Merton and Subcultural theories/ crime control and punishment policies

Question 1

How can society’s structure be made more equal?

Answer 1

policies to tackle poverty, equal opportunities in school and education in prison

Question 2

What are policies to tackle poverty?

Answer 2

better welfare benefits, wages and job security would reduce crime by giving everyone a more equal chance of achieving success by legal means

Question 3

What are equal opportunities in school?

Answer 3

treating working-class pupils equally would reduce their failure rate, making them less likely to suffer status frustration and join delinquent subcultures

Question 4

What is Education in prison?

Answer 4

Half of the UK have a reading age of 11 so better education in prisons would help inmates gain skills to get a good job

Question 5

Are these policies effective?

Answer 5

positive effect, societies that spend more on welfare jail fewer people whereas those with greater inequality like USA have high crime rates