Unit 2 - Criminological theories - 2.3 Describe sociological theories of criminality Flashcards
What is the basic idea behind sociological theories of criminality?
That social factors play a key part in criminality
Briefly explain the focus of structural theories
They focus on the structure and organisation of society. How equal or unequal it is, what holds it together and what causes conflict and division
Functionalist and subcultural theories - Durkheim’s functionalist theory
How do functionalists such as Durkheim view society?
They see the structure of society as the underlying cause of crime
According to Durkheim, Why do most people conform to society’s values and norms?
Social solidarity, most people feel that they belong and so conform to society’s values and norms and rarely deviate from them
Why is crime inevitable according to Durkheim?
- Some individuals aren’t socialised and will deviate from the norms
- Society contains social groups with different values, so shared norms become unclear
What is meant by ‘anomie’?
That shared norms become weakened
What can this cause?
Causes society to become weakened and more individualistic
However, Durkheim did say that crime had important functions In society.
What are these 4 functions?
Boundary maintenance, Social change, Safety Valve and Warning light
Briefly describe these 4 functions
Boundary maintenance - Crime produces a reaction that reminds society of the boundary between right and wrong, reaffirming shared rules
Social change - For society to change for the better, individuals must challenge existing norms and values, initially seen as deviant eg the suffragettes or Nelson Mandela
Safety valve - Kingsley Davis argued that some crime acted as a release, citing prostitution as a release for men’s sexual frustration
Warning light - Deviance and criminality can indicate that an institute or part of society isn’t functioning correctly
Functionalist and subcultural theories - Merton’s strain theory
According to Merton, what is the root cause of crime?
The unequal structure of society
According to Merton, what goal does American society say that its members should purse?
‘Money success’ and tells them to achieve this through legitimate means - education and working hard
Explain why some members of society have ‘blocked opportunities’
Society is unequal. Poverty and poor schools can block these opportunities
What Is meant by ‘strain’?
‘Strain’ between the goal (money success) and the legitimate means of doing so. This can cause deviance and criminality
Briefly describe the four possible deviant ways of adapting to strain:
- Innovation
- Ritualism
- Retreatism
- Rebellion
Innovation - Innovators accept the end goal but find illegal ways of achieving it eg crimes for financial gain. Usually from lower classes where legitimate opportunities are blocked
Ritualism - Ritualists give up striving for the goal and continue in low paid jobs
Retreatism - Dropouts and reject both the goal and means to achieve it (drunks, drug addicts and vagrants)
Rebellion - Reject the goals and the means, replacing them with new ones eg hippies or political radicals
Subcultural theories of crime
What are ‘delinquent subcultures’?
Groups with deviant norms and values
What is the key idea of subcultural theories?
These theories apply Merton’s strain theory to propose that subcultures gain status by illegitimate means
Functionalist and subcultural theories - Albert Cohen : Status frustration
In what way does Cohen agree with Merton?
Deviance results from the lower classes failure to achieve through legitimate means
Briefly outline two ways in which Cohen’s theory differs from Merton’s
- He said subcultural deviance is a group response, not an individual one
- He focuses on crimes such as vandalism which are non-utilitarian, not for financial gain
According to Cohen, Why do working class boys suffer from ‘status frustration’?
Teachers see them as thick and so end up at the bottom of the school hierarchy. They will feel worthless
What is meant by ‘alternative status hierarchy’?
They gain status from peers through committing deviant actions. It inverts society’s values. For example, society respects property whereas the boys gain status by vandalising property
Functionalist and Subcultural theories - Cloward and Ohlin
Briefly outline the three types of subculture that different neighbourhoods give rise to
Criminal subcultures - Arise in areas where there is a longstanding professional criminal network. They select suitable youths for an apprenticeship in utilitarian crime and a future criminal career.
Conflict subcultures - Arise where the only criminal opportunities are in street gangs. Violence provides a release for frustration and a source of status by winning territory from other gangs
Retreatist subcultures - Dropouts who have failed both legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structures. Often drug users.
