounts, is necessary for adaptive change.
Functionalist (positive functions of crime)
Cohen- Warning Light
Deviance acts.
[example: high..]
Deviance acts as a warning light that something is not working.
For example, high truancy rates may indicate problems within the education system that need addressing.
Functionalist (positive functions of crime)
Polsky- Safety Valve
Allows…
[Example: ….]
Allows people to release their urges without harming society.
For example, pornography safely channels a variety of sexual desires away from adultery, which would prose a much greater threat to the family.
Functionalist (positive functions of crime)
Evaluation
3 evaluation points for Durkheim:
1. cause or why certain?
1b. Ignores the role of…?
1c. Durkheim over generalised several types of…. and who is not considered?
- Crime can i..?
- Socially…?
1a. Durkheim does not consider the causes of crime or why certain groups commit crime.
1b. Ignores the role of inequality and issues of class/power, gender, and ethnicity.
1c. Victims are not considered- Durkheim over generalised between the several types of crimes, as some may be harmful than others.
- Crime can isolate people- e.g., elderly people fearing to leave their houses- therefore social solidarity is not achieved.
- Postmodernist criticism: socially constructed views on crime/deviance.
Functionalist theories may not explain crime in contemporary society.
Neo-Marxist: New/critical criminology
that the…?
-Believes that the individual has the decision to commit a crime.
Neo-Marxists suggest….
“Political protest against the exploitation of”
“fighting back” “Oppressed heroes”
“Meaningful act of an oppressed proletariat that”
w/c crime is a ‘political protest’ against the exploitation of capitalism.
-Views criminals as people “fighting back” and as “oppressed heroes”
-Crime is seen as a meaningful act of an oppressed proletariat that redistributes from rich to the poor.
Evaluation of neo-Marxists
Unethical to who?
Romanticises who as “R.H” and their crimes a “s,p,c,a” therefore crimes?
w/c crime committed against who?
[+ example of s.. v…/anti-…]
Opposing the idea that they are rebelling to what?
Unethical to the victims of crime-
romanticises w/c criminals as “Robin Hood’s” and their crimes as symbolic political acts; therefore, crimes not taken seriously.
Most w/c crimes are committed against other w/c individuals
(e.g., street violence/anti-social behaviour)
-opposing the idea that they are rebelling against the capitalist system.
Labelling (interactionist) theory of crime and deviance
- Socially?
- Official statistics informs what held by who?
- Label are given by who?
Crimes are socially constructed
Official statistics informs us about stereotypes held by the police (no reflection on reality)
Labels are given to the powerless by the powerful.
Becker: Moral Entrepreneurs
Who are the two? How are they able to do what?
Who operates with pre- and ste…. conceptions or what make .. types and …. areas?
Labelling can become a?
Example? Group of young, b, b accused of ..?
-Media and police are moral entrepreneurs, as they have the power and resources to impose their definitions of deviance.
-Police operate with pre-existing and stereotypical conceptions of what makes criminal types and criminal areas.
Labelling can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
-E.g., a group of young, black boys being accused of stealing.
Lemert: Primary and secondary deviance
Primary: Non-official: Crime has not been publicly labelled as a crime.
e.g., breaking traffic laws/taking drugs.
Secondary: Official: The offender has been discovered, publicly exposed and labelled.
S.Cohen: Deviancy Amplification
Media amplifying creates?
Mods and Rockers example
Reinforces who’s ideas about y. sub. and leads to ….. in the …?
Young people as ‘…’ a shared what for the public’s..”
Media amplifying the issue- creates moral panic.
- Mods and Rockers example.
Reinforces their ideas about youth subcultures and acting them out more strongly leading to moral panic in the public.
-Young people as ‘folk devils’ , a shared target for the public’s concern.
Cicourel: Class stereotyping
Agents of who? [and example] hold …. about who is more likely to commit crime
More likely to be biased against the more?
-Leads to s-s b..?
- More likely to be a…?
Which group is less likely to be charged and why?
What does Cicourel argue that needs to be challenged and what needs to be investigated? [s… and lab.. proc..]
What is the cycle?
Who’s assumptions led them to concentrate on who?
Law enforcement shows a what bias?
Who and which areas are patrolled more intensively?
Results in more a.. and conforms s…?
-Agents of social control (e.g., police) hold “typification” about who is more likely to commit crime.
-More likely to be biased against the more powerless groups in society - the young, poor and ethnic minorities.
- Leads to self-serving bias.
- More likely to be arrested (listed below).
-Middle class youth less likely to be charged, as they do not conform to stereotypes.
- Cicourel argues that official statistics need to be challenged and instead we need to investigate the stereotypes and labelling processes.
Cycle listed below:
Police officers’ assumptions led them to concentrate on w/c
Law enforcement shows a class bias
Led to police to patrol w/c areas more intensively
Results in more arrests and conforms stereotypes
Braithwaite: Disintegrative shaming and Reintegrative shaming
Reintegrative shaming avoids what and as “e..” while simultaneously making them aware of what?
Victims are encouraged to?
The offender is? And avoids the what?
Braithwaite argues that crime rates are?
Disintegrative shaming: the crime and the criminal are labelled as bad and the offender is excluded from society.
Reintegrative shaming: labels the act as bad but not the actor (“he has done a bad thing rather than “he is a bad person”)
Reintegrative shaming avoids stigmatising the offender as “evil” while simultaneously making them aware of their negative actions on others.
Victims are encouraged to forgive the person but not the act. The offender is welcomed back to society, thus avoiding the negative consequences associated with secondary deviance.
Braithwaite argues that crime rates are lower where policies of reintegrative shaming are employed.
Evaluation of labelling theory
Realists argue interactionists dismiss what and ignore what?
Morally what? and removes blame from who?
Too? [including example]
Free what?
Fails to explain the origin of?
Ignores st…. influences
Does not focus on the …. but more from the … ?
The theory doesn’t provide any..?
- Realists argue that interactionists dismiss all official statistics and ignore that crime is a real problem.
- Morally questionable- removes blame from the deviant.
-Free will: some individuals choose to be deviant.
-Too simplistic- labelling does not always lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
-e.g., ex shoplifter vow to never steal again, as they felt ashamed at being caught.
- Fails to explain the origin of the labels
(macro, structural approach helps to explain the labels; Marxism explain where the labels come from capitalism)
-Labelling theory ignores structural influences.
-Labelling theory does not focus upon victims of crime; focuses; more from criminal’s perspective.
[Excluding B.’s view]
The theory does not provide any real policy solutions to crime.
