...Assess the usefulness of functionalist and subcultural theories of crime and deviance for an understanding of why working class people commit crime (21 marks) Functionalists see society as based on shared norms and values which societies members are socialised into, known as a value consensus. This produces social solidarity, binding individuals together into a unit that works with other units to keep society running; it has been compared to the parts of the human body in the organic analogy. Durkheim was one of the first functionalists to investigate crime, he sees crime as part of a healthy and forward moving society; and that crime is inevitable in a modern society. This is because there is a not only a gender divide in labour, but a specialised divide in labour which causes diversity within subcultures. Because of this, the members of these subcultures become increasingly different from one another the shared norms and values become less clear. Durkheim describes this as Anomie, a state in which society becomes normless. Durkheim also believes all crime starts a deviance; this is because for changes to occur, individuals must challenge the current and accepted values of society. This will appear deviant at first, but as time passes could become the norm, or if it is supressed the individuals who challenged society will become outcasts. In the eyes of Durkheim, working class people commit crime because they want to see a change within society, this means that...
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...Evaluate the usefulness of Functionalist theories to our understanding of crime and deviance (40 marks) A functionalist analysis of crime and deviance begins with society as a whole. It looks for the source of deviance in the nature of society rather than in the individual. Durkheim argued that crime is an inevitable and normal aspect of social life. Crime is present in all types of society; indeed, the crime rate is higher in the more advanced, industrialised countries. According to Durkheim, crime is an ‘integral part of all healthy societies’. It’s inevitable because not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments (the shared values and moral beliefs) of society. Since individuals are exposed to different influences and circumstances, it is ‘impossible for all to be alike’. Therefore not everyone is equally reluctant to break the law. Durkheim went on to say that crime isn’t only inevitable, it can also be functional. Durkheim argued that it only becomes dysfunctional (harmful to society) when its rate is unusually high or law. He argued that all social change begins with some form of deviance. In order for change to occur, yesterday’s deviance must become today’s normality. Since a certain amount of change is good for society (so that it can progress rather than stagnate), so is deviance. If the collective sentiments are too strong, there will be little deviance, but neither will there be any change, or progress. Therefore the collective...
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...elsewhere, assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime (21 marks) Deviance is defined as the state of diverging from usual or accepted standards whereas crime is defined as an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law. Usually, we would expect that functionalists would regard crime and deviance as wholly negative. However, functionalists such as Durkheim see the “beneficial effects of crime for society” whether there are “limited” or not. Additionally, functionalists see crime as inevitable and universal. Every known society has some level of crime and deviance. Within this essay, I will be exploring the ways key functionalists such as Durkheim, Merton, Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin view crime and criticisms towards their ideas. Durkheim states “crime is normal… an integral part of all healthy societies.” There are two reasons why crime and deviance are found in all societies. Which are; not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values and, therefore, some individuals will be prone to deviate. Secondly, in complex modern societies there is a diversity of lifestyles and values. Different groups develop their own subcultures with their own norms and values. The mainstream culture may regard their norms as deviant. Durkheim’s perspectives highlights that crime is not just inevitable but it also fulfils two important functions. Firstly, boundary maintenance. Crime produces a reaction from society,...
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...subcultural theory is a deterministic theory that sees individuals as entirely shaped by the way society is structured or organised, this means that the subcultures share norms and values that are different to those that are shared by mainstream society as those within the subculture have rejected mainstream norms and have become inverted because the mainstream values have failed them as is illustrated by item A. These subcultural theories are used and developed by different sociologists in order to explain why crime and deviance happens, functionalists see society as socialising individuals into shared norms and values that dictate how they will behave showing why those who are part of a subculture reject society and participate in crime and deviance because they enable a person to have a sense of identification. However theses subcultural theories cannot always explain the trend in crime and deviance as there are many contributing factors as to why crime and deviance happens. Merton is a functionalist who has developed a theory in order to explain why crime and deviance happens which has then been developed further by other sociologists in to the form of subcultural theories. Merton’s strain theory is the basis of subcultural theories and he explains that the reason for deviance is the result of strain between the goals that society encourages individuals to achieve and what society actually allows them to achieve through legitimate means which leads them to commit deviance acts...
