CRIME Flashcards
(42 cards)
What do functionalist argue the two mechanism to achieve collective consciousness
- socialisation: instils share culture into members whixh starts with family (primary socialisation) into shared norms and values of society
- social control: mechanisms including rewards and punishment for deviance ensure people behave way society expects
What is Durkheim view of crime
Limited amount of crime both necessary and beneficial for society and performs 2 positive functions:
- boundary maintenance: unites people in condemnation of criminal and reinforces norms and values
- adaption and change: social change starts with act of deviance
Therefore neither a too high or low level of crime is desirable as suggest a malfunction of the system, too much threatens bonds of society, too little shows society is repressing and controlling members stifling them and preventing change
What does Davis say about crime
It acts as safety valve eg prostitution acts as safety valve to relieve male frustration
What does ALBERT cohen say about crime
Acts as warning device as lets us know what part of society may be malfunctioning
Eg high youth crime may suggest lack of opportunities for youth
What is Mertons strain theory and American dream?
Adapted Durkheim concept of anomie (instability from breakdown of standards and values) to explain deviance as explanation of unequal opportunity of a achieving societies cultural goals
American dream: it promotes meritocracy and Americans expected to pursue this through study, hard work and a career however often many denied this due to poverty or discrimination
Strain resulting between cultural goals and lack of opportunities to achieve them produces frustration through crime, Merton argues this creates strain to the anomie and this is further shown as American culture emphasises achieving success at any price=crime
What are critisms. Of Durkheim theory
He says Society needs certain amount of deviance to function but doesn’t say how much is the right amount
Claims crime serves a positive function and promoting solidarity but ignores negative effects of crime like social isolation
What are rebellion, conforming and innovator in response to strain to the anomie?
- conformity: accepts cultural goals and institutional means eg middle class ppl
- innovator: accepts cultural goals but rejects institutional means to achieve them eg lower classes in gangs
- Rebellion: rejects cultural goals and institutional means eg political revolutionaries like MLK
How labelling theories explain corporate crime
Cicourel: Middle class able to negotiate non criminal labels for their behaviour eg youthful spirits rather than vandalism
Nelken says middle class can ford experts like lawyers to avoid acts being labelled as criminal
So de-labelling or illegal makes it difficult for corporate or white collar crime to be measured
How does strain theory explain corporate crime
Merton Individuals may “innovate” and use illegal methods like theft to achieve cultural status
Box says this could apply to corptirate crimes as if companies cannot Maxine’s profits legally they may “innovate” and break the law
Braithwates study of the pharmaceutical industry found companies willing to fabricate results to gain profits and scientific prestige
What does Tombs say about corporate and white collar crime?
They do far more harm than ordinary street crimes and has enormous costs:
- physical (deaths injuries and illness)
- environmental (pollution)
- economic (to consumers workers and taxpayers/government)
Therefore corporate crime not work of a “few bad apples” but widespread routine and pervasive
What are some real life examples of corporate crime
Tyson meat company dumping 20 million pounds of sewage in 2014
Companies avoiding tax like Starbucks Only paying £5 million when making £95 profit in 2021 in the Uk
What was Goffmans asylum study(
Studied behaviour in mental asylum, spent months as assistant in a partially covert observation as inmates didn’t know he was resewrch and able to build contact with severely Ill and a detailed picture of their life
Wanted to see asylum from patients point of view rather than terms medical categories applied by psychiatries
Found it almost impossible for images to behave like people in outside world and most of there possession taken from them with clothing replaced (mortification of self) and were constantly under watch and treaters as children, developed behaviour which seemed bizarre but way of coping with demands of environment
How does Cohens theory of Status frustration criticises and agrees with Merton?
agrees with Merton deviance is largely lower class phenomenon from their inability to achieve mainstream goals
But he criticises Merton on 2 grounds:
- Merton sees deviance as individual response to strain ignoring fact most deviance is committed by groups
- Merton focuses on crime commited for material gain eg theft or fruad but ignores crimes like assault or vandalism with no economic motive
How does cohen explain deviance in working class boys?