Interactionism
Give an example of an interaction that is based on labels
‘Criminal’ is a label that some people (police officers) may attach to others (often young males) in their interaction with one another.
According to interactionists, Why are the concepts ‘crime’ and ‘criminals’ social constructs?
We create them through social interactions
Interactionism - Labelling theory
According to labelling theory, when does an act become deviant or criminal?
It only becomes deviant or criminal when we create rules and apply them to others. For example, smoking cannabis only ‘counts’ as a crime if society decides to make a law criminalising it and applies it to cannabis smokers
According to labelling theory, what must we focus on to understand criminality?
On how certain actions and people get labelled as criminals in the first place
Differential enforcement of the law
What is meant by ‘differential enforcement’?
Where the law is enforced more against one group than another
Briefly describe Piliavin and Briar’s finding on police decisions to arrest suspects
They found that police decisions to arrest were based on stereotypical ideas about a person’s manners, dress, gender, class and ethnicity and time and place
According to Cicourel, which groups are most likely to fit police typifications?
Working-class and ethnic minority youths
Interactionism - Labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy
According to Lemert, What is meant by ‘Primary deviance’?
Involves acts that have not yet been publicly labelled. They are often trivial and go uncaught such as using public transport without paying. Often don’t see themselves as criminals
What is meant by ‘secondary deviance’?
Results from deviance. People may treat the offender solely in terms of his label which becomes his master status or controlling identity over things like father and leader
What is the result of secondary deviance?
Often rejected by society and forced into the company of other criminals. Prison is an extreme example of this, a criminal is excluded from society and placed with others who confirm his label, provides him with criminal role models and teach them criminal skills
What is meant by ‘self fulfilling prophecy’?
The individual has now become what the label says he was. The result is that further offending becomes more likely
What does the labelling theory focus on?
Focuses on societies reaction to the deviant behaviour rather than the behaviour itself
Interactionism - The deviance amplification spiral
Briefly explain what is meant by the ‘deviance amplification spiral’
Where the attempts to control deviance through a ‘crackdown’ increases the deviance instead of decreasing it. This causes more attempts to control and in turn more deviance eg mods and rockers
Briefly explain how the example of the mods and rockets illustrates three aspects of the deviance amplification spiral
- Media exaggeration caused growing public concern
- Moral entrepreneurs called for a ‘crackdown’. Police responded by arresting more youths, provoking more concern
- Negative labelling of mods and rockers as ‘folk devils’ marginalised them further, resulting In more deviance
Briefly describe Jock Young’s findings about the impact of labelling on the hippie in his study
Drug use was not central to the hippies until they became labelled as drug users by media and resultantly hard drug use become their main activity
Interactionism and crime statistics
Why do interactionists reject the use of crime statistics?
Statistics only measure what police do rather than what criminals do
The marxist theory of crime and law
According to Marxists, What shapes people’s behaviour?
Unequal structure of capitalist society
Briefly explain the two classes of society
- The ruling capitalist class (bourgeoisie) who own the means of production
- The working class (proletariat) whose labour is exploited by the bourgeoisie
According to Marxists, What is the role of the law and the criminal justice system?
They work to maintain this inequality and exploitation of the working class
Capitalism causes crime
Briefly explain the four ways in which capitalism is criminogenic
1) The exploitation of the working class drives people into poverty meaning they turn to crime to survive
2) Capitalism continually pushes consumer goods at people through advertising, resulting in utilitarian crime to gain them i.e. theft
3) Inequality causes feelings of alienation and frustration, resulting in non-utilitarian crimes eg vandalism and violence
4) Capitalism causes crime amongst the capitalist themselves. The profit motive leads to greed and therefore corporate crimes e.g. tax evasion and breaches of health and safety
Making and enforcing the law
According to Chambliss, why are laws mades?
