Sociological explanations of crime and deviance
Crime and Deviance Essay Functionalist approaches in sociology derive mainly from the work of Emile Durkheim at the end of the nineteenth century. He believed societies were held together by shared values and economic interdependence. There is always according to Durkheim, the possibility of collapse of society if the values are not constantly reaffirmed and passed on from one generation to the next. Therefore the maintenance of values is a crucial function of society. According to Durkheim, furthermore there are two important elements to understand crime, which can be seen as contradictory. A limited amount of crime is necessary and beneficial to society, so much so that society could not exist without some form of deviance. However, too much crime is bad for society and can assist to bring about its collapse. Thus the amount of crime determines what is beneficial or destructive for society. Marxists argue that society is dominated and controlled by those who own the 'commanding heights' of industry, commerce and finance. They believe the definition of what is criminal reflects the dominant social values. Causing the death of another person while in a fit of temper, for example, during a street brawl, is regarded as murder. Yet the death of a factory worker due to their work environment is, at worst, worthy of a fine. According to Functionalists, deviants are in some
Assess the view that crime is functional, inevitable and normal.
'Asses the view that crime is functional, inevitable and normal' Crime is acts that will elicit dissent from society. They take various forms and involve various concepts and competing theories. In everyday language to commit crime means to stray from an accepted path. Many sociological definitions of crime simply elaborate upon this idea. Thus crime consists of those areas which do not follow the norms and expectations of a particular social group. Emile Durkheim a functionalist sociologist studied crime and deviance. He concluded that crime is necessary to understand how society functions. Durkheim saw both a functional inevitable side of crime that has positive effects on society. As well as a negative side that can lead to social disruption. In his works; 'The Rules of Sociological Method' and 'The Division of Labour', he argued that crime is "an integral part of all healthy societies". He reasoned that crime is not only inevitable, but also functional for society and that they will only be considered dysfunctional when they reach abnormally high or low levels. The conclusion of Durkheim's argument is that contrary to the conventional view that crime is a social pathology that must be eradicated, it is a normal and inescapable phenomenon which can play a useful part in facilitating social progress.
Critically Compare and Contrast Functionalist and Traditional Marxist Perspectives On Crime.
Michelle Deluce Tutor: Joanne Green CRIMINOLOGY Page 1 CRITICALLY COMPARE AND CONTRAST FUNCTIONALIST AND TRADITIONAL MARXIST PERSPECTIVES ON CRIME There are many theories on why crime exists as well has who is committing the crimes and the underlying reasons behind it The two main perspectives being Traditional Marxist and Functionalist both with different views they share very little in common, however they do agree that society shapes the individual and not the individual that shapes society. What is meant by that is that we are all products of our upbringings and learn through socialisation what our beliefs are, what we agree on personally and often shared beliefs and the understanding of what is 'the norm; through our primary interaction with others beginning at home and continuing onto schooling and work. Our beliefs aren't always set in stone and can change through time and growth and the interaction with others once outside the family domain. There are many explanations beginning with Durkheim who was a functionalist, there is Merton who doesn't totally agree with Durkheim but adopted his theory on 'Anomie' and made it his own. In addition there is Hirschi whose theories mirrored that of Durkheim's and before concluding, Marxist view on crime will be looked at. The Functionalist view on crime and society is likening it to the human body to explain it
Marx and Durkheim both produced fundamental criticisms of modern society, however the solution to alienation appears to imply 'anomie'. Discuss.
Marx and Durkheim both produced fundamental criticisms of modern society, however the solution to alienation appears to imply 'anomie'. Discuss It has been construed that the proletariat revolution that Marx envisaged as the solution to alienation and the problems of modern society as causing not a communist society but a society plagued with anomie. To see how accurate this claim is it is necessary to understand what the two thinkers thoughts were on the problems of modern society, both Marx and Durkheim were engrossed in the changes caused by the industrial revolution and tried to solve the problems that this change caused in modern society through their theories. (Ritzer: 1992: p7) They both developed important concepts relating to the problems of modern society, alienation and anomie, and these will be discussed. The solution that Marx saw for alienation will be looked at and then compared to Durkheim's concept of anomie. Alienation is defined as "a process in which people become separated from their fellows, the products of their work and their own life processes" (Craib: 1997: p278) Marx uses a concept of human nature to understand human behaviour, for Marx humans change their environment and as a response change themselves in order to live in it. (Craib: 1997: p88) The economic system shapes how society is and so the capitalist mode of production in modern society led
Examine how Durkheim's ideas have influenced the geography of crime.
