Emile Durkheim Boundary Maintenance

Erosion of social norms Part of Functionalist view

Crimes serve a positive function
Excessive criminal and deviant of Crime and Deviance –
activity can act as a sign that focused on impact on
of uniting society is their
society’s norms and values are society of crime
condemnation of criminals. This
no longer functional. High rates
serves to reinforce the collective
of criminality suggest that
conscience and reaffirm society’s
society is not functioning
commitment to its norms and
correctly – they are a warning
values
sign

Adaptation and Change ‘Safety valve’

Deviant behaviour acts as a way Some crimes act as a way of
of challenging social norms. As releasing the frustrations of
the behaviour becomes accepted society and averting greater
by more and more people then it damage to social order. Polsky
becomes part of the norms and and Davis suggested that
values of society leading to pornography and prostitution
gradual evolution of society served as a release of tension
that reduced other crimes

Evaluations: Durkheim failed to explain the reasons for

individual crime although many of his ideas on impacts of crime
still have contemporary relevance
 Part of Functionalist view of
Robert Merton
Crime and Deviance – focused
Non - deviant adaptations to strain on how individuals react to
unequal structure of society
Conformity – Ritualism – Strain is caused by society’s
Accepting Rejecting socially unequal opportunity
socially approved approved goals structure that promotes the
goals and but conforming American Dream but
legitimate means to legitimate focuses less on how to
of achieving means of achieve it… so people adapt
them achieving them

Deviant adaptations to strain Evaluations of Merton

- Do all individuals
Innovation – Retreatism – Rebellion – believe in the American
Accepts social Rejects both adopts dream?
goals but uses the socially alternative - Influenced subcultural
illegitimate approved goals goals and theorists such as
means to and legitimate means to Cohen
achieve them – means of achieve those - Focuses on individual
i.e. crime achieving them new goals causes of crime
 Synoptic
Drawing on Merton’s Strain Theory, Cohen suggested that Subcultural Theories of Crime
Link to
Education blocked opportunities to succeed lead young working-class – part of functionalist
males to form delinquent subcultures approach

Unable to achieve status in education –

Albert Cohen

working-class boys suffer from STATUS

FRUSTRATION

Look to obtain status by forming subcultural

groups with similar peers and construct an
ALTERNATE STATUS HIERARCHY

This involves subverting the norms and

values of society to give status to criminal
and deviant activities – usually non-
utilitarian Evaluations of Cohen
- Explain non-utilitarian crime
This brings them into conflict with authorities - Recognises the influence of peers on
and further harms their opportunities for status criminal behaviour
- Does not account for crimes committed
through legitimate means
by individuals or utilitarian crimes
 Synoptic
Link to Cloward and Ohlin drew upon Merton’s ideas of strain, but Subcultural Theories of Crime
Education focused on the opportunities to commit crime based on – part of functionalist
locality that young working-class found themselves in approach

Denied status through legitimate means working-

Cloward and Ohlin

class males would deviate into one of 3 forms of

subculture

Criminal Conflict Retreatist

Based in areas In the absence of Rejected by other
where there was an existing groups, young
an existing criminal network, males would opt Evaluations of Cloward and Ohlin:
criminal network, frustrations would out of society and - Some subcultures contain
males would be be channelled into elements of more than one
turn to deviant
category – e.g. criminal and
apprenticed into clashes with other behaviours such conflict in instance of drug dealing
crime as an groups based as drugs and - Matza suggested criminality was a
alternative to upon ‘turf’, or petty crime to phase that young males drifted in
legitimate career other factors such alleviate and out of – rather than a career
as ethnicity in deviance
frustrations
 Synoptic Althusser, a structural Marxists suggested that the ruling
Marxist theories of social
Link to class look to control the behaviour of the working class to
Education control
and Theory
stop them from revolting against inequality
and Methods

They used 2 distinct state apparatuses to control

Louis Althusser

the masses

Ideological State Repressive State

Apparatus Apparatus
Controlling the thoughts and Control through physical force – Evaluations of Althusser
ideas of the masses to make if the ISA failed to control the - Assumption that people
them compliant to ruling class masses through ideology, the were unaware of their
ideology. This was achieved RSA was used to crush any exploitation and were
through social institutions such uprisings – this included the cultural dopes
as family, media, education and police, the armed forces and the - Influential in development
religion – giving people false legal system. The better the ISA of other theoretical
belief that society was fair and performed its function – the less opinions
equal and that they were not the RSA would have to do - Government is by consent
of the people
being exploited .