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...to opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance (21 marks) Deviance is an act that goes against the norms and values of social construction. There are many different factors to be considered when examining opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance. Functionalists, especially Durkheim sees society as a stable system based on value consensus-shared norms, values, beliefs and goals. This produces social solidarity, binding individuals together into one harmonious unit. To achieve this, society must participate in socialisation and social control. These functionalist concepts easily link to the functionalist explanation of crime where crime is portrayed as inevitable and functional for society. Whilst crime disrupts social stability, functionalists see it as inevitable and universal. Durkheim sees crime as healthy for social as society needs some individuals who are inadequately socialised and prone to deviate. Also in highly modern societies, there is a specialized division of labour and a diversity of subcultures. Individuals and groups become increasingly different from one another, and the shared rules of behaviour become less clear. This is what is known as anomie. An example of where anomie occurs is in suicide, where rapid social change in modern society, leaves individuals unsure as to where they fit in. For Durkheim, crime fulfils two important positive functions, the first of which is boundary maintenance. Crime produces a reaction from society, uniting...
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...Functionalist Theory Of Crime Functionalism (The Consensus structuralism theory) Functionalism is a consensus structuralism theory. Functionalists argue that there is nothing abnormal about deviance, and that it is necessary and normal in all parts of societies performing a positive function. The functions of crime and deviance (DURKEIM)Durkheim has identified a positive and a negative side to crime and deviance, it is positive in which it helps society to change and remain dynamic, whilst the negative side sees too much crime leading to social disruption. Durkheim believes that crime and deviance are inevitable and normal aspect of social life. They are inevitable because everyone cannot be equally committed to the shared values that guide ones actions, referred to as the collective consensus. He also believes that crime and deviance perform four essential functions for society: • Crime and deviance being essential for generating and sustaining morality. • Crime and deviance clarify and reaffirm the boundaries. For example by receiving retribution for a crime, such as a prison sentence, the state is making it clear that as criminal/deviant act has taken place. • Crime and deviance can promote social unity. When a crime has been committed, the entire community draws together in shared outrage, and the sense of belonging in a community is strengthened. • Crime and deviance can encourage social change by resulting in a change of shared values. This change in values...
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...Using the material from Item A and elsewhere assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime. (21 Marks) Crime is the act which breaks the criminal laws of society. The functionalists approach to crime and deviance gives us some insight into how society copes with deviant behaviour. However it has limitations for example it only looks at the functions of deviance and not the causes. Durkheim says that to allow social solidarity to occur in society there are two key mechanisms which are socialisation and social control. He states that crime and deviance is inevitable and that it is needed in society as it preforms two positive functions; boundary maintenance and adaption. In Durkheim’s view, the purpose of punishment is to reaffirm society’s shared rules. As it states in Item A the publicity given to crime highlights the boundaries of acceptable behaviour and this reinforces social solidarity through for example court rooms which dramatizes the wrong doing and stigmatises the offender and therefore discourages others from breaking society’s rules. For individuals that want adaption, there must be some scope for them to challenge and change the existing norms and values which is deviance. However, in time there values may give way to a new culture and morality. For example gay marriage would be seen as deviant but in current times it has become less deviant in countries such as the United Kingdom because it has become more popular over the last decade. If...
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...Functionalist Theory – Essay Plan Introduction * Functionalism is a consensus structuralist theory, which sees the source of crime and deviance located in the structure of society * Social order and cohesion are based on value consensus, and the agencies of social control seek to protect this by controlling the threat posed by crime and deviance * Functionalists do argue that crime and deviance are useful in society because they have a ‘function’ * They reinforce the consensus of values, norms and behaviour of the majority non-deviant population * Durkheim and other functionalist sociologists who came after him argue that all societies need some change to remain healthy and stable * If society reacts positively to deviant behaviour it starts the process for that behaviour to be seen as non-deviant in the future 1P – Study of crime 1E – Emile Durkheim 1E – Felt that an understanding of crime and deviance was essential in order to understand how society functioned. He argued that crime had 4 characteristics: Inevitable, Universal, Relative and Functional. Overall Durkheim saw high levels of crime and deviance as very negative for society causing uncertainty and disruption but despite the potential threats to social order, he saw some deviance as necessary and beneficial as it could perform positive functions in contributing to the well being by; strengthening collective values, enabling social change, acting as a safety valve and acting as a warning...
