Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
CRIME AND DEVIANCE: theories of crime - Coggle Diagram
CRIME AND DEVIANCE: theories of crime
functionalism
MERTON strain theory
brief outline of theory
crime happens because of dysfunctional society- anomie (people striving for lifestyle they cannot achieve, leading to crime)
not always useful for society
crime happens when people in a society cannot achieve socially approved goals
WC American's are strained to achieve American Dream, as equal access to those goals does not exist (WC MC inequality)
socially approved goals/means
legal/acceptable means: hard work- easy for MC
illegal/unnacceptable means: steal- WC forced to do so
responses to strain
conformist RC WC
(conform to societies success goals and normal means of achieving them)
innovator WC
(least likely to succeed via normal channels, turn to crime and use whatever skills they can to get what they want)
ritualist MC
(abandon societal success goals but too strongly socialised to turn to crime, scale down goals)
retreatist RC WC
(strongly internalised success goals yet unable to achieve them, drop out of society and reject goals)
rebel WC
( reject both goals and institutionalised means, replace with own goals to create new society e.g. terrorists)
evaluation of Merton's strain theory
too deterministic, not all WC commit crime
what about RC/MC who still commit crime?
doesn't explain non-utilitarian crime
are there common goals in every society
miller subcultural
DURKHEIM positive theory
crime is functional
can bring about social cohesion
crimes break core values and bring about moral anger + strengthen values
crimes against children caused universal instant reaction outrage
collective consciousness
do not harm children
1) strengthening collective values- boundary maintenance
reinforces boundary of what is/isn't acceptable
values sometimes atrophy and public humiliation and punishment can deter others
boundary maintenance
can also cause further division e.g. southport murders caused racist riots
2) enabling social change and change in values
breaking law can lead to positive social change
challenges assumptions held within society, e.g. suffragettes
3) acting as a safety valve
society expresses discontent through deviance, pressure released
avoids further MASS anomie
POLSKY
crime such as prostitution provides a safe way to release sexual frustration, preventing rape/SA
who decides what an acceptable level of crime is? what about victims?
4) acting as a warning device
key indicators social scientists can analyse to spot underlying discontent
drug addiction, MH root problem increasing?
again what about individual victims, shouldn't sacrifice for warning device
COHEN subcultural strain
wc men have status frustration, unable to achieve goals so they turn to crime in order to compensate their status
join criminal subcultures- alternative status hierarchy
CLOWARD AND OHLIN subcultural strain
wc are without legitimate opportunity structures to achieve goals, turn to illegitimate opportunity structures
three types of subculture depend on environment
criminal subculture
already established crime illegitimate opportunity structures, opportunity to climb the professional crime hierarchy- mainly utilitarian crime
conflict subculture
no legitimate or illegitimate opportunity structures as low social cohesion, people turn to gang violence and create a subculture of gangs
retreatist subculture
failures of legitimate and illegitimate means of status, double failures often retreat into retreatism subcultures with high drug-use and isolate selves from society
MILLER subcultural theory
crime and delinquency natural extension of diff focal concerns
crime may happen in wc fams because of focal concerns that may lead to crime
wc toughness, may lead to take no shit attitude
subcultures show no value consensus
labelling theory
crime is a social construct, statistics of crime don't tell truth- dark figure of crime
BECKER
moral entrepeneurs
those that have more power and label others as deviant, act only labelled deviant if labelled to be by agents of social control
master label
label that takes precedence over all other labels, can lead to deviant career
CICOUREL
police have the power to label others but some (MC) have the skills to avoid a label attaching them
negotiation of justice
some groups have more power to negotiate their label, mc parents remove children's label if insist to "keep an eye on them"
police rely on
typifications
LEMERT
primary deviance
(initial act of crime)
societal reactions to this can influence if labelled or not, if labelled commit more
secondary deviance
phenomenon called deviancy amplification
HALL
study into black muggers, media is ISA
media deliberately reported lots of black crimes in 70s, leading society to
moral panic
diverted attention away from crimes being committed as result of capitalism by RC
moral panic led to crackdown of police on black men
YOUNG
hippies labelled as druggies in the 70s
label led to increased police persecution, leading to deviant subculture
deviancy amplification
and
moral panic
BRAITHWAITE
agents of social control punishments determine labelling
reintegrative shaming
is when criminal punished in a way that strengthens bonds with society, act bad, individual not
disintegrative shaming
punishment which isolates individual, act bad, individual bad
evaluation
deterministic
deviant becomes victim, and isn't blamed
why did they commit original deviance?
where do stereotypes come from
emphasises social construction of crime and deviance e.g. dark figure of crime
identifies and reveals role of power in crime and deviance
shows how deviant careers can be established
STAN COHEN
moral panic, mods and rockers study
mods and rockers subcultures in 60s, deemed
folk devils
by media
media whipped society into a frenzy, increasing police control
labelling increased crime/phenomenon
the moral panic and increased control caused a
deviancy amplification spiral
marxism and neo-marxism
marxism
BONGER
capitalist societies breed crime, criminogenic
because promote importance of material goods and lifestyle, creates false needs and people commit crime to keep up ALSO wages are kept low to exploit WC so frustration and mat dep. cause crime
GORDON
dog-eat-dog society
"robin hood" view of crime
realistic and rational response to inequality
capitalism deterministic, poor have to commit crime, no choice
MC also crime but escape prosecution
2025 shoplifting all time high, post CoL rise
empirical support from seattle study, law biased towards those who own property
partygate, media causes impact
May 2025 thames water fined £123million for sewage pollution breaches and paying out undeserved dividends to shareholders
solution is to overthrow capitalism and replace with communism
ALTHUSSER
why don't they overthrow?
