Crime and Deviance - topic one functionalist and strain subcultural theories

Value Consesnsus theory- Durkheim (1971) - sharing a common culture 

Culture- having shared norms and values

Socialsiation- instills shared culture into members to internalise the same norms and values

Social control- includes rewards for conformity and punishments for deviance

Durkehim (1971)

2 reasons in which crime can not be avoided:

1.Found in all societies as not everyone is socialised same norms and values

2.We have diverse lifestyles, and different subcultures so what is right for us may be wrong for others

Modern society is more likely to see crime because we tend towards anomies. These are breakdowns of bonds between society and the individual. Rules are less clear due to complex division of labour weakening out consciousnesses. 

Durkheim (1971)

Reasons why crime is good

1.Boundary maintenance: Crime produces a reaction from society to enforce shared N/V. Punishment reaffirms this

2.Adapation and change:Too much crime tears society and too little prevents change, e.g we needed to break rules to have the norms and values bettered

Davis:(1937) prostitution is a safetyvalve for the release of mens frustration withoutthreatning nuclear family

Polsky(1967): *********** channels sexual desires away from adultery which is a threat to family

Cohen : its a warning that an instituation isnt working. Truancy tells us theres problems with the edcuation system.

Erikson(1966): if deviance performs positive functions, society is organised to promote bad.Police`s meaning is to sustain crime than prevent it. 

-functionalsim is useful for understanding crime as it shows how its a function to society

three criticisms of the functionalist theory of crime and deviance:

.ignores how it affects different groups- seeing a murderer punished reinforces solidarity but isnt functional to the victim. Fails to ask who it functions

.Dosent always promote solidarity. Could leave people feeling isolated- women to stay indoors.

.Explains existence of crime in temrs of supposed function but doent mean just because it makes solidarity this is why it exists. 

why do people engage in deviant behaviour?

.This is when they cant achieve goals legitimately and resort to criminal ways

a. structural factors to explain deviance

societys unequal opportunity structure

b. cultural factors

emphasis on success goals and weak emphasis on useing legtimate means to get them

Factors causing strain for individuals:

The goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve

What the institutational structure of society allows them to get legitimately

(Merton)

.Americans are supposed to get goals by working hard, self disipline, studying and education

.Things preventing groups from getting this are poverty. inaduate schooling, and discrimination

.The strain to anomie is that the goals of getting something and lack of oppertunity makes you frustrated and youre pressured to turn to illegitimacy.

.Theres pressure to deviate in amercian culture because american culture puts more emphasis on getting success by any price than legitmiate means

1. Conformity- accepting approved goals and get them legitimately. For middle class with good oppertunities

2. Innovation-accept goal of money success but use new illegitimate means like theft or fraud to get it

3. Ritualism-give up on achieving goals but internalised legitimate ways so follow rules for own sake. Lower middle class

4. Retreatism-reject goals and legitmate ways and be dropouts. Outcasts. vagrants, tramps, drunkards

5. Rebellion-reject society goalsand replace them to bring revolutionary change. politcial radicals and hippies.

 patterns of crime that Merton explains:

.Most crime is property as americans value wealth so much

.Lower class crime rates are higher as they cant get wealth legitimately

CRITICISMS:

1.Marxsists say it ignores power of ruling class and only criminalises poor

2.Assumes thereas a value consensus- assumes we all want money success

3.Explains how deviance comes from indivudals adapting to strain to anomie but ignores role of group deviance

4.Only accounts for crime of monetary gain and not violence or vandalism

5.Takes crime statistics (official) at face value when these are mostly working class

.Subcultures offer alternative oppertunity strctures for those who are denied the chance to achieve legitimately

.These are functional for members as they are a solution ot the problem

.Crime is a lower class phonomenon  as it comes from inability of those in lower class to get mainstream success goals legitmiatley by success

CRITICISM: Cohen on Merton

1.Merton sees deviance as indivual response to strain, ignoring that deviancei s committed by groups

2.Merton focuses on utilitarian crime for material gain. he ignores crimes with no economic motive

Choen(1955): Working boys face anomie in middle class dominated school systmes as they lack skills to achieve (deprivation of cultural capital). Therefore theyre at the bottom of official status hierarchy.

According to Cohen, the subcultures which the boys them create are spite, and hostile.it prasies the condemned like truancing,

.It offers an alternative status hierarchy by winning status from their peers by delinquent actions       CRITICISM: Cohen assumes wc boys have mc goals. might not see themselves as failures

(1960) they attempt to explain why different subcultural responses occur. The key reason is that it comes from unequal access to illegitimate opportunity structures.You need skills to be deviant and people can also lack at this

Criminall subculture: porvides youth with an apprentaship in crime. This comes from criminal culture hoods and allows young to associate with trained criminals. Models for the criminal ladder

Conflict subcultures: Comes from high poulated turnover. Results in high social disorganisation and prvents proffesional criminal ladder working. Means can only get oppertunities to deviate in gangs. This provides release to frustration by blocked oppertunityand status by winning turf

Retreatist subuclture: not everyone succeeds to be criminal. If you are a double failure, you could be a subculture relyingo n drug use. These people retreat. 

They ignore crimes of the wealthy and dont consider the wider power strcture and who enforces the law

South (2014) identifys the problem wtith the types of subcultures mentioned is that the drugs trade is a mixture of disorganised crime and mafia styles. You cant belong to both.

Strain theories are crticised for being reactive because they assume everyone has the same goals

Miller (1962) sbucultures are not frsutrated at failure becaus they have own values sepreate from aminstream. Deviance comes from attempts to achieve own goals.

Matza (1964) members of sbucultures drift in an out of delinquency

.people might prefer goals of popularity, autonomy from adults or to be treated like real men

.Middle class yuoths might be delinquent as they cant achieve other goals as above

Messner and Rosenfields insitutional anomie (2001)- its about winner takes all. This makes people think anything goes. its similar to merton as it assumes economic goals are shared. Where america operates with free msrkets and welfare provision crime is inevitable.

Downes and Hansen (2006) offer support to this that more money spent on welfare means less cimprisonment rates. This shows that they are right to say that socities protecting the poor from excess of free market have less crime.

Savelsberg(1995) there has been a rise in crime in post communist societies in E. Europe after fall of communism in 1989 as collective values were replaced with money success goals which were indivudal.