Functionalism

Question 1

Durkheim

Answer 1

• crime occurs in periods of social change and anomie
• deviance and crime is universal and inevitable due to impossibility of society of saints (a burp is regarded as deviant)
• crime has two functions
  
  • boundary maintenance; reinforcing social order and value consensus by enforcing sanctions (punishment) when social morality is questioned
  • adaptation and change; creating positive social change by allowing society to develop and change to questioning of crime

Question 2

Merton

Answer 2

• social order based on social goals, deviant behaviour occurring when legitimate means of cultural goals are inachieveable
• American dream; success through money and wealth as a result of hard work in legitimate means
• strain theory; frustration from strain of trying to achieve American dream but discrimination blocking legitimate means results in different social groups:
  
  • conformists (accepts goals/ means)
  • ritualists (lose belief in goals but stick to means)
  • retreatists (withdraw from society after giving up)
  • innovators (accept goals but reject means)
  • rebels (reject means/ goals and replace with alternatives)

Question 3

Davis and Cohen

Answer 3

• Davis- a safety valve; crime acts in a way to protect institutions in society eg prostitution releases me’s frustrations with threatening nuclear family
• Cohen- a warning sign; crime acts in a way that states society’s institutions aren’t working effectively

Question 4

Cohen

Answer 4

• crime is committed for material gain (utilitarian crime), deviant action seen as a collective phenomenon where social groups commit rather than individuals eg w/c boys face anomie in education and are culturally deprived (bottom of social hierarchy and status frustration)
• w/c boys reject mainstream m/c values and replace dominant culture goals with delinquent activities (new status hierarchy)
• youths accept mainstream goals but cultural/ material deprivation blocks legitimate means, experiencing status frustration and leads to crime

Question 5

Cloward and Ohlin

Answer 5

• unequal access to illegitimate means resort to violence, projecting three subcultures;
  
  • criminal (stable w/c areas, long standing criminal culture)
  • conflict (socially disorganised areas, high population turnover create professional criminal network)
  • retreatists (double failure of illegitimate and legitimate- based on illegal drug use)

Question 6

Criticisms of functionalism

Answer 6

• ignore the crimes of wealthy and overproduction w/c crime
• assume society shares values - but who’s values are they?
• Durkheim- ignores negative impact of crime on individuals