Crime and deviance: theories

Question 1

Durkheim’s idea of crime

Answer 1

Durkheim believes that crime is an inevitable and normal aspect of life

Question 2

Anomie

Answer 2

State of normlessness

Question 3

Durkheim’s positive functions of crime

Answer 3

Boundary maintenance and social change

Question 4

boundary maintenance (outline and example)

Answer 4

social reaction to crime and deviance by media and courts reaffirm societies shared values
E.g. Lucy Letby

Question 5

Social change

Answer 5

Deviance brings out social change - new ideas or institutions always initially appear as deviance.
E.g. Rosa Parks, led to bus boycott, segregation ended

Question 6

Kingsley Davis

Answer 6

Minor deviance acts as a safety valve.
- diverts potentially dangerous motivations into less harmful channels.
E.g. Polsky argues accessing pornography and prostitution is better than rape.

Question 7

Albert Clinard and Cohen

Answer 7

Acts as a warning - high level of deviance indicates an institution is not functioning properly and needs to reform
E.g. truancy

Question 8

Ignores the victims (evaluation)

Answer 8

Ignores the impacts of crime on a victim. for the victim crime is unlikely to be a positive experience.
E.g. Manchester attack

Question 9

How much crime is beneficial (evaluation)

Answer 9

Durkheim nor any other sociologists have quanitified how much crime is needed in society. they all state crime is necessary but also say that too much crime leads to anomie.

Question 10

Marxists disagree (evaluation)

Answer 10

Argues crime is only positive for the ruling class as they determine the norms and values

Question 11

does all crime lead to social solidarity? (evaluation)

Answer 11

Crime doesn’t always lead to social cohesion. in fact, it may lead to isolation for both the victim and the criminal

Question 12

Merton Strain theory

Answer 12

Concluded that Americans were socialised into believing in the American dream. However equal access to these goals did not exist

Question 13

What affects peoples ability to achieve the American dream?

Answer 13

Social class and ethnicity can affect someone’s ability to achieve it. some people have more opportunities than others to achieve it

Question 14

Utilitarian crimes

Answer 14

Crimes that give us material gain

Question 15

non - utilitarian crimes

Answer 15

crimes that don’t aim to gain profit

Question 16

Conformity

Answer 16

Pursuing cultural goals through socially approved means
E.g. middle class jobs

Question 17

Innovation

Answer 17

Using socially unapproved or unconventional means to obtain culturally approved goals.
E.g. theft, fraud

Question 18

Ritualism

Answer 18

Using the same socially approved means to achieve less elusive goals (more modest and humble)
E.g. dead end jobs, routine e.g. working in a factory

Question 19

Retreatism

Answer 19

To reject both the cultural and the means to obtain it
E.g. drug addicts, alcoholics

Question 20

Rebellion

Answer 20

To reject the cultural goals and means, then work to replace them
E.g. political radicals, hippies

Question 21

Criticism of Merton (deterministic)

Answer 21

The theory is deterministic as it suggests that it is not individual choice that leads to criminal behaviour but external factors which leads to criminal and deviant behaviour

Question 22

Criticism of Merton (ignores white collar crime)

Answer 22

The theory fails to explain the existence of white collar crime and corporate crime. white collar crime is usually committed by upper middle class or higher. therefore strain theory does not explain why these people go on to commit crime

Question 23

Criticism of Merton (ignores non - utilitarian crime)

Answer 23

the theory solely focuses on utilitarian crime. however, there are crimes that are committed where the criminal gains no financial benefits from the act.

Question 24

Criticism of Merton (lacks explanation of strain)

Answer 24

Merton doesnt explain why or how individuals choose their response to strain.

Question 25

Situational Deviance

Answer 25

where the act takes place/context of the act
E.g. nakedness okay in shower, not public

Question 26

Historical deviance

Answer 26

when the act takes place
E.g. homosexuality okay now vs 100 years ago

Question 27

cross cultural deviance

Answer 27

the society in which the act takes place
E.g. women clothing

Question 28

the position or role of the person

Answer 28

who commits the act and societies attitude towards them
E.g. murder is okay in the army but not outside

Question 29

Albert Cohen

Answer 29

Status frustration

Question 30

Cohens argument

Answer 30

He argued that working class boys failed in school resulting in low status. a response of this is through the formation of subcultures or gangs.