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...Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime. (21 marks) In reference to Item A functionalism is a consensus theory, stating that in society we are governed by a value consensus that we all share. This means we all are socialised into the shared values, beliefs and norms of society. Functionalism uses this idea of value consensus to explain how crime is the result of not following this. It also explains how crime has functions in society and how it can play and integral part in society. Functionalists believe that crime is the effect of inadequate socialisation. This is because we are all individuals with our own experiences and families which raise us all differently whilst still keeping in with the norms and values of society, the problem lies where families socialise their children poorly and the children feel as sense of anomie or normlessness from their society. Meaning that they do not feel connected to the values they were poorly raised into. For instance, Durkheim argued that people feel anomie for the values and this makes them commit crime because they do not know that they aren’t supposed to, or that it is wrong. To them there is a blurred line between right and wrong. Therefore functionalism is useful at explaining what crime is caused by. Functionalists also feel though crime has a function in society, 1 Boundary maintenance, meaning that public displays of punishment (public courts)...
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...Luscombe Outline and asses the functionalist explanations of crime and deviance. Functionalist ignore deviance; they look at society as a whole and ignore individualism. Functionalism is a structuralist approach (also known as a consensus theory) they believe that individuals are shaped by society and social facts. A limitation of functionalist is that they ignore certain groups within society, such as women and people with disabilities. They also ignore factors such as ‘race’ and social class. They believe that society will maintain stability if the institutions still exists and the factors that may cause conflict – are ignored. I will assessing the functionalist contribution to explanations of crime, to how useful it is and if those explanations have been applied within modern day society. Also how useful the explanations are at reducing crime. Deviance is a normative approach, it is associated with behaviour that differs from the set norms and values set out by society. Deviance is linked to informal social control through sanctions (not by laws or government policy). In a Post Modern society – this definition of deviance would be problematic because it refers to societal norms (which would have disappeared; due to individualism making it hard to follow set norms and values). Deviance could collapse in a post-modern society. Durkheim (1895) is a positivist who proposed the concept of anomie; as an explanation as to why certain people commit crime. He believes that if individuals...
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...Past Crime and Deviance Questions Sept 2008 Read Item A below and answer the question that follows. ------------------------------------------------- Item A ------------------------------------------------- Situational crime prevention (SCP) involves intervening in the immediate situations in which crime takes place to reduce its likelihood or seriousness. It often involves ‘designing crime out’ of products, services and environments, for example by use of anti-climb paint, CCTV and security guards in shops, better street lighting, metal detectors at airports, neighbourhood watch schemes and the re-designing of housing estates. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- SCP does not rely on intervening in children’s socialisation to prevent them becoming criminals later, or on the threat of punishments to deter current criminals. Instead, it makes specific changes aimed at influencing the decision or ability of offenders to commit particular crimes in particular situations. Like rational choice theory, SCP sees criminals as acting rationally. By making certain crimes less rewarding, more risky or needing greater effort, SCP makes criminals less likely to choose to commit them. 02 Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of conflict theories for an understanding of crime and deviance in contemporary society. (21 marks) Jan 2010 Read Item A below and answer the question that follows...