Examine how Durkheim's ideas have influenced the geography of crime. The 'geography of crime' is a contemporary phenomena, having only appeared within geographical literature during the last twenty years. R. J. Johnston, 1994 (ref.i), defines this phrase as, " A subdiscipline which elucidates the relevance of space to the study of criminal offenders, the incidence of crime and the characteristics of victims." When discussing the geography of crime, what is essentially meant is the geography of crime within the lower rather than upper classes, since it is among the lower classes that misconduct is most observed and therefore most recorded. However, crime has been studied with a spatial emphasis since the nineteenth century by European cartographic criminologists, with the recognition of a pattern crime within urban areas. Later on, studies by ecologists in the Chicago School, in the 1920's, showed that more felonies were committed within inner city areas, especially on public housing estates. More recently, the study of crime has concentrated not on the criminals, but on the victims and their fear of crime, putting a greater emphasis on women and the increasing importance of feminist geography. Lee and Newby, (1989), refer to the study of deviance in their quote, rather than the geography of crime. Although deviance and crime can both be defined as unlawful acts of
Assess the view that crime is functional, invetiable and normal
Sociology (b) Using material from Item A and elsewhere, examine some of the ways in which sociologists have linked their explanations of crime to one or more of the following areas: families and households; health; mass media (12 marks) Item A suggests that the family is the key insitituion in generating law-abiding behaviour. One way in which sociologists have linked their explanations of crime to the study of families and households, is by suggesting that the family was key to understanding the causes of crime. Some argue that the correleation between crime and certain family chracteristics is a reflection of a much wider change in society. They see that the three-generation family structure had provided stability and place in which moral values and sense of community belonging had been passed on. They also suggest that the changing roles of women in the family; the increasingly dominant role of the mother in the househols had led to the margunalication of the father, this led to fathers leaving their families, resulting in young males not having role models on which to base thier behaviour, and do not face the discipline at home that a father might provide. Another way in which they have linked their explanations of crime to families and households, si by suggesting that the growth of cohabitiation has undermined the belief that patnership is for life, as is supposed to
Evaluate Functionalist Theories of Crime and Deviance
Evaluate Functionalist Theories on Crime and Deviance Crime is defined as behaviour that breaks laws and is punished by the legal system. Deviance, on the other hand, can be considered to be banned or controlled behaviour which is likely to attract either punishment, disapproval or both (Downes & Rock, 1988). Functionalists view society as based on shared consensus and the proliferation of this shared consensus through socialization by institutions. This makes it particularly difficult for them to deal with the concept of crime and deviance- because in a perfect Functionalist society, crime and deviance would not occur. While some Functionalist theorists, notably Durkheim, regard crime as having a social function, others, including Merton, who point to the strain between socialized aims and reality as the true cause of crime. Durkheim (1897) argues that crime and deviance are useful and necessary in society. It helps to reinforce the consensus of values, norms and behaviour of the majority non-deviant population, through the idea of outrage at crime which strengthens social solidarity. It also acts as a social dynamic which allows for social changes to occur and for social boundaries to be tested, ensuring that a society, its norms and values and its laws stay in line with the social consensus. Durkheim also sees Crime and Deviance as a provider of employment for law
Different Sociological Perspectives on Crime
Different Sociological Perspectives on Crime 1.There are several different sociological explanations from different perspectives: the Functionalist perspective, Labelling perspective, Sub-culture perspective and the Marxist perspective used to explain crime and deviance. 2.The main features to each perspective are described below: Functionalist Perspective Functionalists believe that crime is best analysed by looking at society as a whole and that we should not look at the individual person, and that the way society is structured explains the cause of crime. They believe that crime has a function in society and that we need it, even though functionalists feel strongly about shared values and consensus to keep society together. This said they think that the existence of crime brings other parts of society together because, we come together to stop crime e.g. neighbourhood watch or a paedophile moving into a town: all different types of people would get together in the way of marches and the signing of petitions. This therefore helps to promote shared values and social order. Functionalists believe crime has its function, if it did not prisons/punishment and the police would therefore not have a function in society. Theorists who follow this perspective are Durkheim and Albert Cohen. Sub-Culture This approach explains deviance in terms of the subculture of social
Outline and assess Functionalist explanations of crime and deviance.
Outline and assess Functionalist explanations of crime and deviance. This question includes assessment of your understanding of the connections between crime and deviance and sociological theory. Functionalist explanations of deviance begin with society as a whole looking for the origins of deviance in the nature of society, not the biological or psychological make up of an individual. Functionalists favour quantative methods to look at society, using statistics to see society as a whole, rather than looking at the individual's effect on society. The majority of Functionalist's ideas on crime derive from the work of Durkheim. Durkheim believes that crime in inevitable because not every member of society shares the same values and norms; every society has crime, particularly the most advanced industrial societies. Crime is seen as not only inevitable, but functional to society because it allows for change, which is vital for society to function. Durkheim argues that crime brings society together, as in the case of the Soham murders. From this point of view it can be questioned what the function of punishment is, Durkheim believes punishment is a form of social control and act as a signal to people. A.K Cohen developed Durkheim's ideas further, providing further possible functions of deviance. Firstly deviance can act as a safety valve providing an expression of discontent.
Considering Explanationsof Gun Crime Offences.
Considering Explanations of Gun Crime Offences. Gun crime is an offence that is increasingly becoming a primary concern for the criminal justice system in this country. Gun crime has gradually increased over the past thirty years and is now a major problem nationally. The first significant gun crime offence in this country was the Hungerford Massacre, August 1987. A lone gunman (Michael Ryan) went on the rampage shooting fifteen people dead, and injuring fourteen others, before turning the gun on himself. This mass murder left a shadow of fear and doubt over the UK public and it remains one of those random acts of crime, which proves that under extreme circumstances, nobody is safe or secure, no matter how much they try to protect themselves. Another major incident in Britain was that of the Dunblane shootings in 1996. Thomas Hamilton (43), walked into a Dunblane Primary School armed with four, legally held weapons. In the space of three minutes he shot three members of staff and twenty-eight pupils, of which one adult and sixteen children were killed. This incident in Dunblane led to many questions regarding legal regulations on guns and weapons; in particular whether or not private ownership of handguns should be banned. Michael North, whose daughter was killed at Dunblane, wrote the following comments in the Sunday Times (13/10/1996): " It is time to turn the tide
