Functionalist Theory of Crime and Deviance

• Socialisation instills a shared culture into members of society. This ensures that individuals internalise the same norms and values
• Social Control is mechanisms including rewards for conforming and punishment for those who deviate, this helps ensure that individuals behave in the way society expects
• Functionalists believe that crime and deviance are universal
• Functionalists believe that Crime is universal
• Some reason crime may be universal are;

  • Not everyone is socialised the same
  • Sub-culture norms may value crime
  • Police do not act as a full deterrent of crime
• Durkheim believes there is 2 positive functions of crime
• The two positive functions of crime according to Durkheim are; Boundary Maintenance and Adaptation and Change
• Boundary Maintenance refers to crime bringing a reaction from society that unities people by condemnation
• Adaptation and Change means crime brings light to issues challenging society that change societal norms, this improves society
• Sarah Payne was a young girl who was murdered by a Sex Offender which lead to Sarah's Law
• Sarah Payne is an examples of Boundary Maintenance that reaffirms the norm of protecting children in society
• The Suffragettes were deviant as they went against the norms of society at the time
• The Suffragettes were an example of adaptation and change as they brought attention to the lack of rights for women and challenges the norms of society
• Durkheim says that neither high or low levels of crime are desired, and both point to malfunctioning of a system
• Durkheim says that too much crime can threaten to tear the values of society apart
• Durkheim says too little crime means society is repressing and controlling of its members that sift individual freedom
• Davis & Polsky argue that prostitution acts as a safety valve to release men's frustration, and pornography can channel a variety of sexual desires without considering alternatives like adultery
• Cohen argues that deviance can be a key indicator that an institution is not functioning correctly such as truancy showing school isn't working as intended
• Erikson argues that Police sustain a certain level of crime rather than eradicating it, and society is organised in a way to promote deviance
• Social Control Theory says crime is a result of social institutions losing influence over individuals
• Hirschi says criminal activity occurs when an individual's attachment to society is weakened and there are four social bonds that tie us all together that when degraded crime occurs
• The Four Social Bonds according to Hirschi is; Attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief
• According to Social Control Theory and Hirschi the 'typical delinquent' is young, single, unemployed and probably male
• The Views of Hirschi are popular in right wring press, the Labour Party's Jack Straw ('boys need dads') and Conservatives Party's David Cameron
• Attachment (Hirschi) refers to the care for others opinions and wishes
• Commitment (Hirschi) refers to personal investment and what someone has to lose
• Involvement (Hirschi) refers to the busyness of someone and if they have the opportunity to commit crime
• Belief (Hirschi) refers to the sense of obeying or dissent
• However, Hirschi's explanation of crime fails to consider why white collar crime occurs
• Additionally, Hirschi supports Durkheim as his 4 social bonds tie to Durkheim's values of society
• Durkheim saying that crime has a positive function doesn't consider the negative effect of crime on the victim
• Marxists disagree with Functionalists as the laws are made by the bourgeoise and working class people are targeted by laws
• Feminists argue that the laws benefit the patriarchy and women's rights are often disregarded