perspectives

• Functionalist view on family

  The family is an agency of primary socialisation and at a very young age children imitate their parents - some individuals commit crime because their parents commit criminal acts
• Functionalist view on education

  The family failed to teach their children norms, morals, values etc and education failed as an agency of secondary socialisation - individuals didn't take advantage of the opportunities in society as it is meritocratic and egalitarian
• Matza's view


  Everyone has a tendency to have delinquent values but as you get older you suppress these feelings and conform to society and its rules
• Marxist view on crime

  People commit crime because of society. It sells the idea of the American Dream and regardless of your financial state everyone wants those items - leads to individuals obtaining them by illegal means. Some people commit crime as a means of survival as they are either unemployed or earn minimum wage
• Merton's strain theory


  When individuals, particularly the working class are faced with a gap between 'what ought to be' and 'what is' they feel restrained which leads them to 5 ways of adaptation: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion
• Postmodernist view


  Due to traditional social structures/agencies of socialisation and social control having less power like the 'family', more individuals have less morals, norms and values. Children have less of a moral compass. This has led to individuals increasingly focusing on themselves, often with little regard and respect for others. They commit crime as they have less fear of consequences and just worry about themselves and not others e.g. identity theft