Summary
Summary SOCIOLOGY A LEVEL CRIME NOTES (A*)
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- AQA
crime notes, got me an A*. clear and concise so super easy to memorise
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introduction to crimekey definitions -
crime
behaviour that breaks the formal, written laws of a given society
punishment for crime is more likeley to be more serious than the punisment for
deviance
different crimes and different laws are treated in various ways
deviance
norm breaking behaviour
more general than crime and often not controlled legally
not always a negative action (like crime) - possible to deviate in a positive fashion
Wickmann - 1991 - deviance is behaviour that violates the standards of conduct or
expectations of a group or society
types of deviance
societal deviance - acts which are seen by most of society as deviant
e.g. child abuse, swearing at an authority figure
situational deviance
acts which can be defined as deviant or normal, depending on the circumstances
e.g. being naked is ok in your own home, but not out in public; killing someone is ok
if youre a solidier at war killing enemy soldiers
the social construction of crime and deviance
crime and deviance - culturally determined
what is considered criminal varies less than what is considered deviant
Foucault - definitions of criminal deviance, sexual deviance and madness have
changed throughout history
e.g. 100 years ago in the UK it was deviant for women to wear trousers, but today its
acceptable
deviance changes with time and place as norms and social expections change - it
relative
Plummer - the same act can be seen as deviant or non deviant depending on the
situation - societal and situational deviance
functionalism and crime
Durkeim's functionalist theory
sees society as based on a value consensus - creates social solidarity
,two key mechanisms
socialistation
social control - rewards for conformity, punishments for deviance
The inevatability of crime
too much crime would destabilise society but crime is inevitable and universal
a crime free society is a contradiction in terms
two reasons why crime and deviance is found in all societies
not everyone is equally and effectively socialised into the same norms and values
there is diversity of lifestyles and values - what members of the subculture regard as
normal, mainstream culture may see as deviant
modern societies tend towards amomie - the rules governimg behaviour become
weaker and less clear cut - because of the complex division of labour (individuals
become increasingly different from one another)
weakens the shared culture and results in higher levels of deviance
Positive functions of crime
Boundary maintenance
crime produces a reaction from society - condemn the wrongdoer and reinforce their
commitment to the shared norms and values
explains the function of punishment - rather than focusing on making the wrongdoer
suffer it is to act as a deterrent
Adaption and change
change starts with an act of deciance
individuals with new ideas, values and ways of living must not be completely stifled
by the weight of social control
with new ideas being suppressed, society will stagnate and be unable to make
necessary adaptive changes
for Durkeim, neither a very high nor a very low level of crime is desirable - too much
thretenes to tear the bonds of society apart, too little means that society is repressing
and controlling its members too much
Durkeim - the Division of Labour in Society
traditional societies
held together by a strong, religiously based collective conscience
this impeded criminal behaviour - informal social control
industrial societies
less easy to control
, division of labour - more complex - people compete against eachother
secularisation makes social solidarity more fragile
more prone to egoism and anomie - more crime
there is a need for tougher social control
other functions of crime (supporting evidence of Durkeim)
Davis - argues that prostitution acts as a safety valve for the release of men's sexual
frustrations without threatening the monogamous nuclear family - backed up by
Polsky
Cohen - deviance acts as a warning that an institution is not functioning properly
Erikson - if deviance performs positive social functions, then perhaps it means society
is actually organised so as to promote deviance - police may actually be to sustain a
certain level of crime rather than to rid society of it
Societies sometimes also manage and regulate devaince rather than seeking to
eliminate it entierely e.g. the youth, carnivals
positive evaluation
functionalism is useful in showing the ways that deviance is integral to society
shows that deviance is not all bad for society
criticisms
society requires a certain amount to function successfully - but offers no way of
knowing how much is the right amount
doesnt explain why crime exists only the function that it serves
doesnt look at how crime affects groups or individuals
who is crime functional for?
crime doesnt always promote solidarity - may make groups more isolated e.g. women
staying in doors for fear of attack
Merton's strain theory
strain theories - argue that people engage in deviant behaviour when they are unable
to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means
Merton adapted Durkheims concept of anomie to explain deviance -
combined of two elements
structural factors - society's unequal oppportunity structure
cultural factors - the strong emphasis on success and the weaker emphasis on using
legitimate means to achieve them
deviance is the result of a strain between two things -
the goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve
what the institutional structure of society allows them to acheive legitimately
The American dream
, expected to pursue this goal by legitimate means
idelogy tells Americans that their society is a meritocratic one
reality is different - many disadvantaged groups are denied opportunites to achieve
legitimately
resulting strain between the cultural goal of money success and the lack of legitimate
opportunites to achieve it produces frustration - which creates a pressure to resort to
illegitimate means e.g. crime and deviance
pressure to deviate is further increased as American culture puts more emphasis on
achieving success at any price than doing it by legitimate means
the goal creates a desire to succeed and the lack of opportunity creates a pressure to
adopt illegitimate means
disjunction between shared goals and means of achieving them - strain to anomie
Deviant adaptions to strain
an individuals position in the social structure affects the way they adopt or respond to
the strain to anomie
Conformity
individuals accept the culturally approved goals and strive to achieve them
legitimately - most likely among middle class individuals
Innovation
individuals accept the goal of money success but use new illegitimate means such as
theft or fraud to achieve it - most common among those at the lower end of the class
structure
Ritualism
individuals give up on trying to achieve goals but have internalised legitimate means
so they follow the rules for their own sake - typically lower middle class workers in
dead end, routine jobs
Retreatism
individuals reject both the goals and legitimate means and become dropouts e.g.
homeless, drug addicts
Rebellion
individuals reject the existing society's goals and means but replace them with new
ones in a desire to bring about revolutionary change e.g. political radicals and counter
cultures
Supporting evidence
Hannon and Defronzo
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