Assess the usefulness of subcultural theories for an understanding of crime and deviance in society today

Lemert distinguishes between two different types of deviance, the first being primary deviance, where an insignificant deviant act is committed but not publicly labelled. Therefore, this deviant act doesn’t have any a person’s status and they don’t see themselves as deviant. The other is secondary deviance, this is when the deviant act is publicly labelled and the person sees themselves as a criminal. This involves them being stigmatized and excluded from normal society, so the label ‘criminal’ becomes their master status. A person’s status of being a deviant will cause a hostile reaction from society and will affect them having a legitimate career. This can lead to a deviant career, where deviant behaviour is encouraged and rewarded; therefore it confirms a deviant identity. This shows that it’s not the act that is deviant, but the social reaction to it and their hostility towards the person.

The labelling theory is useful to understand crime and deviance in society because it shows that defining deviance is a complex process, rather than simple. This is due to the fact that if the deviant act isn’t witnessed or punished then the person isn’t labelled as a criminal, but still technically is one, even though others might not see them as deviant. This leads on to the fact that the definition of deviance is relative and therefore it is not fixed or universal as it varies depending on societies reaction to the crime. It is also useful because it was the first theory to draw sociological attention to the consequences of being labelled a deviant.

However it is less useful because the labelling theory implies that once the person is labelled as a criminal, a deviant career is inevitable. Peter Ackers argues that the deviant act is always more important than the reaction from society and that the act makes you a criminal, no matter if it is witnessed or not. He states that deviants should know that the criminal act is wrong and they shouldn’t have to wait for a label to be attached to them to know that it is wrong.

However, another theory that is useful for understanding crime and deviance is the subcultural theory. This theory sees deviance as coming from delinquent subcultures, which have different norms and values from mainstream society. These subcultures provide an alternative opportunity structure, as they can’t get it through legitimate means. Therefore in these subcultures, deviant behaviour is seen as normal and it is encouraged. Compared to labelling, the subcultural theory is more useful for understanding crime and deviance because it states the reasons for why people are committing deviant behaviour, which isn’t explained in the labelling theory. However it is less useful because the theory assumes that once in a subculture, you will learn and follow deviant acts, which might not be true for everyone in a subculture. Also not every criminal is part of a subculture; therefore there are might be more than one way that deviant become criminals.

In conclusion, the labelling theory is the most useful for understanding crime and deviance because its shows that the definition of crime is relative and the word can’t be used to describe everyone who commits a deviant act.