functionalist + subcultural theories

• What does Durkheim say about crime?

  A limited amount of crime is both necessary and beneficial as it fulfils important positive functions for society.
• What are two positive functions of crime?

  Boundary Maintenance and Adaptation and Change
• What is boundary maintenance?

  Boundary maintenance is the idea that criminal and deviant behaviour reinforce the value consensus of society and the belief of the collective conscience as society comes together to condemn wrongdoers.
• What is adaptation and change?

  This is the idea that deviant behaviour demonstrates a changing attitude of the population. As small groups deviate, others accept this as the norm and these behaviours become more socially acceptable.
• What is a criticism of Durkheim?


  He ignores the negative effects of crime on the victims for example crime can lead to social isolation of individuals due to fear of victimisation
• What are some other functions of crime?

  Safety valve - prostitution acts as a safety valve for the release of mens sexual frustrations without threatening the monogamous nuclear family.

  Warning light - crime and deviance acts as a warning that an institution is not functioning properly.
• What is strain theory?

  Strain theory is when people turn to crime and deviance as a result of not being able to achieve the goals of society legitimately.
• What is conformity?

  Conformity is when you accept the goals of society and achieve them through legitimate means e.g through hard work and education.
• What is innovation?

  Innovation is when you accept the goals of society but achieve them through illegitimate means e.g theft and drug dealing
• What is ritualism?

  Ritualism is when you reject the goals of society but still live legitimately e.g office workers
• What is retreatism?

  Retreatism is when you are unsuccessful in achieving the goals of society legitimately and illegitimately so you give up e.g homeless and drug addicts.
• What is rebellion?


  Rebellion is when you reject the goals of society and create your own, achieving them illegitimately e.g fundamentalists and counter-cultures.
• Evaluation of strain theory

  Only explains utilitarian crime and cannot explain violent offences such as GBH or domestic violence.
• What is status frustration?

  When you turn to crime and deviance as a result of cultural deprivation and lacking social status. E.g working class boys lack social status in school and experience status frustration as a result of not being able to achieve status legitimately so form delinquent subcultures.
• Evaluation of status frustration

  deterministic - assumes all working class boys will form delinquent subcultures as a result of a lack of social status rather than not even sharing the middle-class goals of society.
• What is differential opportunity?

  Working class youths are denied legitimate opportunities to achieve "money success" and that there are a range of ways people may respond. Not everyone who fails to achieve success through legitimate means then has an equal chance of becoming successful through illegitimate means.
• What are the three different types of deviant subculture?

  criminal, conflict and retreatist
• What is a criminal subculture?

  These are based in areas where there are existing criminal networks. Males would be apprenticed into crimes as an alternative to a legitimate crime.
• What is a conflict subculture?


  Frustrations channelled into clashing with other groups based on 'turf' or other factors such as ethnicity.
• What is a retreatist subculture?

  When rejected by other groups, young males would opt out of society and turn to deviant behaviours to alleviate frustrations e.g. drugs and petty crime
• Evaluation of differential opportunity

  They focus too heavily on working class crime and ignore the crimes of the wealthy e.g white collar and corporate crime
• similarities between status frustration and differential opportunity?

  Both agree that the working class are denied legitimate opportunities to achieve utilitarian success

  Both focus too much on working class male crime
• differences between status frustration and differential opportunity?

  differential opportunity explain why there are different subculture responses rather than subcultures as a whole

  differential opportunity looks at different neighbourhoods and different opportunities for crime
• what is focal concerns?

  argues that the lower classes create their different value system as a response to the monotony of working class jobs which allow them to cope with their situation. miller argues working class boys become delinquent because they grow up in a subculture with these values so are more likely to break the law. deviance = result of socialisation
• what are the six focal concerns?

  trouble - linked to excitement and toughness - may find themselves in trouble

  fate - they believe that their future is already decided + what they do won't influence it

  excitement - seek out excitement when not in work

  autonomy - they wish to be independent and not rely on others

  smartness - they use wit including 'smart' remarks

  toughness - they wish to prove that they are tough/hard
• evaluation of focal concerns

  feminists argue this ignores female criminality and female victims of crime, focussing heavily on males
• what is drift theory


  delinquency is something people 'drift' in and out of.

  argues that there is no set of anti-social values or a distinct group of delinquents or non delinquents.

  argues all people hold two levels of values.

  argued the drift occurred more within groups who lacked the most control (i.e working class youths)

  people adopt 'techniques of neutralisation' when drifting back to conventional values
• what are the two levels of values in drift theory?

  respectable and conventional values (e.g good parent, dedicated student)

  or

  underground or subterranean values (e.g greed, aggression)
• what are the 5 techniques of neutralisation?

  denial of responsibility - e.g 'i didnt mean to'

  denial of injury - e.g. claiming their acts dont cause harm

  denial of victim - e.g. claiming the victim deserves it

  condemnation of the condemners - e.g shift blame to control agencies like police

  appeal to higher loyalties - e.g. 'i did it for you'
• evaluation of drift theory

  the concept of 'drift' is difficult to operationalise and some sociologists argue that remorse shown by criminals is not a appreciation of mainstream values and is actually not sincere at all
• who is the functionalist theorist?

  durkheim
• who is the strain theorist?

  merton
• who is the status frustration theorist?

  cohen
• who is the differential opportunity theorist?

  cloward and ohlin
• who is the focal concerns theorist?

  miller
• who is the drift theorist?

  matza
• what are the subcultural theories of crime?

  status frustration, strain theory, differential opportunity, focal concerns, drift theory