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...Functionalists view on crime & deviance With the functionalist emphasis on the importance of shared norms and values as the basis of social order, it would appear that deviance is a threat to order and should therefore be seen as a threat to society. Yet a functionalist analysis of deviance begins with society as a whole. It looks for the source of deviance in the nature of society rather than in the individual. They argue that social control mechanisms such as the police and the courts are necessary to keep deviance in check and to protect social order, as well as deviance being a necessary part of all societies and that it performs positive functions for social systems that even contribute to the maintenance and well being of society. They believe crime and deviance should be limited in order it to benefit all. Functionalists believe crime and deviance have positive functions such as crime and deviance acting like a warning device, some acts warn of problems that exist in the system. As a result, action can be taken to address the problem for example a child may skip school due to problems at home. As a result of the truancy the larger problems of abuse or cultural and material deprivation may be addressed and greater problems avoided. Crime and deviance could help society progress: today’s deviants are tomorrow’s innovators as people who challenge existing norms and values help to create better ways of living. For example Emily Pankhurst and the suffragettes helped...
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...not to remove crime but to ‘heal the wounds done to collective sentiment’. * Without Punishment – collective sentiments would lose their force and strength * Crime and punishment are both inevitable and functional. Function of Punishment: * According to Durkheim the function of punishment is not to remove crime but to ‘heal the wounds done to collective sentiment’. * Without Punishment – collective sentiments would lose their force and strength * Crime and punishment are both inevitable and functional. Crime is Inevitable: * Durkheim argued that crime in an inevitable and normal aspect of social life. * Crime is present in all types of society; indeed the crime rate is higher in more advanced, industrialized countries. * It is inevitable because not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments (shared values and beliefs). Crime is Inevitable: * Durkheim argued that crime in an inevitable and normal aspect of social life. * Crime is present in all types of society; indeed the crime rate is higher in more advanced, industrialized countries. * It is inevitable because not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments (shared values and beliefs). Crime is Functional: * Durkheim argues that it only becomes dysfunctional when it is rate is unusually low or high. * He argues that all social change begins with some form of deviance. * If collective...
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...OUTLINE AND ASSESS FUNCTIONALIST EXPLANATIONS OF CRIME AND DEVIANCE (50) INTRODUCTION * Structural theory * Believe that society is good and order is necessary * Therefore at first glance crime appears to be negative, but functionalists believe crime can be beneficial to social system PARAGRAPH 1 - DURKHEIM * Believed in consensus and need for social order + that crime was inevitable * He believed crime and deviance were product of lack of attachment to prevailing consensus over collective values * Durkheim believed the speed of change in modern societies was likely to generate deviance and crime as the modern world rapidly reinvents itself * Intro of new economic process and technology combined with social/geographical mobility leave people feeling unsure about their place in the world, so people lose a sense of what it is to be normal and develop sense of anomie (normlessness) * Crime and deviance are bound to increase now * After fall of Soviet Union crime increased rapidly in Russia as whole social fabric was transformed * Durkheim said crime was necessary for society and he notes 3 main benefits of crime: 1. Reaffirming the Boundaries – when someone is taken to court, the sanction and the publicity reaffirm existing values 2. Changing Values – sometimes when someone is charged with a crime, a degree of sympathy occurs for the person prosecuted leading to a change in values, which can lead to change in law to reflect...
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...Criminology: Functionalist perspective on crime and deviance The functionalist approach to analyzing deviance and the causes of crime looks at society as a whole. It explains crime and deviance by saying that the source of deviance lies in the nature of society itself rather than in psychology or biology. It should be noted that functionalists see deviance as an inevitable and necessary part of society. Some also consider deviance to have positive aspects for society. Emile Durkheim Durkheim argued in The Rules of Sociological Method that a certain level of crime was inevitable within any society. In fact it is normal and 'an integral part of all healthy societies’. The reason that deviance is inevitable is that not everyone is equally committed to the collective values and moral beliefs of society. There will always be disagreement and dissent. In addition, deviance can act in a positive way in that it helps to reinforce ideas of right and wrong in society. It reinforces ‘collective sentiments’ in society. Problems with deviance arise when the level of crime becomes too great as this can threaten social stability. Durkheim considered that deviance acts as a catalyst for social change in society. Change occurs because what was thought deviant previously is now considered acceptable. In this way society evolves and makes progress, which is healthy. The alternative would be stagnation and atrophy with no development. Indeed, Durkheim viewed societies where crime levels were...
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