Functionalism

Crime happens due to an anomie, a breakdown of social expectation. Lack of value consensus causes chaos, leading people to know know norms/values.

Durkheim- Crime is beneficial 4 uses:

1 Safety valve e.g prostitution 

2. Boundary maintenance e.g killing police officer

3. Warning device e.g terrorism

4. Social change e.g homosexuality

Merton- Strain theory between modes of adaptation and goals

Conformists, Retreatists, Rebels, Ritualists, Innovators

 Crime happens because subcultures where amended values that justifies criminal behaviour

AK Cohen- Status fustration felt by young w/c men due to material deprivation turn to crime

Cloward and Ohlin-

Illegitimate opportunity structure: reaction to strain depends on social environment. Those who cant use accepted means turn to crime

3 delinquent subcultures-

1.Criminal subculture 2.Conflict 3.Retreatist

Miller- focal concerns: key values seen as superior . 

Lower class masculitnity - unique focal concerns: toughness,smartness,excitement

HOWEVER- Values also found in m/c rugby

Miller over generalises

AK Cohen:
GOOD BECAUSE…offers an explanation to non-utilitarian crime
BAD BECAUSE…assumes that working class boys start off by having middle class values.

Matza-

Delinquency and drift

Techniques of neutralisation

TheMarxistviewof crime has threemainfeatures:

1.   Criminogenic capitalism

2.   Thestateandlawmaking

3.   Ideological functionsof crimeandlaw

Gordon – Crime is a rational response to capitalist system and is found in ALL classes.

Chambliss – selective law enforcement/creation. Argues that laws protect private property. The ruling class have the power to prevent and introduce laws that can help or hinder their position in society. 

Pearce- laws often benefit the ruling class when LOOKING like they help the working class, such as safety laws which actually keep workers healthy to keep working for low wages. = make capitalists look caring

evaluation-Ignores relationship between and non-class related inqualities such as ethnicity and gender

1.Individual motivating factord not a full explanation

2. Take into account societal factors from marxist perspective. Wider cirumstances led to crime were creates

3.Interactionist approach consider victim,offender,cjs,media

Taylor et al- Wider social origins of act, immediate origins of act, actual act,immediate reaction,wider origins of reaction

Hall- policing crisis - young a/c black men scapegoated as muggers+moral panic

trad marx=over emphaises independance of capitalist stae

Feminism= ommits gender

left realist= romantices criminals, little discussion of victims

Malestream

double deviance

chilvary thesis

Radical fem=patriarchy , women dont commit crime

Liberal fem= liberation thesis how women more equal

Braithwaite- disintegrative shaming, re-intergrated shaming

Lemert – primary and secondary deviance

Becker – labelling, the deviant career and the master status. Moral entrepeneurs= create/enforce rules and impose defintions of deviance

Labelling theory applied to education – the self-fulfilling prophecy

Young- deviancy amplification

Cicourel- negotiated justice

Shaw and McKay- Concentric zones

1.Central business district

2.Transitional zone

3. W/C zone

4. Residential zone

5. Commuter zone

Most crime in zone of transition

Cultural transmission- next generation socialised crime as norm

Eval- Bottoms =concentric zones dont fit european cities

Clarke- Opportunity theory 1.target attractivness 2.accessibility

Hobbs et al- Nocturnal economy

Eval of environmental= not explain why

Hirschi- social bonds

1.Belief

2.Attatchment

3.Commitment

4.Inolvement

Society fragmented

Crime= social construction no longer reflects pomo society

Henry an Milovanovic-social harm=using power to show disrespect

1.Harms of reduction= cause victim immediate loss/injury

2. Harms of repression= restrict human development. Hate crimes

Practical policies to tackle crime e.g community police

w/c do commit more crime

Lea and Young=

Relative depreivation

Marginalisation

Subcultures

Farrington= longitudinal study about backgrounds of offenders

risk factors such as 

low income, low school attainment, parental conflicr

SCP- Clarke opportunity

1.Designing out crime

2.Target hardening

Eval=marxists scp ignores white collar crimes

those living in deprived area most likely vitcims- lest able to afford target scp

ECP-

Wilson and Kelling-broken windows

Lack of respect for  = sense of anything goes= serious crime committed

Increased social control-

Stricter policing

Communities more responsibility e.g neighbourhood watch

Functionalism- durkheim- law and cjs =value consensus

maintains social solidarity. punishing offenders will deter others

Trad Marx- Chambliss- interest of r/c

selective and cjs provides false consciousness

Feminsim- Smart challenged chilvary thesis- double deviance bias against women

lib thesis- women mroe equal in crime

CJS less patriarchal

Positivst-Miers

interpersonal crimes

victim pronesness- victims vulnerable characteristics

victim precipitation- victims to blame

Critical- left wing conflict

Social deprivation- weakest citizens likely to be victims

lack of protection- e.g ehtnic minorities

Most likely victim-

w/c young male ethnic minority

w/c crime

Gordon- criminogenic

Left realists- Lea and Young= relative deprivation marginalisation subculture

Functionalist strain-Merton

Subcultural- Miller focal conerns

Environmental- Shaw and McKay = values/behaviours passed through differential association

Trad marx- Gordon= criminogenic- drive for ever growing profit

Functionalist strain- Merton= companies fail through legal means they turn to illegal ways

Differential association- Sutherland= employees socialised into criminality

Techniques of neutralisation-Matza

Women commit less crime=Sex role theory- Parsons

Patriarchal conrtol- Heidenson

Class and Gender deals- Hirschi

Double deviance- Smart

Women appear to commit less crime=malestream sociology, chilvary thesis questions validity of stats

Women commit more crime=Lib thesis- Adler women less controlled

Men commit more crime=Sex role theory- Parsons

Patriarchal control- Heidensohn

Nocturnal economy- environmental

Accomplishing masculinity- Messerschmidt

Left realism- ehtnic minorities feel marginalised, relative dperevation more than majority and so more likely to commit crime

Neo-Marx - Gilroy ethnic minority crime is political resistance.

Environmental-Fitzgerald = neighbourhood factors explain involvement of black youths in street robbery. street crime is in poorest areas. Young black people live here due to racial discrimination in housing and employment

Indirect- mistrust of police= less likely to cooperate and refuse to admit offences. not eligable for bail and limits reduced sentence

Social position- more likely than white offencers to display social characteristics which make custody more likely than bail

Direct- stop and search

Institutional racism

Arrests, charges and court proceedings

Discrimination in sentencing

Over representation in prison- black 13% prison pop/3% general pop                                           minorty ethinic  26% prison pop/12% general pop