In criminology, subculture theories emerged as a way to account for delinquency rates among lower- class males. Subculture theories believe that the delinquent subcultures emerged in response to the special problems that the members of mainstream society do not face. Albert Cohen speaks about delinquent subculture as being a collective response rather than Merton’s theory of individual’s responding to their position in the class structure. Cohen’s theory of delinquency can be applicable to the Caribbean environment because he discusses the experience of delinquent subcultures in terms of class situation of working class boys with references to their restricted life chances. Cohen mentioned cultural deprivation theory and used an example of lower class boys who hold the success goals but because of educational failure, they have little opportunity to attain any of these goals. Most of these young boys suffer with “status frustration” which means that they reject the success goals altogether because they are dissatisfied with their social position. They replace these goals with their own set of norms and values in which they can achieve success and gain prestige which in turn creates a “delinquent subculture.” According to Cohen, “the delinquent subculture takes its norms and values from the larger culture but turns them upside down,” for example in lower class communities in the Caribbean , a high value is placed on theft, vandalism, kidnapping and even murder which are acts usually condemned by the wider society. Cohen believes that because there is unequal access to opportunity, there us a greater pressure on certain groups in the social structure to deviate.
Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin argued that Merton failed to mention illegitimate opportunity structure saying that just as one can achieve success by legitimate means, so can an individual achieve success by illegitimate means. According to Cloward and Ohlin, there are three distinguished possible responses to this:
1) Criminal Subculture- in some areas a “learning environment” is provided for the young. They are exposed to criminal skills and deviant beliefs and values and are presented with criminal role models.
2) The Conflict Subculture which develops when adolescents have little opportunity for access to illegitimate opportunity structures. It also prevents a stable criminal culture to develop thus; it leads to a breeding ground for gang violence.
3) Retreatist Subcultures where adolescents have not been able to succeed in legitimate or illegitimate opportunity structures and these people turn to drugs or fade away from society, e.g. vagrants.
Howard S. Becker discusses the labelling theory which can also be applied to the Caribbean. If a student notices that it is a hot day and shows up at school in a bikini, then others will label her as being a deviant and going against the norm. In some societies it is also normal for people to belong to nudist camps or be in the nude at certain holiday beaches because it is seen as normal by those participating. If a man exposes himself in front of a crowd he is labelled as a pervert. There is nothing essentially wrong about being nude but it only becomes deviant when others label it as such. It all depends on time, place and the person. Becker gave an example of a fight involving young people. In a lower- class crime plagued neighbourhood, it may be defined as gang violence and a form of delinquency whereas in an upper class neighbourhood it would be seen as youth in high spirits having a good time. The acts taking place are the same but the ways they are seen may differ. The fight in the lower class area may be a gang defending its territory but Becker states that the gangs are doing what they consider “necessary and right, but teachers, social workers and police see it differently.” If those youth are convicted for breaking the law they then become deviant and have been labelled as such. Becker argued, “Deviance is not a quality that lies in behaviour itself, but in the interaction between the person who commits an act and those who respond to it.”
There are a number of stages in the process of the self- fulfilling prophecy where “the deviant identification becomes the controlling one.” In the Caribbean this is a common factor where people from certain communities plagued by crime are all labelled as part of the criminal element. But the individuals involved in criminal activity are firstly rejected by family or friends which may encourage further deviance e.g. drug addicts who turn to crime to support their habit. There is also discrimination against ex- convicts in gaining employment, “the treatment of deviants denies them the ordinary means of carrying on the routines of everyday life open to most people. Because of this denial, the deviant must of necessity develop illegitimate routines.” The deviants then join an organized deviant group and form a “deviant subculture” which includes their own beliefs and values e.g. theft helps you to gain prestige within the group.
In conclusion the theories that can be applied to the Caribbean are all of the above listed because crime and deviance in the Caribbean is a mixture of each. But the one theory that most suits the Caribbean environment is Cloward and Ohlin’s theory on Delinquency and Opportunity where there is a high rate of unemployment which leads people to achieving success goals by illegitimate means. Lower- class males reject mainstream goals and set their own. Frustration drives the delinquents to pursue values that disrupt the world they cannot cope with. Deviance in this case is non- conformity.