To protect the property of the rich. For example, there are laws against the homeless squatting empty houses, but no laws against the rich owning several houses
In what way do Marxists agree with interactionists?
That the law is applied selectively - against the working class but not the upper classes. White collar crimes are much less likely to be prosecuted than working class ‘street crimes’
Give 3 examples of white collar and corporate crimes being less likely to be prosecuted than working-class street crimes
- Of 200 companies breaching Health and Safety laws, Carson found only 3 were prosecuted
- Corporate crime is often punished less severely. For example, with fines rather than jail even though it often causes greater harm
- Despite the large number of deaths at work caused by employers negligence, there was only 1 successful prosecution of a UK firm in 8 years for corporate homicide
Ideological functions of crime and law
What is meant by “ideology”?
A set of ideas that conceal the inequality of capitalist society
Briefly outline three ways in which ideas about crime and law are identical
- Selective enforcement makes it look as if crime is the fault of the working class. This divides the working class, encouraging workers to blame working-class criminals for their problems rather than capitalism
- This also shifts attention away from much more serious ruling-class crime
- Some laws do benefit workers to a limited extent eg health and safety laws. However, Pearce argues that these also benefit capitalism by giving it a ‘caring face’
According to Marxists, What do these ideas encourage?
The working class to accept capitalism instead of replacing it with a more equal society
Right realism and crime
How do right realists see crime?
See crime, especially street crime, as a growing problem
According to right realists, what is the best way to reduce crime?
Practical solutions to reduce crime through control and punishment instead of rehabilitating offenders or tackling causes
What do right realists believe crime is the result of?
Right realists reject Marxist’s theories of crime being caused by poverty. They believe that crime is caused by 3 factors: Biological differences between individuals, Inadequate socialisation and that offending is a rational choice
Biological differences between individuals
According to Wilson and Hernstein, what makes some individuals more likely to commit crime?
Personality traits associated with criminality like aggressiveness, risk taking and low intelligence
Inadequate socialisation
According to right realists, what is the best agency of socialisation?
The ‘nuclear’ family (traditional family - mum and dad)
What can effective socialisation reduce?
Chances of someone offending by teaching them self-control and correct values
According to Murray, why is the ‘nuclear’ family being undermined?
Generous welfare benefits - Fathers are no longer needed to remain in the home and take responsibility for supporting the family since the state does it for them
According to Murray, why are the underclass more likely to be Criminal?
Underclass - those who fail to socialise their children properly. Absent fathers mean that the Boys lack an appropriate role model, because they do not see a man working hard to support his family. As a result, boys turn to delinquent role models in gangs and gain status through crime rather than through supporting their families
Briefly outline the rational choice theory
The theory that we are rational beings with freewill. Deciding whether to commit a crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the consequences basically weighing the risks against the reward. If the rewards outweigh the risk, people are more likely to offend
How do rights realists explain a high crime rate?
The perceived consequences of crime are low. Criminals see little risk being caught and do not expect to suffer severe punishments if they are caught
Briefly describe Felsons’s routine activity theory
He argues that for crime to occur 3 factors are necessary: motivated offender, suitable target (victim or property) and the absence of a ‘capable offender’ e.g police officer. Felson sees offenders as acting rationally which is why the presence of guardians deters them. However, if the RCT theory is correct offenders may act rationally and just move their attention to where the target is softer. This is called displacement - crime doesn’t decline it just moves
Left realism and crime
According to left realists, What is the root of all crime?
The inequality in a capitalist society
According to left realists, Who are the main victims of crime?
Disadvantaged groups: working class, ethnic minorities and women
According to left realists, how can crime be reduced?
Make society fairer and more equal
Causes of crime according to left realists
What is meant by ‘relative deprivation’?
How deprived or badly off someone feels in relation to others
According to Lea and Young, what two factors increase people’s sense of relative deprivation?
