Sociology paper 3

• Functionalist theory


  Structural theory that believes society is based on a value consensus into which society socialises its members, enabling social harmony and social solidarity. Crime is functional, inevitable, and normal according to functionalists as it provides those functions.
• Functionalist theory


  • Criticised for ignoring inequalities and being deterministic
• Durkheim's view


  Crime is functional, inevitable and normal as not everyone has been effectively socialised, often reflecting changes in society that needs or has happened. Modern society is complex and growth in diversity means there are different subcultures with their own norms and values, too much of it could be dangerous as it shows society isn't exercising enough social control.
• Crime and deviance (according to Durkheim)

  Act as a boundary maintenance, done through punishment where right and wrong is reinforced
• Crime and deviance (according to Durkheim)


  Allow social change, such as Sarah's law allowing the identity of sex offenders to be revealed for future protections
• Crime and deviance (according to Durkheim)

  Promote social solidarity as society unites against the criminal
• Merton's strain theory


  People are socialised into believing the importance of achieving the American dream, but the structural means to achieve this are not fairly distributed across social groups, causing a strain to anomie which is too weak to prevent people using illegitimate means to achieve the goal. Deviants innovate by accepting society's aims, norms and values but have no legitimate way of attaining success, so they develop criminal behaviour as an alternative pathway.
• Merton's strain theory may explain individual deviance but not collective deviance, and fails to explain non-utilitarian crimes, assuming everyone has the same goal of monetary success
• Cohen's subcultural theory


  Deviance is a product of delinquent subcultures. Working-class boys face anomie in the middle-class education system and end up in the bottom of official status hierarchy, suffering status frustration. They turn to others in the same situation and create gangs, accepting and praising what society condemns in order to achieve status.
• Cohen's subcultural theory is deterministic as it assumes all working-class in that position will turn to crime
• Cloward and Ohlin's subcultural theory

  There are three types of subcultures: criminal subcultures (like the mafia), conflict subcultures (using violence as a frustration release), and retreatism subcultures (members who aren't good at the other two subcultures so they turn to drug use).
• Cloward and Ohlin's subcultural theory draws the boundaries too sharply between different subcultures, and Matza found that delinquents often drift in and out of delinquency rather than being strongly committed
• Marxist theory


  Structural conflict theory that acknowledges the class inequality in society between the bourgeoisie and proletariat in a capitalist society. Traditional Marxists take a deterministic viewpoint, while Neo-Marxists acknowledge free will. Both believe a communist society would reduce crime.
• Gordon's Marxist view


  Capitalism is criminogenic as crime is inevitable in capitalism, as it creates an environment for it. Crime is a rational response to the capitalist system, with working-class crimes often a result of being exploited and poor, and middle-class crimes relating to increasing profit.
• Gordon's Marxist view is deterministic as not all poor people commit crime despite alienation and poverty, and not all capitalist societies have high crime rates
• Chambliss' Marxist view


  The state and law-making serves the interest of the capitalist class, with laws protecting private property ownership and the capitalist state being reluctant to pass laws that regulate business activities or threaten profits.
• Selective enforcement (according to Chambliss)


  There is a focus on prosecuting working-class crimes like burglary and assault, while middle-class crimes like tax evasion have low prosecution rates
• Evidence shows that some middle-class crimes do get punished, but Marxists criticise this as occasional prosecutions performing an ideological function to make the system seem impartial
• Neo-Marxist view


  Influenced by Marxists and Interactionists, taking a voluntaristic approach and believing that working-class choose their behaviour. They see capitalism as based on inequality, and aim for a fully social theory of deviance to understand the motivation and meaning of deviant acts.
• Neo-Marxist view is criticised by Left Realists as romanticising working-class criminals and being too general and idealistic to be useful in tackling crime
• Crimes of the powerful

  Marxists argue that the law is selectively enforced, with the more likely a crime is to be committed by higher class people, the less likely it is to be treated as an offence. White-collar and corporate crimes do far more harm than street crimes, but are less prosecuted.
• Corporate crime


  Is often a result of businesses pursuing profit maximisation even if it causes harm, such as the PIP company using industrial silicone in breast implants
• Merton's strain theory can explain corporate crime, but this view over-predicts the amount of corporate crime as not all businesses will commit crime just to boost profits
• State corporate crime


  Refers to how businesses and the government cooperate to pursue their goals, such as private companies contracted to the US military being involved in torture of detainees
• Some corporations do get prosecuted for corporate crime, undermining the view that the law always favours the powerful
• Labelling theory


  A micro approach that seeks to explain the meanings and reasons behind crime, focusing on the process whereby some individuals or groups become labelled as deviant. They believe in free will and that no act itself is deviant or criminal, but that crime or deviance is a social construction.
• Becker's view on labelling


  People become deviant because moral entrepreneurs like the criminal justice system and media have the power to label someone as deviant. Labelling of deviant leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy, with the label of criminal becoming their master status and leading to deviant careers.
• Labelling theory is criticised by conflict theorists for failing to locate the origin of such labels, which the Marxists argue is caused by capitalism
• Cicourel's view on police stereotypes

  Police attach harmful stereotypes based on ethnicity, class, and gender to determine who they stop and arrest, and certain people can negotiate the consequences of these typifications, with middle-class individuals often able to avoid arrest.
• Official statistics on crime should be used as a topic instead of a resource, as they are socially constructed
• Conflict theorists criticise the labelling theory for failing to locate the origin of such labels, arguing that the root of labelling of working class is caused by capitalism according to Marxists
• Cicourel's findings on police stereotypes

  • Police attached harmful stereotypes to determine who they stop and arrest
  • These typifications are usually based on ethnicity, class, and gender
  • Black working class males tend to get stopped and searched most
• Justice


  Not fixed but negotiated, meaning certain people can negotiate the consequences
• Middle class may be able to negotiate consequences as they come from an educated and wealthy background, whereas working class or ethnic groups may not be able to negotiate as they tend to come from disadvantaged backgrounds and broken homes
• Official statistics should be used as a topic instead of a resource as they are socially constructed
• Realists criticise Cicourel's view


  Although official statistics have flaws, they still show a basic reality of crime, and shouldn't be dismissed but used as an explanation
• Statistics show working class committing most crimes, which could be due to structural factors that Cicourel's explanation doesn't explain
• The media may have a bigger influence on typifications, as shown by the case of Christopher Jefferies who was wrongly accused of murder and the media sensationalised it based on his appearance
• Primary deviance


  The act hasn't publicly been labelled
• Secondary deviance


  Societal reaction included exclusion and stigmatising the act leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy