Functionalism Theories

• Functionalism Theory (Durkheim):

  • Crime happens due to norms becoming weakened and blurred by the subcultures or groups with a society who do not all hare the same views of what is or is not deviant- anomie
• Functions of Crime:

  • Boundary Maintenance- reminds people of what right and wrong
  • Social Change- Some will challenge existing norms and values to create a change in society
  • Safety Value- Kingsley Davis says some crimes allow a release
  • Warning Light- Indicates a societal problem which needs fixing
• Merton Strain Theory:

  • Robert Merton argued crime is caused by inequality in society
  • Focused on the USA, but the principle can be applied in most societies
  • America sees Mooney as “success”
  • You can get it through education, hard work etc- but not everyone can
• Blocked Opportunity:

  • not everyone has equal chance to achieve success legitimately because of inequality.
  • Working class opportunities are blocked by poverty or lack of access to good education.
  • This causes a “strain“ in society, rich and poor.
• Merton came up with 4 options for those who couldn’t reach their goal:

  • Innovation- using illegal methods to get what they want
  • Ritualism- Give up on the goal of getting money
  • Retreatism- Vagrants (homeless), drunk and drug addicts give up on all goals and work
  • Rebellion- reject existing systems of getting money.
• Subculture Theory (Cohen):

  • Subculture- delinquent subcultures with different norms and values
  • Albert Cohen believes subculture deviance is because of societal failure to respond to their needs.
  • Subcultures lead to members of subcultures gaining status through illegitimate means.
  • Being part of a subculture allows them to gain respect demo peers via their deviant behaviour