Crime and Deviance- Functionalist, Strain and Subcultures- Key Sociologists and Theories
Durkheim Sees crime as inevitable and a normal part of society because not everyone is equally effectively
socialised into shared norms and values and there is diversity of lifestyles and values.
Durkheim Modern societies move towards anomie or normlessness because rules become less clear cut, as
the labour force is more specialised, so people are increasingly more different which weakens
collective consensus and increases deviance.
Durkheim There are positive functions of crime: boundary maintenance (punishment reaffirms societies
shared rules and enforces solidarity and encourages others not to deviate), and all adaption and
change (New ideas start with deviance so is necessary for development, so society doesn’t
stagnate).
Davis Prostitution acts as a safety valve for releasing men’s frustrations without threatening the
monogamous family.
Cohen Deviance acts as a warning an institution isn’t functioning properly.
Kai If deviance is positive maybe society is set up to promote deviance and that control agencies are
there to maintain a certain level of crime rather than prevent it.
Merton Deviance is the result of a strain between the goals the culture encourages individuals to achieve ie
the American dream and the institutional structure of society that allows that to achieve it
legitimately. He calls the strain to deviate the strain to anomie. Argues the pressure to deviate is
strengthened by the culture of emphasising more on achieving success at any price rather than
doing it legitimately.
Merton Responses to strain include: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion.
A.K Cohen Criticises Merton for seeing deviance as an individual response to strain and for focusing on
utilitarian crime.
Cohen Focuses on deviance among working class boys. They suffer from cultural deprivation and so are
unable to achieve in a middle class world leaving them to suffer from status frustration. They
resolve this by rejecting mainstream values and turn them on their head and form delinquent
subcultures where their own illegitimate opportunity structures are created. Explains both
utilitarian and non-utilitarian crime.
Shaw and Cultural transmission theory. Some neighbourhoods develop criminal tradition that is transmitted
McKay through generations.
Sutherland Differential association theory. Deviance learned through social interaction with other people who
are deviant.
Park and Social disorganisation. Changes in rapid population turnover disrupts community structures and
Burgess therefore can’t exercise social control over deviant individuals.
Cloward Attempt to explain why different subcultures respond in different ways to lack of legitimate
and Ohlin opportunities. Criminal subcultures provide youths with a career in utilitarian crime and arise in
neighbourhoods with a longstanding criminal culture and established hierarchy. Conflict
subcultures arise in areas with high population turnover and high levels of social disorganisation
leaving loosely organised gangs who use violence to express frustration at blocked opportunities.
Retreatist subcultures are people who fail at illegitimate opportunity structures as well as
legitimate and become double failures. Many of these turn to drug use.
South The drugs trade is a mixture of conflict and criminal subcultures. Supposed retreatist drug users
usually deal as well as take drugs making them a criminal subculture as well. This counters Cloward
and Ohlins theory you can’t be part of more than one subculture.
Miller Lower class has own independent subculture with own values, so its members aren’t frustrated
with failure to succeed mainstream goals. He argues deviance is failure to achieve their own goals
not the mainstream ones.
Matza Delinquents aren’t committed to their subculture and that they drift in and out of delinquency.
Messier Argue the winner takes all mentality to achieve the American dream exerts and ‘pressure towards
and crime’ by encouraging an anomic cultural environment in which people are encouraged to adopt
Rosenfeld and anything goes mentality in the pursuit of wealth. It values economic valued above all so in
schools being prepared for the labour market is more important than teaching kindness and
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