Functionalist

• Durkheim


  functions of a crime

  collective consensus

  public temper - crime brings people together (Olivia Pratt)

  boundary maintenance - punishment reaffirms societies shared rules and reinforces social solidarity

  adaptation - for functional rebels there must be some scope for to challenge and change existing norms and values (suffragetes)
• Erikson


  public degradation ceremonies

  PDC have declined as media grows more popular

  shifts in boundaries occur where deviant behaviour becomes accepted
• Durkheim


  anomie

  a sense of normlessness that occurs when their is too much or too little crime, without punishment, consensus breaks down
• Davies 


  safety valve

  deviance acts as a safety valve for society eg prostitution to prevent promiscuity and rape
• Merton


  strain theory

  society built on meritocratic principles suggesting equality of opportunity available regardless of opportunity however this isn't possible for all so crime is inevitable

  • conformist
  • innovator
  • retreatist
  • ritualist
  • rebel