Functionalist Theories

• Durkheim


  Argues that an appropriate amount of crime can cause a stronger collective conscience. But too much crime indicates anomie.
• Social Solidarity


  Movements against crime e.g. Me too and cleaning up after riots provide people with a sense of community
• Clinard


  Crime serves as a warning function to indicate if something isn't working properly
• Cohen


  Deviance acts as a safety valve that allows people to be individual in their personal lives e.g. makeup, style
• Durkheim - adaptive


  Argues that deviance helps society adapt to changes and illustrates what is right and wrong.

  The amount of deviance is static in healthy societies, some but not a lot
• Evaluation of functionalism: Difficult to evidence

  Kai T.Erikson used secondary documents to test Durkheim's theory of boundary maintenance and found two findings that broadly supported views:

  1. Institutions that exist to restrict or punish deviants view their role as handing rather than removing
  2. The idea of the amount of tolerable deviance appears correct
• Merton


  There are two functions of crime:

  • Latent - what it intends to do
  • Manifest - unintended consequences on society
• Merton : Strain


  Strain Theory suggests that crime happens when there is a gap between goals and an individual's ability to achieve them
• Merton : Anomie


  A society were individuals cannot achieve goals, with two reasons:

  1. Goals of society are too high
  2. Individuals' ability is too low
• Responses to strain


  • Conformity - 'play along' to maybe eventually be successful
  • Innovation - come up with new means to achieve goals
  • Ritualism - don't share society's goals but go through motions anyways
  • Retreatism - 'drop out' of society and don't accept goals or means
  • Rebellion - have their own goals and means
• Evaluating Merton


  Only studied in the US, many crimes defy categories e.g. wcc or passion related crimes