AC 2.3 Sociological Causes of Criminality

• Structural Theory - Outline

  • See society as a complex structure with various institutions
  • Crime is necessary for society to work as it keep social control
  • Durkheim - significance of rule breaking, collective views of wrong/right
• Structural Theory - Research

  • Boundary maintenance - reminding society of what is right and wrong
  • Social change - for society to progress norms must be broken
  • Safety valve - release frustrations without harming nuclear family e.g. prostitution
  • Warning light - deviance indicates that institution isn't working properly
• Structural Theory - Strengths

  • Recognises positive functions of crime e.g. uniting people against a crime/criminal
• Structural Theory - Weaknesses

  • Doesn't state certain amount of crime to function
  • May be positive functions of crime, doesn't apply to victim
• Subcultural Theory - Outline

  • Working class most likely to fail at school and work low paying jobs
  • Some subcultures turn norms and values upside down, status frustration (Cohen)
  • Exist due to cultural and material deprivation
• Subcultural Theory - Research

  • Cloward and Ohlin - lack of opportunity could lead to young men engaging in delinquent subcultures
• Subcultural Theory - Strengths

  • Perform function for members by offering solutions
  • Different types of neighbourhoods give rise to illegitimate opportunities
• Subcultural Theory - Weaknesses

  • Ignores crimes of wealthy
  • Assumes everyone starts with mainstream goals and turn to crime when they can't achieve them
  • Actual subcultures not as clear cut
• Strain Theory - Outline

  • Creates anomie and puts pressure on individuals to achieve socially accepted goals
  • Marxists oppose as they believe it suggests most crimes are committed by working class
• Strain Theory - Research

  • Merton - strain between accepted goals and means of achieving them
  • Retreatism, innovation, ritualism, rebellion
  • American society built around American dream
• Strain Theory - Strengths

  • Shows how both normal and deviant behaviour arise from same goals
  • Explains patterns shown in official statistics
• Strain Theory - Weaknesses

  • Ignores crimes of wealthy
  • Ignores crimes committed in groups
• Interactionism - Outline

  • How people in society interact with each other
  • Crime statistics are socially constructed, police punish according to the label they gave
  • Differential reinforcement - law is enforced more against one group
  • Deviance amplification - media can demonise people and create moral panic
• Interactionism - Research

  • Becker used labelling to explain criminality - crime stats not true measure of crime
  • SFP turns to master status
• Interactionism - Strengths

  • Shows that law is not fixed set of rules to be taken for granted
  • Shifts focus to how police create crime with labels
  • Attempts to control deviance can trigger deviance amplification spiral
• Interactionism - Weaknesses

  • Wrongly implies that once a person is labelled, they will become deviant
  • Fails to explain primary deviance
  • Focuses on those who apply labels (police)
  • Fails to explain why labels are applied to certain groups
• Marxist - Outline

  • Believe society is unequal and shapes people's behaviours
  • Different classes policed differently
  • Capitalism is criminogenic - utilitarian crimes committed as capitalism pushes consumer goods
• Marxist - Research

  • Chambliss - laws made to protect rich
  • On average 42% of police statistics false
  • Selective law enforcement
• Marxist - Strengths

  • Shows how poverty and inequality can lead to crime
  • Highlights impact of selective law enforcement, white-collar crime underpoliced
• Marxist - Weaknesses

  • Ignores non-class inequalities
  • Not all capitalist societies have high crime rate
• Right Realism - Outline

  • RCT - we are rational beings with free will. Crime rate high as people believe risk is low
  • Nuclear family best agency of socialisation
  • Felson's routine activity theory - motivated offender, suitable target, absence of capable guardian
• Right Realism - Research

  • Murray - nuclear family undermined by welfare benefits, rise in lone-parent families, underclass fail to socialise children properly
• Right Realism - Strengths

  • People make rational decisions
  • May explain opportunistic petty crimes like theft
• Right Realism - Weaknesses

  • Not all crimes based on rational decisions - violent crimes may be impulsive, under the influence
• Left Realism - Outline

  • Relative deprivation
  • Some motivated by consumerism and materialism
  • Subcultures and marginalisation - want to achieve goals but resort to crime
  • Fell discriminated against in jobs based on education
• Left Realism - Research

  • Lea and Young - media shows messages of consumer goods
  • Unequal society due to cuts in benefits and low pay
  • Marginalised groups lack representation, feel frustrated
• Left Realism - Strengths

  • Draws attention to reality of street crimes and its effect
  • Draws attention to importance of poverty, inequality, and relative deprivation
• Left Realism - Weaknesses

  • Fails to explain white-collar crime, ignores harm done
  • Focuses on high-crime inner-city areas
• Surveillance - Outline

  • Foucault - Panopticon (disciplinary power), CCTV
  • Mathiesen - Synoptic, door bells, dash cams, social media
  • Actuarial - calculating risk of certain events happening
• Surveillance - Research

  • Self-surveillance and self-discipline as control is invisible
  • Feely and Simon - aims to predict and prevent future offending
• Surveillance - Strengths

  • Foucault's work stimulated research into surveillance
  • Researchers have identified other forms of surveillance
• Surveillance - Weaknesses

  • Foucault exaggerates extent of control
  • Surveillance may not change people's behaviour, CCTV may fail to prevent crime