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Crime and deviance, So, why is crime and devaince found in all societies? …
Crime and deviance
Intro
'Crime' refers to any act that violates a society's laws and is punishable by the government. crimes are socially constructed, which means that they are defined within a specfic cultral time and place
'Deviance' refers to behaviour which at a specific time and in a specific place is seem as wrong. A deviant act may or may or may not be a crime – it deviates from what is socially acceptable but may not be against the law
Societal deviance refers to forms of deviance that most members of a society regard as deviant as they share similar norms and values. murder, rape, child abuse, etc.
Situational deviance refers to the way in which an act being seen as deviant or not depends on the context or location in which it takes place e.g walking barefoot in public speeding
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Formal social control refers to the enforcement of socially acceptable behaviour. by agenst of the cjs e.g police officers etc
Postive sanctions are actions that reward good behaviour. e.g clapping pay increase school certificates mbes etc
Negative sanctions are actions that punish poor behaviour. g. booing, fines, imprisonment, death penalty etc
**Informal social control refers to the enforcement of socially acceptable behaviour by lay members of the public, e.g., parents, teachers and peers.
Functionalism
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Anomie refers to a state of normlessness or a breakdown in social order, often occurring during periods of rapid change, uncertainty or crisis. The concept was developed by Emile Durkheim, who argued that anomie arises when individuals no longer feel connected to the collective norms and values of society
Durkehim argued that in a fuctioning soicety there is a conscience collective (a shared set of norms and vaules) in which, consequently to, societies' institutions and the vast majority in a society has been socialised.
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Strain theory (merton)
Merton did not agree with other functionilits that all spaects of society were alwasy benifical. crime and deviance were evidence of a poor fit (or a strain) betwween the socially accepted goals of soicety
Merton saw the main goals as walth and power as reprsented in the american dream. supposededly even the poorest had opporttunties to reach the highest levels of society (Meritocractic)
However, the reality is diffrent: many disadvatnaged groups are dnied opportunties to achive legitimately.
This produces frustation, and this in turn creates a pressure to resort to illegitmate means- presure to devaite
This is increased by the fact american culture emphasises achivinng sucess at any cost. Winning the game becomes more important than playing by the rules
5 Strain responses
- Conformity: Indivduals accept the cultrally approved goals and strive to achive them legitmately. This most like amomgst middle class indidduals who have good opportunties to achive. This is the typical response of most americans
- Innovation: Indivduals accept the goal of money success but use 'new; illegiatmte means such as theft or fraud to achieve it. those at the lower end of class structure are under greatest pressure to innovate.
- Ritualism: Indivdiulas give up trying to achive the goals but have internalised the legitmate means and so they follow the rules for their own sake. this is typical of lower middle class office workers in dead end and rountiue jobs
- Retreatism. Individulas reject both the goals and the legitmate means and become dropouts. Merton includes 'psychoctics, outcasts, vagrants, tramps chronic drunkards and drug addicst as examples
- Rebellion. Indivduals reject the exiting societies goals and means but they replave them with new ones in a desire to bring about revoulationary chnage and create a new kind of society. Rebels include polictical radicals and counter cultures such as hippes
Evauluating strain therory. He is critical of eariler functionalists arguing for the beneficial aspects of crime. He recognies the will of the middle and upper classes to commit crime as there was no upper litmit to power staus and wealth. There are a varietu of goals that people strive to attain at any one time. for example people may priotise happy family life or lesiure over fincial sucess and power- it assumes there is vaule consensus
He still over esiatmtes wc and understiamtes middle class and corpoate crime. Cannot explain non-utiltarian crimes such as violence, sexual assult etc
Subcultural theory
Subcultral strain theroies see deviance as the product of a deliqneunt subculture with diffrent vaules from those of mainstram society. They see subcultures as providng an alternative poortunity structure for those who are denied the chance to achive by legitmate means-mainlt those in the working class
From this point of view, subcultures are a solution to a problem and thereofe fuctional for their members,even if not wider sociery
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So, why is crime and devaince found in all societies?
Not everyone is effectively socialised into the shared norms and values, so some individuals will be prone to deviate (e.g., inadequate primary socialisation).
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In complex modern societies, there is a diversity of lifestyles and values. This leads to different groups developing their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values, mainstream culture may see these as deviant.