- Society is becoming more unequal due to cuts in benefits, unemployment, job security and low pay
- The media constantly pumps out messages urging everyone to aspire to material possessions, promoting what Young calls ‘ a culture based on Gucci, BMW and Nike’
Briefly describe how the two extremes of lifestyle might cause crime
At one extreme, many people now have no chance of ever affording the sort of lifestyle the media portray. At the other extreme, footballers and others receive what many regard as undeservingly high wages due to this some resort to crime in order to obtain what they feel they rightfully deserve
Briefly explain what is meant by “relative deprivation downwards”
People who are better off feel resentment against those who are actually worse off, who they see as scroungers. This may explain some hate crimes against powerless groups, like disabled people
Causes of crime according to left realists - Subculture
Why do criminal subcultures resort to crime?
Subcultures are a group’s way of solving the problem of relative deprivation. Some cultures turn to crime to solve the problem. Criminal subcultures share society’s materialistic goals, but because legitimate opportunities are blocked they turn to crime. For example, inner city youths may find they are denied access to well paid jobs because of discrimination or their poor education they have received. Crime then becomes an alternative option of achieving the consumer goods they want
How might religious subcultures help individuals overcome their deprivation without resorting to crime?
Gives individuals comfort and an explanation for their deprivation (God’s will). This will encourage conformity rather than criminality.
Causes of crime according to left realists - Marginalisation
What is meant by ‘marginalisation’ ?
According to Lea and Young, marginalised groups are ones that lack organisations to represent their interests and lack clearly defined goals. For example, unemployed youths are highly marginalised.
Why are groups that are marginalised more likely to express their frustration through crime?
Unlike workers they have no clear goals and organisations to give voices to their grievances. They have a sense of powerlessness, frustration and resentment of injustice, which they express through non-utilitarian crimes such as violence or rioting
Surveillance theories
Give three examples of how surveillance is carried out
CCTV, Tagging and database profilling
Surveillance theories - Foucalt : the Panopticon
According to Foucalt, how are we controlled in modern society?
Controlled through self-surveillance, through what he calls ‘disciplinary power’. He illustrates this by reference to a prison design known as the Panopticon ( meaning ‘all seeing’)
Briefly describe the design of the Panopticon
Prisoner’s cells are visible to the guards from a central viewing point ( the watchtower) but the prisoners cannot the see the guards
How does the design of the Panopticon encourage good behaviour?
Not knowing if they are being watched, the prisoners must constantly behave as if they are being watched. In this way, surveillance turns into self-surveillance and discipline becomes self-discipline: control is invisible, inside the prisoner’s own minds
Media Foucalt
What was the consequences of the Panopticon for the prisoners?
Don’t know when they are being watched so always act accordingly
What is the advantage of the Panopticon for the guards?
No need to use physical violence eg chains and handcuffs
What are the four principles of the Panopticon?
- Persuasive power
- Obscure power
- Direct violence made structural
- Structural violence made profitable
According to Foucalt, What does surveillance do?
Expands the power of those in power ( governments)
What does Foucalt say surveillance is a form of?
Control
Why is surveillance never politically neutral?
If the people who work the surveillance are transphobic, racist, ablest ETC they will enforce the rules unequally
Synoptic surveillance
According to Mathiesen, what is meant by the ‘Synopticon’?
Where everybody watches everybody. As well as surveillance from above, we now have surveillance from below
Briefly describe an example of Synoptic Surveillance
Motorists and cyclists can monitor the behaviour of others by using dashboard cameras and helmet cameras. This warns other road users that they are under surveillance and result in them exercising self-discipline
Actuarial justice and profiling
What is an ‘Actuary’?
Comes from insurance industry : an actuary is someone who calculates the risk of certain events happening. For example, what is the likelihood of your home being burgled in the next 12 months
According to Feeley and Simon, what is an actuarial justice?
New form of surveillance. It aims to predict and prevent future offending. It uses statistical information to reduce crime by complying profiles of likely offenders
