2.3

• subcultural theories


  focus on the structure of society and how it is organised

  focus on how unequal/equal society society is, what holds it together and what might cause conflict

  essentially society is the underlying cause of all crimes according to these theories
• Functionalism- Emile Durkheim 


  crime is inevitable as not every member of society can be equally committed to collective sentiment/values/beliefs

  socialisation and social control helps achieve solidarity in society

  all members of society feel they belong to the same harmonious unit under this society
• common social values

  diversity

  tolerance

  equality

  fairness

  individualism

  personal freedom

  democracy
• Durkheims functions of crime

  boundary maintenance

  social change

  safety valve

  warning light
• Durkheim- Boundary maintenance


  crime produces a reaction that unites societies members against the offender

  reminds people of the boundaries between right and wrong- reaffirms their shared rules
• Durkheim- social change


  for society to progress, individuals must challenge existing norms and values

  it would commonly be seen as deviant at first

  e.g. nelson Mandela
• Durkheim- safety valve 


  The release of anger and frustration

  davis: prostitution acts to relieve mens sexual frustration without threatening the nuclear family
• Durkheim- warning light


  deviance would indicate society isn't functioning properly

  for example high truancy rates would indicate problems with the education system
• Functionalism- Mertons strain theory


  society encourages us to subscribe to the goals of success

  however society is unable to provide everyone with the legitimate means to achieve success

  People therefore experience strain when they are unable to achieve their goals through legitimate means
• Merton- what may happen if people cannot achieve their goals


  innovation, Accept the situation but find criminal ways to achieve material success

  ritualism, lose sight of their goals

  retreatism, and drop out of society

  rebellion, and set opposing goals
• Albert Cohen status frustration (func/subcultural)

  subcultural deviance- a group response to failure

  focuses on crimes that are not for a financial gain

  boys and status heirachy

  • working class boys struggle to achieve status in school
  • places them at the bottom of schools status
  • boys begin to experience status frustration
  • create an alternative hierarchy allows them to achieve status from their peers through delinquent behaviour
• coward and ohlin

  different neighbourhoods- different types of deviant subcultures

  criminal subcultures- areas of longstanding criminal networks. suitable for young people as an introduction/ taste of crime

  conflict subcultures- criminal opportunities through street gangs. violence provides a source of status

  retreats subcultures- dropouts who have failed at legal and illegal opportunities in life, often using drugs
• interactionism


  refers to how people in society interact with one another

  for instance a criminal is a label attached to someone based on interactions

  would argue crime is socially constructed

  this interpretation of crime stems from Howard Becker's theory of labelling theory
• labelling theory


  primary deviance- an act of deviance that has not been socially labelled as deviant

  secondary deviance- an act of deviance that has been socially labelled as deviant

  once someone has been labelled as deviant them view themselves as such. this becomes their master status and can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy

  the media can have an influence and create folk devils as people become stereotyped
• labelling theory- the hippies


  drug was initially not central to the hippies lifestyle and went undetected (primary deviance)

  increased police attention as they labelled them as drug addicts

  raids and arrests led them to retreat into a closed group

  development of a subculture where hard drug use was common (self- fulfilling prophecy)

  a means of control by the police effectively makes the issue worse
• interactionism and crime stats

  interactionists would reject crime stats collected by the police

  they would argue that the stats measure the actions of the police rather than the offender

  for instance if the police target a particular group e.g working class males, then they will spend more time pursuing this crime type

  subsequently, they suggest that the large majority of offenders being working class males is based on police's stereotypes
• Marxism

  argues that the unequal structure of a capitalist society shapes peoples behaviour

  they argue that crime is inevitable under this structure

  capitalist structure is divided into the following:

  • the bourgeoisie- the ruling capitalist class who own the means of production (business, banks, land etc)
  • the proletariat- the working class whose labour the capitalists exploit to make profit

  marxism would argue that institutions such as the police, schools, family etc are there to help us conform
• how does capitalism cause crime- marxism

  exploitation of the working class, forces them into poverty and crime

  pushes consumer goods on people through advertising, result in that need and theft to obtain it

  inequality causes anger, frustration, alienation

  capitalism causes crime amongst capitalists i.e. white collar crime
• how does marxism argue that laws are made/reinforced

  serves the interests of the capitalist class

  protects the interests of the rich, and prosecutes the poor

  corporate crime is punished less severely

  working class are heavily policed because they are considered 'more criminal'
• what are the ideological functions of crime and law according to marxism

  crime and law are an ideology under marxism

  encourages workers to blame working class criminals for their problems rather than capitalism

  shifts the focus away from law enforcement and the government

  the idea that the working class accept capitalism as opposed to ideas of replacing it
• right realism

  take a right wing, conservative political outlook

  see crime as a growing problem

  would argue the best way to tackle crime is through control and punishment

  they would be opposed to a more liberal approach e.g rehabilitation
• right realism

  politicians

  • boris johnson, jacob rees-mogg and priti patel

  newspapers

  • the daily telegraph and the daily mail

  policies

  • zero tolerance immigration
  • stop and search procedures
  • tougher sentencing lawa
• left realism

  have a left wing socialist outlook

  the main victims are disadvantaged groups: the working class, ethnic minorities, women etc

  crimes rates are highest in working class/deprived areas

  they argue that crime can be reduced in a fairer and equal society
• surveillance theories: Foucault- the panopticon


  Foucault- in modern society we are increasingly under self surveillance

  this is illustrated in the prison designs of a panopticon

  under this design the prison cells are visible to the guards, but the prisoners cannot see the guards

  Foucault argues a similar understanding of surveillance can be seen in: mental hospitals, army barracks, workplaces, schools etc

  the degree of disciplinary power can now reach every individual
• synoptic surveillance

  mathiesen argues that in society the term synopticon exists

  synopticon- where everybody watches everybody