functionalist theory of crime

• Durkheim's view of deviance

  argues that deviance was functional, normal and inevitable
• two functions of deviance according to Durkheim

  boundary maintenance and social change
• what does deviance facilitate ?

  social change
• durkheim's argument about the levels of deviance

  he argued that too much or too little deviance was bad for society suggesting that there was too much or too little social order and control
• what happens when society undergoes change? - Durkheim

  argued that when societies underwent rapid change such as industrialisation there would be more deviance because of anomie
• anomie

  normlessness or an absence of social control and cohesion
• merton's strain theory

  concluded that American's were socialised into believing the American dream - that everyone should strive for success and material wealth

  there was a strain between the goals and the means to achieve them
• criminals in merton's strain theory

  some may conform and work for the goals but others will find other routes to get the same success without education/meritocracy
• Retreatists (Merton)

  individuals that reject the means and the goals and drop out of society completely
• evaluation of Durkheim

  Marxists argue that he fails to consider where the consensus of society comes from and in whose interests it exists
• evaluation of merton's strain theory

  doesn't consider the source of the goals and doesn't consider why some people find it harder to achieve society's goals
• Hirschi's ideas of bonds of attachment

  identified four bonds of attachment - attachment, commitment, involvement and belief , that keep people closely linked to the value consensus and ensure social control
• attachment - Hirschi's bonds of attachment


  how much do we care what others think?
• commitment - Hirschi's bonds of attachment

  what have we got to lose? people with a good job are less likely to risk losing it
• involvement - Hirschi's bonds of attachment

  how involved are we in society? what takes up our time?
• belief - Hirschi's bonds of attachment

  to what extent do we believe obeying the law is the right thing to do?
• why does Hirschi think people commit crime

  those who are more likely to commit crime are those who don't have family or work commitments or bonds of attachment
• evaluation of Hirschi

  criticised as he doesn't address the issue of why some members of society have secure bonds of attachment and why some are marginalised
• cohen's status frustration theory

  he argued that working class boys often failed at school resulting in a low status

  a response to this was the formation of subcultures or gangs that went against mainstream values
• what can cohen's theory link to?

  Paul Willis - learning to labour
• Cohen's explanation of crimes

  crimes like vandalism or fighting can be explained by the subcultures inverting the values of mainstream society to gain status within the group
• evaluation of Cohen

  Cohen links it to working class boys but doesn't link social class or gender in much of his theory

  therefore, it isn't a full explanation for class and crime
• Cloward and Ohlin - illegitimate opportunity structures


  identified society's mainstream goals as a legitimate opportunity structure

  just like mainstream goals there is a strain to meet the illegitimate opportunity structure goals
• illegitimate opportunity structure

  because someone is unable to become wealthy from working hard doesn't mean that they will easily find a criminal path to wealth
• what are the 3 subcultures that Cloward and Ohlin identified?

  criminal subculture

  conflict subculture

  retreatist subculture
• evaluation of Cloward and Ohlin

  they wrote about working class boys but didn't focus on any other issues regarding class and gender
• miller - focal concerns


  argued that working class boys were socialised into a number of different values and together meant that they were more likely to have deviant values - miller described these as focal concerns
• what are the values that miller identified ?

  excitement, toughness, smartness, trouble, autonomy and fate
• evaluation of Miller

  miller talks about boys without considering the broader aspect of gender

  feminists would argue that many of the values are also the 'concerns' of working class girls