crime and deviance

• theorist: functionalist 


  they believe crime is inevitable and universal. it occurs when individuals can’t achieve the goals of society.
• theorist: durkheim


  he believes crime can be positive for society through, 1) boundary maintenance, 2) changing society, 3) acts as a warning device and 4) provides jobs
• theorist: merton


  crime occurs due to strain. people can’t legally achieve the goals of society due to poor education/opportunities. 5 reactions: conformity, innovation, reatreatism, rebellion snd ritualism.
• theorist: marxist


  they believe crime is negative and helps to maintain capitalism/keep the class divide. the ruling class create laws which benefit them and scapegoat the working class. the working classes are targeted by police and so are more likely to appear in crime statistics. mc/white collar crime less likely to be detected.
• theorist: feminists


  crime is negative and helps to maintain patriarchy in society. crimes such as domestic violence and sexual crimes are not taken seriously and female victims are not supported. female criminals are seen as double deviants as they go against the law AND expectations.
• theorist: interactionist 


  an act is only seen as criminal/deviant if it is labelled as such by society. labelling can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy and criminal becoming a master status. individuals can spiral into a deviant career and join deviant/criminal subcultures (becker).
• theorist: subcultural 


  criminal subcultures involve young males, show behaviour which goes against society’s norms and are likely to show anti-social acts.

  cohen: working class boys experience status frustration and join delinquent subcultures to gain status/fight back against society.
• crime: 


  an illegal act which is punishable by law.
• deviance:


  an act which goes against societies norms but may not be illegal. e.g face tattoos