Functionalism

• Durkheim's 3 ideas about crime:

  1. a limited amount of crime is inevitable and even necessary
  2. crime has positive functions- a certain amount contributes to the well-being of society
  3. too much crime is bad for society- institutions of social control are necessary to keep crime in check
• 1. Why is crime inevitable?

  Not every member of society can equally be committed to the collective conscience.

  Durkheim- deviance would still exist even in a 'society of saints'. slightest slip in behaviour would be a serious offence
• 2. What positive functions does crime provide?

  1-Social regulation. Reaffirms boundaries of acceptable behaviour

  2-Social integration. When horrific crimes happen, whole communities join together

  3-Social change- All social change began with some form of deviance
• 3- Why is too much crime dysfunctional?

  Too much crime= social order breaks

  Too little= no social change

  AO3 criticism- Durkheim did not specify how much crime is needed or what types of crimes
• Supporting Durkheim :)

  • Crime has positive functions. Prostitution acts as a way for men to vent sexual frustrations without threatening the nuclear family and porn channels a variety of sexual desires
  • Crime is inevitable. The true functions of agencies of control (the police) may be to sustain a certain level of crime.
  • Deviance is integral to society. Crimes reinforce collective sentiments
• Against Durkheim :(

  • He doesn't suggest the right amount of crime needed for society to function
  • Society does not create crime with the intention of strengthening social solidarity
  • Ignores how crimes affect individuals and victims
  • Crime may not promote social solidarity but do the opposite. E.g. forcing women to stay indoors out of fear of being attacked
• Robert Merton theory on crime?

  Strain Theory- Crime is the way some people reconcile themselves.

  The cultural system of the USA was built on the American Dream but this created an unbalanced society

  Pressure to succeed could be so powerful that it impels the disadvantaged to bypass legitimate careers and adopt illegitimate ones
• The 5 adaptations to Merton's theory:

  1. Conformity- pursuing goals through socially approved means
  2. Innovation- socially unapproved means (e.g. drug dealing)
  3. Ritualism- socially approved means to achieve less elusive goals
  4. Retreatism- reject both cultural goals and means to obtain it, then escape
  5. Rebellion-reject cultural goals and means, then replace them
• AO3 Evaluating Merton:

  :)- Accounts for the rapid increase in crime against property

  :)- Explains the rise in crime experienced by former communist countries

  :(- Fails to explore why individuals experience anomie and others do not

  :(- Many accuse Merton of over estimating crime committed by the working-class and under estimating white collar crime
• Cohen- subcultural theories of deviance

  • Cohen develops Merton's theory and addresses why groups commit crimes
  • Deviants conform to norms and values different from the rest of society. Socially deviant acts are praiseworthy and a way of achieving status
  • Boys find their sense of identity in street gangs and earn their status through acts of toughness, risk- taking and delinquency.
• AO3 Evaluating Cohen

  :) Provides an explanation for non-utilitarian crimes

  :( Limited- doesn't account for white collar crime

  :( Postmodernists argue the individual is influenced by boredom or seeking a "buzz" instead of consciously thinking that society would consider this unacceptable

  :( Cohen's theory on boys is ultimately based on biological assumptions about sex differences