law= ISA (laws pretending to care for WC so they don't overthrow)
capitalist gvmts/the police use RSA to stop attempts to overthrow capitalism
CHAMBLISS
selective law enforcement
everyone commits crime but wc more policed, rc ignored/minimised
seattle in 1960s, politicians wrongdoing ignored, wc policed
explains clearly how structural inequality in a society can lead to crime
makes it seem as if individuals have no choice but to commit crime but people make conscious choices
romanticises WC crime and makes it excusable
not all crime committed due to poverty
SNIDER
capitalist gvmt. protects rc through selective law making
laws made against WC, illusion that wc crime is higher
also selective law enforcement
trump convicted of tax fraud, fine only $1.6million, state's reluctance to penalise the ruling class
most socially harmful crimes are often under-policed
overgeneralises, some firms prosecuted heavily such as Thames water may 2025
deterministic/structural bias, underplays individuals choice or cultural explanations for why people commit crime
neo-marxism
TAYLOR ET AL
- 3 marxist views, 3 labelling
wider origins of deviant act
in unequal distribution of wealth and power in capitalism
immediate origins of deviant act
context in which individual decides to commit act
the act itself
immediate origins of societal reaction
wider origins of societal reaction
the effects of labelling
STUART HALL
research into black WC muggers
1970s black unemployment twice national avg
turned to crime- criminogenic capitalism
black crime moral panic, deviancy amplification
EVALUATION
less deterministic, WC have a choice
considers interactionist ideas and marxist ideas
less reductionist, looks at the full picture as fully social explanation of deviance
theory over-emphasises class inequality as only reason ppl commit crime
gender blind- feminists
very few crimes actually commited out of political rebellion
realists say romanticises WC criminals as heroes
many communist societies still have crime bro
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFS
SIMILARITIES
capitalism based on exploitation and class conflict, causes crime
state makes and enforces laws in the interests of RC and criminalises WC
replace capitalism with a classless society, reduce or rid crime
DIFFERENCES
NM reject view that workers are driven to commit crime out of economic society
NM voluntaristic view, free will so crime meaningful action and choice
criminals are not passive puppets whose behaviour is shaped by nature of capitalism, deliberatelty strive to change society
right and left realism
RIGHT REALISM
rational choice as a cause of crime
CLARKE
people choose deviance
if percieved rewards outweigh percieved costs, people more likely to commit
if rewards of crime outweigh rewards of not doing crime
WILSON
focus on street crime
crime result of rational calculation
small crimes as chance of conviction low, will prob commit crime
broken windows theory
WILSON AND KELLING
bad area means people percieve less control over area, so people do crime
we should clean up
socialisation and the underclass
MURRAY
socialisation, LP female households mean less male role models for boys
means they are cut off from society, lack of socialisation causes crime
men who leave fams "find other ways to prove they are men", causing violence
MURRAY
underclass, gvmt over-generous welfare benefits have allowed underclass underneath WC
state fund unproductive lifestyle, boredom solved by crime
strategies to reduce crime
situational crime prevention strategies
change specific areas to reduce crime
NY Port Authority Bus Terminal has had the building changed to reduce crime, smaller sinks so homeless people can't sleep
on-the-spot fines, target hardening (increase security)
environmental crime preventional strategies
change broader area through social control
repair signs of disorder, fix signs broken windows theory
zero-tolerance policing
YOUNG
zero-tolerance policing in NYC didn't reduce crime rate, it was already falling
CHAIKEN ET AL
ZTP just displaces crime e.g. from subway to streets
biological differences
WILSON AND HERNSTEIN
combination of social and biological factors, some more predisposed to commit crime e.g. personality traits for control
WILSON AND MURRAY
main cause low intelligence, biologically determined
LEFT REALISM
relative deprivation
LEA AND YOUNG
deprivation alone is not a cause of crime, FEELING deprived compared to those around you is
people resent others and turn to crime to get what they are entitled to
media and advertising make people more aware to relative deprivation
relative deprivation mixed with individualism leads to people pursuing self-interest at the expense of others
subcultures/marginalisation
LEA AND YOUNG
subcultures are a response to relative deprivation, some turn to crime to close the gap others turn to religious subcultures
marginalised groups lack representations and goals leading to crime, unemployed youth are marginalised leading to a sense of frustration which causes violence and rioting
late modernity, exclusion and crime
YOUNG
in late modernity, insecurity, instability and exclusion make crime worse
50s/60s golden age where crime rates were low and there was consensus about right and wrong
cultural inclusion and economic exclusion means everyone can access materialistic culture through the media
people cannot achieve the glittering prizes of wealthy society
result of this is types and amount of crime is changing, more hate crimes
reactions to crime
LATE MODERNITY
reactions to crime are changing, less consensus about what is right or wrong means boundaries are blurred and informal social control has disintegrated
public are more intolerant and demand harsher penalties
strategies to reduce crime
**