Functionalist crime

• Durkheim - functionalist


  Boundary Maintenance - commit a crime, put in prison - reinforces social norms with social control

  Social change - crime brings social change, if homosexuality is illegal, but people keep doing it, it's for a reason

  Social cohesion - crime can bring people together against those who have committed crimes
• Critique: Durkheim - functionalist

  Social cohesion - something bad has to happen for people to come together - crime still negatively effects someone

  Boundary maintenance - does it work? some people don't care about punishments
• Davis - functionalist

  prostitution acts as safety valve without threatening the monogamous nuclear family

  men take frustration out on prostitutes - go home happy
• Cohen - functionalist

  deviance is a warning that an institution is not functioning properly

  e.g. truancy - if one person isn't showing up, personal, if 70% of the class isn't showing up, issue with the system

  e.g. illegalised abortions - people still do it illegally and unsafely - problem with the law
• Merton - functionalism


  Strain Theory

  Deviance is the result of strain between cultural and structural factors

  Cultural factors - societal goals that individuals are encouraged to reach for e.g. going to university

  Structural factors - what institutions and the structure of society allows them to achieve e.g. poverty may prevent you being able to reach goals
• Merton - functionalism - (adaptations)

  Adaptations due to strain

  Conformity - have means of meeting societal goals so they meet them without resorting to deviant acts

  Innovation - do not have means of meeting societal goals so commit deviant acts to meet them

  Ritualism - do not have means of meeting societal goals so don't pursue them

  Retreatism - do not have means of meeting societal goals so resort to isolationist behaviour to cope

  Rebellion - do not attempt to meet societal goals and try to revolutionise what those goals are
• Critique: Merton - functionalist

  Cohen - argues Merton's theory doesn't explain group crime

  Crime doesn't always have economic motive (e.g. violent crime)
• Cohen - functionalist, subcultures

  Status frustration - subcultures

  w/c boys at the bottom of the official status hierarchy in schools

  turn to deviant subcultures with spite for the mainstream - explanation for some violent crimes

  
  

  Critique: Though this works on the assumption that w/c boys shared middle class goals in the first place
• Cloward and Ohlin - functionalist, subcultures


  w/c boys subcultures

  Criminal Subcultures

  - organised crime

  - areas with established crime (e.g. drug dealers)

  Conflict Subcultures

  - loosely organised gangs and resort to violent crimes to release frustration

  Retreatist Subcultures

  - those who fail in being successful at crimes against people

  - turn to drug use subcultures
• Critique: Cloward and Ohlin - functionalist, subcultures


  Deterministic - assumes people fall into categories

  White collar crime not explained

  Assumes there is a society wide value consensus + everyone has the same goals