- They suffer for on cultural deprivation and lack skills to achieve well in schools
- undesirable by mainstream school system they lack social status
- they experience status frustration because of their inability to achieve status legitimately
- turn to others in similar position, form delinquent subcultures inverting mainstream values to improve their status eg truancy or being rude
What does millers theory of focal concerns say?
Lower classes create their different value system as response to monotony of working class jobs allowing them cope
Working class boys become Delhi oen r cause they grow up in a subculture of these values
What are the 6 focal concerns of the working class according to miller?
- fate: things are beyond your control
- trouble: getting into it and staying out of it
- toughness: being psychically stronger than others is important
- smartness: street smarts
- autonomy: resentment of authority/rules
- excitement: have to search things to be satisfied
What is matzas theory of delinquency and drift?
We drift in and out of Delinquency and other strain theories are over predicting delinquency in people
He said there no distinct set of anti social values or delinquents instead people hold 2 levels of value:
- respectable and convenientional values (eg good parents, dedicated student)
- underground or subterranean values (eg greed, aggression)
Drift occurs most in groups with least control eg working class which is called mood of fatalism we engage in delauent behaviour due to our subterranean values to restore control called mood of humanism
What does MATZA say some of the techniques of neutralisation we adopt when drifting back to our conventional values and what does this show
- Denial of responsibility: wasn’t my fault
- denial of victim: they had it coming
Show that delinquents hold some mainstream values instead of having a distinct subculture of delinquency.
Young people drift in and out of crime supported by crime stats that show young men are criminal and it declines when they get older
What is Marxist theory of crimogenic capitalism
Gordon says crime is rational response to capitalist system and is in all social classes with official stats making it seem a working class problem. capitalism causes crime by its very nature as its criminogenic.
- poverty may mean crime is only way working class can survive
- crime may be only way to achieve consumer goods promised by ads so resort to crimes like theft
- Alienation and lack of control leads to frustration and aggression=crimes like violence
crime isn’t just confined to working class as it “dog eat dog2 system” encouraging ruthless competition and greed encouraging white and corporate crime
What does left realist Young say about late modernity and crime?
We now living in late modernity where instability, insecurity and exclusion make crime worse. 1960-50s was golden age of capitalist society with stability, secuirty and social inclusion.
since 1970’s this gone away with deindustrialization which increased unemployment especially for young/ethnic minorities making commutiy life unstable which is worsened by new right welfare cuts
What do right realists say about crime?
See crime as real problem that destroys communities and social cohesion and threatens societies work ethic and corresponds with neo-conservatives policy makers only focusing crime control rather than prevention
They think other theories are too sympathetic to the criminal and criticizes others for not offering practical solution to crime
what is right realist Wilson and Herrnstein’s biological causes of crime theory?
crime caused by combination of biological and social factors, biological diffs make people more likely to commit crime eg personality like aggression or extraversion, and risk taking make ppl more likely to offend
damages to pre-frontal cortex also linked to persons ability to think and make rational decisions which are implicated in choices to commit crime
similarly Herrnstein and Murray say main cause of crime is low intelligence which is also biologically determined
What does Murray say about socialistion and the underclass
crime due to underclass which is defined by their deviant behavior and who fail to socialize their children properly. this is a result of welfare dependency
since 19060s and welfare states “generous revolution” makes people dependent on the state=decline in marriage and more lone parent families cause women and children can live off benefits so men don’t have to work for families
Lone mothers aren’t effective at socializing young boys and absent fathers means they lack parental discipline and male role models. This make them turn to delinquent role models on the street to gain status rather than getting a job.
What is Clarkes rational choice theory/
decision to commit crime is rational choice based on calculation of consequences and rewards and costs. if reward outweigh costs they more likely to offend.
right realists say perceived cost of crime is low and that’s why crime rate increased as there little risk of being caught and there lenient punishments
