Crime and Deviance - Functionalism

Question 1

Emile Durkeim

Answer 1

• social order in society was set of shared values/ value consensus and collective conscience, providing boundaries and norms
• modern society - boundaries have changed over time and are no longer clear –> crime clarifies the boundaries and maintains it, illustrated in three ways:
  1. reaffirming boundaries - court cases and publicity reassures society is working/ functioning effectively and reminds society of acceptable behaviour
  2. changing values - deliberate defiance can provoke positive social change e.g Nelson Mandela, the Suffragettes
  3. Social cohesion - horrific crimes e.g 2011 London riots creates shared outrage and reinforces community solidarity as emotions shared

Question 2

A03 of Emile Durkeim

Answer 2

• no explanations of why certain social groups commit crime
• some crimes are always dysfunctional and unjustified
• NEWBURN criticises his neglect of the RC in determining the consensus
• MARXISTS says exaggerated degree of consensus, underestimates inequality

Question 3

Robert Merton - Strain Theory

Answer 3

cause of crime is strain between consumerist culture and the institutional means of achieving material success led to people experiencing a state of anomie (frustration). Individuals could respond to anomie through 5 behaviours:
1. conformity - making the most of what society has to offer them even with little likelihood of success
2. innovation - some WC reject conventional means of acquiring material success and turn to criminal means e.g selling drugs
3. ritualism - (deviance, not crime) some lose sight of material goals but derive satisfaction from meaningless jobs, have given up on prospect of promotion and power
4. retreatism - reject both goals, become outcast in society, become dependent on welfare benefits and addiction e.g drugs and alcohol
5. rebellion - seek to replace mainstream goals and institutional means with more radical alternatives and use violent means to achieve this.
He also recognises the institutional means required to achieve the goal of material success (e.g education/ qualifications and well paid jobs) are not fairly distributed across capitalist societies

Question 4

A03 of Robert Merton

Answer 4

• doesn’t explain why some commit crime whilst other conform, retreat or rebel
• only explains economic crimes, not violent or sexual crimes
• fails to explain gang crime which are not motivated by material goals
• underestimates the amount of MC crime e.g white collar and corporate crime
• VALIER individuals commonly have variety of goals, not just one cultural goal e.g happy family and a work/leisure balance
• BOX (marxist) law is not neutral as constructed to protect interests of RC