SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES

Functionalist and subcultural theories

The Marxist theory

Right and left realism

Interactionism

Durkheim's functionalist theory

Merton's strain theory

Labelling theory

The functions of crime-

  1. Boundary maintenance- crime produces a reaction that unites society members against the wrongdoer.
  2. Social change- Individuals with new ideas must challenge existing norms and values.
  3. Safety value- e.g. prostitution acts to release men's sexual frustration without threatening the nuclear family.
  4. Warning light- deviance indicates that an institution isn't functioning properly.
  • Innovation- accept the goal but find illegal ways of achieving it.
  • Ritualism- give up striving for success.
  • Retreatism- dropouts who reject both goal and means.
  • Rebellion- reject the existing goals and means, replacing them with new ones with the aim of changing society.

Functionalists see society as a stable structure based on shared norms, values and beliefs about being right and wrong.

The root cause of crime lies in the unequal structure of society. American society values 'money success' or wealth as the goal people should peruse through legitimate means e.g. hard work.

Labelling theory states that no act is deviant or criminal in itself. It only becomes so when we create rules and apply them to others.

Self-fulfilling prophecy-

  • primary deviance= acts that have not been publicly labelled.
  • secondary deviance= results from labelling. People may treat the offender in terms of their label (master status).

Differential enforcement of the law- social control agencies e.g. the police label certain groups as criminal. This results in differential enforcement i.e. where the law is enforced more against one group than another.

The deviance amplification theory- the attempt to control deviance leads to it increasing.
e.g. Mods and rockers

  • 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' marginalize them further, resulting in more deviance.

Right realism-

Left realism-

  • conservative political outlook.
  • mainly concerned with practical solutions to reduce crime.
  • done through control and punishment.
  • crime is the product of three factors: biological differences between individuals; inadequate socialization; and offending is a rational choice.

Crime is inevitable- every society has individuals who are inadequately socialised and likely to deviate.
Society also contains many subcultures, each with different values.
Anomie= Where shared norms become weakened.

Delinquent subcultures= groups whose norms and values are deviant. These subcultures enable their members to gain social status by illegitimate means.
Albert Cohen - 'status frustration'

  • A feeling of frustration experienced by individuals when they are denied the opportunity of attaining social status

Capitalism causes crime-
Crime is inevitable in capitalist society, because capitalism is a criminogenic (crime causing) system. This is due to several reasons:

  • The exploitation of the working class drives many people into poverty, meaning crime may be the only way to survive.
  • Capitalism continually pushes consumer goods at people through advertising, resulting in utilitarian crimes to obtain them.
  • Inequality causes feelings of alienation and frustration, resulting in non-utilitarian crimes.
  • Capitalism causes crime among the capitalists themselves. Capitalism is a dog-eat-dog system and the profit motive promotes greed. This encourages capitalists to commit corporate crimes to gain an advantage.

Making and enforcing the law-
Marxists see both law making and law enforcement as serving the interests of the capitalist class.

  • Law making= William Chambliss argues that the laws are made to protect the private property of the rich.
  • Selective law enforcement= Marxists agree with interactionists that the law is enforced selectively- against the working class but not the upper class.

Ideological functions of crime and the law-
Marxists argue that ideas about crime and the law are an ideology- a set of ideas that conceal the inequality of capitalist society.
e.g.

  • selective enforcement makes it look as if crime is the fault of the working class.
  • it shifts attention away from much more serious ruling-class crime.
  • some laws do benefit workers to a limited extent but this benefits capitalism by giving it a caring face.
    These ideas encourage the working class to accept capitalism instead of replacing it with a more equal society.

Definition- Marxists argue that the unequal structure of capitalist society shapes peoples behaviour. They suggest that capitalist society is divided into two classes:

  • the ruling capitalist class- own the means of production e.g. banks, land, etc.
  • the working class- labour the capitalists exploit to make profit.
    The Marxist view has three main elements: capitalism causes crime, law making and enforcement are biased, and crime and the law perform ideological functions.
  • Socialist political outlook
  • believe inequality in capitalist society is the root cause of crime.
    • argue that the main victims are disadvantaged groups e.g. working class, ethnic minorities, women, etc.
  • they propose to reduce crime by making society fairer and more equal.
  • Lea and Young identify three related causes of crime: relative deprivation, subculture and marginalisation.