Functionalists Views on Crime Flashcards
Travis Hirschi (1969) Control Theory
Focuses on ‘why most people don’t commit crime’
> He believes the answer to this question is linked to the way that society manages to bond its individual members in a positive way.
> The stronger a persons social bonds, the less likely they commit crime.
These bonds include:
> ‘Attachment’ to institutions such as the family and the school.
> ‘Commitment’ to our roles and responsibilities
> ‘Involvement’ in our commitments prevents time from being available to commit crime.
> ‘Belief’ in morality - we have too much to lose to commit crime.
EVALUATION -
>Is crime always committed by those with weak social bonds? - white collar, middle class offenders have bonds but commit crime.
> Not all people with weak social bonds commit crime.
Durkheim (1895)
Crime as a healthy component of a healthy society
Society is held together by people agreeing to value consensus.
> Crime is inevitable to not occur as not everyone abides by the same norms and values.
> Positive social change starts with some form of crime/deviance.
> Crime ‘re-affirms the boundaries of the collective conscience’ - e.g. when a horrific crime occurs people come together to fight the problem - this re-strengthens bonds therefore crime acts as a ‘boundary maintenance’
EXAMPLE - New Zealand Mosque shooting 51 dead and 49 injured - Muslims and non-Muslims unite to grief and fight the problem that occurred.
EVALUATION - isn’t crime a symptom of social solidarity having broken down? - terrorist attacks could be a result of social solidarity breaking down.
Crime is functional for providing jobs…
Without crime, there would be no prison staff, no judges, no lawyers, no police.
> High unemployment is dysfunctional for any society.
> If there were no jobs related to justice and crime prevention, anomie would occur therefore crime can be seen as a positive feature of a healthy society.
Open courtrooms and punishment have a deterrence function
members of the public are able to sit in viewing galleries of the courtrooms - this so people in the society can see that the system is fair.
> prison sentences have the aim to stop people from committing crimes again.
> life sentences are society’s way of excluding an offender permanently from society.
EVAL - deterrence isn’t always effective - there is a high rate of recidivism meaning re offending and committing another crime.
Kingsley-Davis (1995)
porn- prostituion
Crime can be functional for society.
> Pornography is a way of men channelling their sexual frustration in a way that prevents them from committing sex offences.
> Prostitution can benefit institutions such as the family, if unhappy husbands pay for the service of a prostitute he will be less likely to start an affair and leave his wife.
EVALUATION :
> His theory is far-fetched his ideas undermine the credibility of functionalist views and are an insult to women in particular, sexual violence is taken seriously in Britain as well as the exploitation of men.
When is crime dysfunctional for society?
According to functionalists like Durkheim - crime becomes a problem when there is too much of it, therefore unhealthy and leads to ‘anomie’ - too much crime can cause a total collapse of society.
> Durkheim says low crime rates in society are nothing to be proud of - in some ways high rates of theft, burglary and robbery and indications of a healthy society.
It means people have plenty of money to spend on the thin that they want, but other people want to.
where theft, burglary and robbery are low, it is an indication that people don’t have very much money meaning there is little for others to take off of them in criminal ways.
EVALUATION -
>Doesn’t explain individual criminality - he takes a positive approach - ignoring why a person may commit a crime.
>His views are highly insensitive to the victims of the crime - he ignores that crime involves a victim that may have to experience a lot of grief or problems financially.
Robert Merton (1955)
As a functionalist, Merton also saw society itself as the main cause of crime. As an American functionalist, he explored why the USA has such a high crime rate, and how American values are ultimately behind this. The ‘American Dream’ underpins core values in the USA. It encourages everybody to work hard in order to achieve personal success. The legitimate means of doing this include hard work at school and hard work at school, and hard work in a chosen career. The ‘Dream’ is is available to all; nobody is excluded
