Introduction to crime and deviance
Crime-an illegal act that is punishable (murder)
Deviance- an act breaking social norms (tattooing face)
Sociologists say socialisation stops us committing crimes.
Crime and deviance are socially constructed. Most criminal acts are also deviant as they have been made
illegal for breaching social norms however some acts are deviant only (adultery) and some crimes are not
seen as deviant (smoking drugs).
Social control is achieved by positive rewards and negative sanctions. There is formal agencies of social
control (police/courts) and informal agencies of social control (family/media/education/religion).
Crime and deviance can be beneficial for society as it provides jobs, social cohesion, promotes law
change, sets norms and values and supports economy.
Collective consciousness- group sense of right or wrong
Social cohesion- binding a group together
Left Realist explanation for crime and deviance
Left realist explanation:
Lea and Young: People more aware of relative deprivation due to media and combined with individualism
people begin to create/join subcultures as a solution and lack of support and no clear goals leaves them
marginalised.
In modernity instability, insecurity and exclusion exasperate crime and there is a growing contrast
between cultural inclusion and social exclusion (more emphasis on immediate gratification yet denied
opportunities to achieve it) leading to frustration and crime.
M/C resent underclass for living on benefits causing increase in hate crime.
Kingsley, Lea and Young: oppose zero tolerance policing in favour of multi-agency approach where police
are supported by local communities, schools and councils and should tackle crime at the structural cause
such as poverty, inequality and discrimination.
Strengths: Acknowledges the impact of crime on individuals, influential in social policy.
Limitations: Ignores corporate crime, Neo-Marxists state they ignore meanings of crime as accept quantitative
data, relative deprivation can’t explain all crime as too focused on inner city crime.
Crime prevention/control:
Tackle social context by removing conditions leading to crime e.g poverty
Consensus rather than military policing
Perry pre-school project- socialising children into goals and values and helping them achieve them
legitimately so less crime and saves money such as prison costs.
Evaluation of policies: expensive in the short-term, good evidence for tackling cause of crime, been successful and
communities respond well as well as being influential in social policy.
Functionalist explanation for crime and deviance
Durkheim (1880):
Crime produces two positive functions for society.
Boundary maintenance: When crimes occur it creates a collective consciousness causing social cohesion
and therefore social order defining the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. The social reaction to the
punishment also helps reinforce social solidarity and value consensus.
Adaption and change: society needs a certain amount of crime to adapt as societies must change to stay
healthy and not stagnate therefore change starts with deviance. (extinction rebellion)
He says rapid social change can weaken the collective conscience and lead to anomie (normlessness)
creating an increase in crime. (panic buying in lockdown)
Strengths: crime is inevitable, crime helps in socialisation, if society has rules there will always be rule
, breakers, crime is good on a macro scale e.g jobs/socialisation.
Limitations: ignores victims (micro scale), doesn’t explain motivations or patterns of crime, doesn’t
quantify the amount of crime that’s healthy, crimes don’t always create social solidarity sometimes they
create tension and divisions and social solidarity is a by-product of crime.
Davis:
Crime acts as a safety valve for society- minor crimes (adultery) prevent more serious crimes (rape).
Cohen:
Deviance is a warning system that an institution is not working- high rates of truancy may indicate
problems with education system. (organic analogy)
Merton (1950s America):
Merton’s strain theory uses Durkheim’s concept of anomie however recognises there is unequal access to
society’s goals.
People engage in criminal/deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by
legitimate means as there is a strain between the goals and the means.
American dream- everyone wants to achieve it however disadvantaged groups are unable to achieve it
legitimately so turn to crime, this creates pressure to deviate- strain to anomie.
Merton says people adapt in 5 ways to strain: conformity, innovators (theft/fraud), ritualism (low paid
routine jobs), rebels (religious cults/hippies), retreatism (drug addicts).
Strengths: explains motivations and patters for crime and recognises social inequality.
Limitations: only explains utilitarian crime, assumes there is value consensus and everyone wants the
same goal, takes crime stats at face value not questioning validity, ignores crimes of the powerful and who
makes the laws, only explains individual not group crime.
Cohen’s subcultural stain theory (1955):
W/C boys more likely to deviate as they suffer status frustration from being unable to achieve status
through legitimate means such as education.
They respond to this frustration by forming a delinquent subculture, rejecting mainstream values.
The subcultures offer boys an alternative status hierarchy, gaining status through violence and crime.
Strengths: Explains motivations of crime, non-utilitarian crime and group crime.
Limitations: Deterministic as w/c boys have no free will, only talks about male w/c frustration and crime.
Cloward and Ohlin’s subcultural theory (1960):
W/C boys denied opportunity to succeed legitimately so form three types of subcultures.
Criminal: organised crime as a career, hierarchy of adult criminals in longstanding criminal areas.
Conflict: loosely organised gang violence providing release of frustration.
Retreatist: ‘double failures’ people who have failed in legitimate and other subcultures (drug addicts).
Strengths: explains multiple subcultures and different types of crime.
Limitations: assume it’s only w/c boys involved, over represent w/c crime ignoring crimes of the powerful
and assume w/c boys choose not to follow mainstream values.
Marxist explanation of crime and deviance
Traditional Marxist explanation:
Crime is inevitable because capitalism causes crime- criminogenic
Poverty of the proletariat means crime is the only way to survive
Theft due to marketing of consumer goods- w/c alienated from what they produce/ can’t afford products
Frustration of alienation and lack of control over lives may lead to w/c committing violent crimes
Crime is found in all social classes as capitalism encourages greed and self-interest
Gordon- Crime is a rational response to capitalism and all social classes commit crimes.
