(c) Asses the view that crime is functional, invetiable and normal (40 marks)
Durkheim (1982) suggested that crime was necessary for any society. He argued that the basis of society was a set shared of values that guide our actions, also known as a collective conscience, which provided a framework with boundaries, which distinguishes between actions that are acceptable and those that are not. He suggests that the there are three elemenets of this positive aspects. One positive aspect is reaffirming the boundaries, this meant that everyttime a person breaks a law and is taken to courts, the resulting court ceremony and the publicity in the newspapers, publicly reaffirms the existing values, thus making crime to have a function.
He also suggested that every so often when a person is taken to court and charged with a crime, a degree of sympathy occurs for the person prosecuted. This therefore could lead to a change in law in order to reflect the chaning values, which Durkheim saw as another positive aspect of crime. Another positive aspect that he argued crime played in society was it encouraged social cohesion. He points out that when particulary horrific crimes have commites, the entire community draws together in shared outrage, and the sense of belonging to a community is therby stregthened.
However, it is argued that while a certain, limited amount of crime may perfrom positive functions for society, too much crime has a negative consequence. It is argued that despite society being based on people sharing common values which forms the basis of action, in periods of great social change or stress, the collective conscience may be weakened. In this situation, people may be freed from the social control imposed by the colective conscience and may start to look after their own selfish interests rather than adhering to social values, this was called anomie.
It is argued that due to the changes in the family structure, crime is inevitable. Deniss (1993) argued that the correlation between crime and certain family chracteristics was a reflection of a much wider change in society. He argued that the changing role of women, the increase in fathers leaving a cohabitatiob weakened the moral fabcrus of society and demostrated that values and commitments are not fixed and permanant, but flexible, which in turn weakens the idea of strong central values which form the basis of society, and stregthens the view that morals are relative and negotiable.
On the other hand, Box (1983) suggets that it isn't people who are bad, but that capitalist society controls and exploits workers for the benefit of ruling class. He suggests that when people are released in some way from direct control, they are more likely to commit crime because they see the unfairness of the system.On the other hand, Box (1983) suggets that it isn't people who are bad, but that capitalist society controls and exploits workers for the benefit of ruling class. He suggests that when people are released in some way from direct control, they are more likely to commit crime because they see the unfairness of the system. However, it is argued that while a certain, limited amount of crime may perfrom positive functions for society, too much crime has a negative consequence. It is argued that despite society being based on people sharing common values which forms the basis of action, in periods of great social change or stress, the collective conscience may be weakened. In this situation, people may be freed from the social control imposed by the colective conscience and may start to look after their own selfish interests rather than adhering to social values, this was called anomie.