Question 31

Alternative status hierarchy

Answer 31

the idea that the function of a subculture offers boys an alternative status hierarchy in which they can achieve. the boys create their own illegitimate opportunity structures in which they win status from their peers through deviant acts

Question 32

Cloward and Ohlin

Answer 32

They explained the different types of subcultures that could be formed. they argued that young people had access to different types of youth subcultures that wanted to obtain societies successful goals.

Question 33

Cloward and Ohlin three types of delinquent subculture

Answer 33

criminal subcultures
conflict subcultures
retreatist subcultures

Question 34

criminal subcultures

Answer 34

developed in stable working class areas. provides a learning opportunity and career structure to aspiring young criminals.
E.g. Mafia

Question 35

Conflict subculture

Answer 35

Emerge in socially disorganised areas, constant turnover and lack of social cohesion. both approved and illegal means of achieving mainstream goals are blocked or limited and young people express their frustration through violence or street crime

Question 36

focal concerns (outline and example)

Answer 36

Excitement - E.g. drug taking
Toughness - E.g. macho attitude
Smartness - E.g. conning people
Trouble - E.g. fighting
Autonomy - E.g. disobeying authority
Fate - E.g. poor school achievement

Question 37

Millers focal concerns
(explanation)

Answer 37

He believes that the W/c dont value societies mainstream values, so they dont express status frustration but are more likely than others to engage in delinquent or deviant behaviours.

Question 38

Nightingale

Answer 38

He develops subcultural theorists by applying ideas to ethnicity and not just class

Question 39

Retreatist subculture

Answer 39

Emerge around those who are seen as ‘double failures’ - they have failed to succeed both in mainstream society and in the crime and gang cultures.
E.g. petty theft

Question 40

Black American youths (Nightingale) findings

Answer 40

He identified that they are excluded from obtaining the American dream legitimately, due to being excluded economically, politically and racially

Question 41

Hebdige

Answer 41

Argues that w/c subcultures are cultures of resistance. They take objects from other cultures and give them secret meanings and use them as a way of resisting mainstream society

Question 42

What subcultures use clothing to show resistance to society?

Answer 42

Teddy boys
Punks
Skinheads

Question 43

Brake

Answer 43

He says that subcultures form due to experiences that happen within a group. For example, w/c youth use language to demonstrate their disdain of capitalism. He states that it forms an ilusion in which the youth believes it solves their problems but in fact it doesnt

Question 44

Matza - Drift theory (evaluation of subcultural theories)

Answer 44

Matza argues that many people drift in and out of delinquent subcultures and only few stick to it. Matza believes that we use techniques of neutralisation to justify our behaviour. Fo example:
denial of responsibility - “it wasnt me”
denial of injury - “it didnt hurt”/ “they have insurance”
condemnation of condemners - “youre just as bad”/”youre only blaming me because…”

Question 45

Are subcultural theories deterministic?

Answer 45

Yes. Not all w/c people join a subculture, instead they may succeed in school and attend a high status job, thus proving that they have free will

Question 46

what crimes do subcultural theorists ignore?

Answer 46

white collar crime
corporate crime
green crime

Question 47

are official statistics on crime accurate?

Answer 47

No. Crime statistics are considered a social construct in which many crimes go unreported so crime statistics arent as valid as theyre have been more crimes than said.

Question 48

Gordon (Marxist)

Answer 48

Gordon believes that crime is found in every social class as a response to capitalism. the poor commit crime because they are being exploited by the capitalist society and cant achieve mainstream goals whereas the rich commit crime for more profit.

Question 49

Law creation

Answer 49

The law is created by capitalist society to work in their favour.

Question 50

William Chambliss (belief and example)

Answer 50

He believes that third world countries have more laws that protect the ruling class that are quite bizzare. e.g. trade unionsare more loosley implemented than laws that govern property ownership rights

Question 51

Laureen Snider

Answer 51

=She argues that the laws state that they are created in the interests of the working class however she believes it creates a smokescreen to hide the exploitation that they are actually victims of.

Question 52

selective law enforcement (give an example too)

Answer 52

Marxist argue that the law is selective depending on class. if corporate crime has been committed, then there is a rare chance that they will actually be prosecuted whereas if a financial crime has been committed by a poor person they will immediately be persecuted and punished.

An example of selective law enforcement woul be ‘partygate’ in which Boris Johnson had a party during covid and when it was revealed, law enforcement didnt bat an eye but when parties were had from people not from the ruling class, the law was strictly enforced in which they were fined 10k in which they couldnt afford.

Question 53

What are the three ways Gordon believes selective law enforcement benefits the capitalsit system?

Answer 53

punishing individuals and making them accountable for their actions, labelling them as ‘social failures’