Chambliss- laws are in the interest of the bourgeoisie as they make them
Crime-an illegal act that is punishable (murder)
Deviance- an act breaking social norms (tattooing face)
Sociologists say socialisation stops us committing crimes.
Crime and deviance are socially constructed. Most criminal acts are also deviant as they have been made
illegal for breaching social norms however some acts are deviant only (adultery) and some crimes are not
seen as deviant (smoking drugs).
Social control is achieved by positive rewards and negative sanctions. There is formal agencies of social
control (police/courts) and informal agencies of social control (family/media/education/religion).
Crime and deviance can be beneficial for society as it provides jobs, social cohesion, promotes law
change, sets norms and values and supports economy.
Collective consciousness- group sense of right or wrong
Social cohesion- binding a group together
Left Realist explanation for crime and deviance
Left realist explanation:
Lea and Young: People more aware of relative deprivation due to media and combined with individualism
people begin to create/join subcultures as a solution and lack of support and no clear goals leaves them
marginalised.
In modernity instability, insecurity and exclusion exasperate crime and there is a growing contrast
between cultural inclusion and social exclusion (more emphasis on immediate gratification yet denied
opportunities to achieve it) leading to frustration and crime.
M/C resent underclass for living on benefits causing increase in hate crime.
Kingsley, Lea and Young: oppose zero tolerance policing in favour of multi-agency approach where police
are supported by local communities, schools and councils and should tackle crime at the structural cause
such as poverty, inequality and discrimination.
Strengths: Acknowledges the impact of crime on individuals, influential in social policy.
Limitations: Ignores corporate crime, Neo-Marxists state they ignore meanings of crime as accept quantitative
data, relative deprivation can’t explain all crime as too focused on inner city crime.
Crime prevention/control:
Tackle social context by removing conditions leading to crime e.g poverty
Consensus rather than military policing
Perry pre-school project- socialising children into goals and values and helping them achieve them
legitimately so less crime and saves money such as prison costs.
Evaluation of policies: expensive in the short-term, good evidence for tackling cause of crime, been successful and
communities respond well as well as being influential in social policy.
Functionalist explanation for crime and deviance
Durkheim (1880):
Crime produces two positive functions for society.
Boundary maintenance: When crimes occur it creates a collective consciousness causing social cohesion
and therefore social order defining the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. The social reaction to the
punishment also helps reinforce social solidarity and value consensus.
Adaption and change: society needs a certain amount of crime to adapt as societies must change to stay
healthy and not stagnate therefore change starts with deviance. (extinction rebellion)
He says rapid social change can weaken the collective conscience and lead to anomie (normlessness)
creating an increase in crime. (panic buying in lockdown)
Strengths: crime is inevitable, crime helps in socialisation, if society has rules there will always be rule
, breakers, crime is good on a macro scale e.g jobs/socialisation.
Limitations: ignores victims (micro scale), doesn’t explain motivations or patterns of crime, doesn’t
quantify the amount of crime that’s healthy, crimes don’t always create social solidarity sometimes they
create tension and divisions and social solidarity is a by-product of crime.
Davis:
Crime acts as a safety valve for society- minor crimes (adultery) prevent more serious crimes (rape).
Cohen:
Deviance is a warning system that an institution is not working- high rates of truancy may indicate
problems with education system. (organic analogy)
Merton (1950s America):
Merton’s strain theory uses Durkheim’s concept of anomie however recognises there is unequal access to
society’s goals.
People engage in criminal/deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by
legitimate means as there is a strain between the goals and the means.
American dream- everyone wants to achieve it however disadvantaged groups are unable to achieve it
legitimately so turn to crime, this creates pressure to deviate- strain to anomie.
Merton says people adapt in 5 ways to strain: conformity, innovators (theft/fraud), ritualism (low paid
routine jobs), rebels (religious cults/hippies), retreatism (drug addicts).
Strengths: explains motivations and patters for crime and recognises social inequality.
Limitations: only explains utilitarian crime, assumes there is value consensus and everyone wants the
same goal, takes crime stats at face value not questioning validity, ignores crimes of the powerful and who
makes the laws, only explains individual not group crime.
Cohen’s subcultural stain theory (1955):
W/C boys more likely to deviate as they suffer status frustration from being unable to achieve status
through legitimate means such as education.
They respond to this frustration by forming a delinquent subculture, rejecting mainstream values.
The subcultures offer boys an alternative status hierarchy, gaining status through violence and crime.
Strengths: Explains motivations of crime, non-utilitarian crime and group crime.
Limitations: Deterministic as w/c boys have no free will, only talks about male w/c frustration and crime.
Cloward and Ohlin’s subcultural theory (1960):
W/C boys denied opportunity to succeed legitimately so form three types of subcultures.
Criminal: organised crime as a career, hierarchy of adult criminals in longstanding criminal areas.
Conflict: loosely organised gang violence providing release of frustration.
Retreatist: ‘double failures’ people who have failed in legitimate and other subcultures (drug addicts).
Strengths: explains multiple subcultures and different types of crime.
Limitations: assume it’s only w/c boys involved, over represent w/c crime ignoring crimes of the powerful
and assume w/c boys choose not to follow mainstream values.
Marxist explanation of crime and deviance
Traditional Marxist explanation:
Crime is inevitable because capitalism causes crime- criminogenic
Poverty of the proletariat means crime is the only way to survive
Theft due to marketing of consumer goods- w/c alienated from what they produce/ can’t afford products
Frustration of alienation and lack of control over lives may lead to w/c committing violent crimes
Crime is found in all social classes as capitalism encourages greed and self-interest
Gordon- Crime is a rational response to capitalism and all social classes commit crimes.
Chambliss- laws are in the interest of the bourgeoisie as they make them
