Functionalist theories of crime and deviance

• functionalism Positive functions of Crime

  • boundary maintenance and social cohesion
  • adaption and change
  • warning sign
  • safety valve
• functionalism Positive functions of Crime - boundary maintenance and social cohesion

  DURKHEIM

  • crime allows society to reinforce what is acceptable behaviour in society as the public nature of the punishments shows people what will happen for breaking the rules
  • very serious crime - society can come together to codmn the perpetrators
  • boundary maintenance
• functionalism Positive functions of Crime - adaption and change

  DURKHEIM

  • some social deviance is necessary to allow society to move forward and progress
  • without some deviant and criminal behaviour society will become stagnant and die
• functionalism Positive functions of Crime - warning sign

  CLINARD/COHEN

  • an increase in a certain type of crime or deviant behaviour can be an indication that something in society is not functioning as it should be and a change needs to occur
• functionalism Positive functions of Crime - safety valve

  DAVIS/POLSKY

  • some minor crimes and acts of deviancy can actually prevent larger more serious crimes
  • POLSKY - accessing pornography can prevent more serious sexual crimes
• functionalism positive functions of crime - AO3

  • Marxism - ignores the role that the powerful have in shaping what is criminal and deviant as well as the role of social inequality
  • Durkheim ignores the impact that crime has on the individual victims instead focuses on the impact on society
  • Doesnt quantify how much crime is beneficial to society
  • crime doesn't always lead to solidarity but can cause isolation of both victim and criminal
• functionalism strain theory

  MERTON

  • based around the idea of the American dream in the 1950s
  • Merton believed that crime is a response to the strain placed on people to achieve the goals and values of society
• functionalism strain theory - types of strain

  1. conformity
  2. innovation
  3. ritualism
  4. rebellion
  5. retreatism
• functionalism strain theory - types of strain

  • conformity

  accepting the goals set out and agreed by society as well the means to achieve them
• functionalism strain theory - types of strain

  • innovation

  accepting the goals set out and agreed by society but choosing alternative means to achieve them
• functionalism strain theory - types of strain

  • ritualism

  following the means to achieve the goals of society but believing that you will never actually achieve them
• functionalism strain theory - types of strain

  • rebellion

  rejecting the goals of society and creating your own as well as the means of achieving them
• functionalism strain theory - types of strain

  • retreatism

  reject the goals of society and the means of achieving them but do not replace them with their own goals or means
• functionalism strain theory AO3

  • over exaggerates the importance of monetary success
  • underestimates the amount of crime committed by those who have achieved societal goals
  • doesn't explain why groups choose the response they do
  • fails to explain non-utilitarian crime
• functionalism - control theory

  HIRSCHI

  • asks not why people commit crime but why they don't commit crime
  • this idea suggests strong bonds with society stops people from committing crime

  
• functionalism - control theory AO3

  • assumes all people are naturally bad and it is society that keeps people good - doesn't explain why the bonds are weal or strong or how they become so
  • you can have strong bonds but still be deviant - sexuality
• functionalism - sub-cultural theory

  • status frustration COHEN
  • illegitimate opportunity structures CLOWARD AND OHLIN
  • FOCAL CONCERNS MILLER
• functionalism - sub-cultural theory

  status frustration COHEN

  • young people get frustrated by their inability to achieve social goals which lead to status frustration - turn to crime to achieve status
• functionalism - sub-cultural theory

  status frustration COHEN AO3

  • Willis - W/C boys do not share the same ideas of status as M/C boys
  • ignores female delinquency
  • only discusses youth crime
• functionalism - sub-cultural theory

  illegitmate opportunity structures CLOWARD AND OHLIN

  • criminal subcultures which socialise young people into criminal activity
  • conflict subcultures - little social cohesion
  • retreatist subcultures - fail to gain access to the other two subcultures
• functionalism - sub-cultural theory

  illegitimate opportunity structures AO3

  • assumes the official statistics on crime are accurate
  • over exaggeration of the criminal opportunities available to the young
• functionalism - sub-cultural theory

  focal concerns MILLER

  • W/C have a different set of values or focal concerns to the rest of society which include hyper masculinity which can lead to criminal behaviour appearing normal
• functionalism - sub-cultural theory

  focal concerns AO3

  • not all W/C are criminals
  • MATZA - sub culture membership is often short lived