WELCOME TO THE CRIMINOLOGY SESSIONS
PRESENTER- MR EURYN MADOC-JONES
CRIMINLOGY TEACHER: E-SGOL
PRESENTATION 1: 2.3 Sociological theories of crime Part 1 :
Functionalists, Marxists and Interactionalists
PRESENTATION 2: 2.3 Sociological theories of crime Part 2 :
PRESENTATION 3 : Exam Questions based on 2.1 and 4.1
Sociological Explanations
Functionalists
Anomie
Robert Merton
MERTON STRAIN THEORY�No means of achieving the ‘goals’�Response-�Compliance- still applying to task�Innovation- use of other methods�Ritualism- Conform but set lower goals�Retreatism- from society e.g. drugs�Rebellion- Reject the goals e.g. hippies
This idea of status frustration was part of the work of Albert Cohen who argued that the lower classes break the law because of their inability to succeed by legitimate means. �Some subcultures therefore foster an alternative status hierarchy which allows them to gain respect from their peers through deviant or criminal acts e.g. society respects property but boys can earn the respect of peers by damaging property
EVALUATION
Strengths | Limitations |
The theory is good in explaining how crime can be a positive for society� �It shows how limiting people's choice in life can lead to deviant or criminal behaviour.� �Merton focuses on data that clearly shows a link between crime and poverty | Durkheim says crimes are essential for society to work properly but doesn't say how many crimes constitutes too many.� �Crime is of no value / function to those who suffer from it.� �Merton tends to ignore the crime committed by rich people and crimes that are not motivated by money |
THE MARXISTS
MARXIST ideas….
That conflict exists in a Capitalist society�Capitalism is a system based on some people owning private property (bourgeoisie), and making profit at the expense of others, namely the workers (proletariat) �Capitalist society, according to the Marxists, is based on the belief that some people do well and do so at the expense of others. It is a competitive system that encourages people to try to win – and to win in a capitalist system means gaining money and property– material things. This means that there is a great deal of pressure on people to offend and of course it is the poor who suffer the most as laws are created to protect the property and money of the rich.
Crimogenic- (causing crime)
The rich elite are in power, and they use the law to defend their privileged position in society by paying more attention to the crimes of the poor and 'ignoring' the crimes of the rich. The capitalist system is 'Crimogenic' i.e. causing crim.
�Poverty leads people to break the law in order to survive�The capitalist system pushes consumerism, so people offended to 'get things’�Inequality causes frustration and anxiety which leads to violent crime�Capitalists themselves commit crimes in a competitive 'dog eat dog' world where profit-making pushes people to be selfish. �The bourgeoisie implement 'Partial Administration of the Law' (Selective Law Enforcement) by policing and controlling the proletariat more than the rich
How are we controlled ?
( education, religion, tv etc)
Strengths | Limitations |
It considers crime across social classes �It shows how white collar crime is being ignored and what an impact these inequality are on society. �It clearly shows the trend in law and order- policing the poor and ignoring corporate crime for example.
| It ignores other inequality e.g. gender and racial inequality �Crime figures are not high in some capitalist countries e.g. Japan and Switzerland.�Not all poor people resort to crime�Many rich people are prosecuted for criminal acts-- Bernie Madoff, Harvey Weinstein the ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, Jordan Belfort. |
Interactionalists
Remember you have done this in Unit 1 !!!
Strengths | Limitations |
It draws attention to the negative result of labelling people.� �It outlines problems in the law and order system- how the police create the label of 'criminal’.�It explains the media's roll in defining and creating deviance and for creating moral panic | It doesn't explain deviant behaviour and why it happens- some people choose to act in a deviant way.� �It ignores the victim� �Labelling does not always lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. |
NEXT TIME !
PRESENTATION 2: 2.3 Sociological theories of crime Part 2 :
PRESENTATION 3 : Exam Questions based on 2.1 and 4.1
PRESENTATION 2: 2.1 Sociological teories of crime Part 2 :
Right Realism
Right Realism
People break the law when the benefit of doing so outweighs the cost-so the cost must be increased i.e. the penalties. Also, the number of police needs to be increased so that the chances of catching wrongdoers is increased. Through this crime will be reduced. The idea was that people offended because the benefit of doing so outweighed the negatives and so people were making a rational choice to break the law. (RCT) This had a considerable influence on the politics of the 1980s. They believed this mainly from the 1960s when there were real efforts to tackle poverty but as poverty decreased, crime increased. The statistics tended to show that as the wealth of the majority grew the minority turned to crime. They therefore concluded that it was not possible for the state to get rid of crime by tackling its cause i.e. poverty, and that the only way to decrease crime was by making the punishment greater than the benefit. They also blamed a collapse of morals in society and the decline of the traditional family unit. This went hand in hand with the growth of the Underclass , a subculture of people who were not afraid of the law and challenged society's values and norms (Charles Murray's view)
Strengths | Limitation |
It has greatly influenced modern politics and led to the development of some social policies to alleviate poverty� �It has highlighted the importance of 'socialising' and supporting parents to do so, particularly with boys.� �A number of studies support the view of the Rational Choice Theory- that people commit crimes when the benefit of doing so outweighs any punishment | Not all crimes stem from RCT- many relate to on-the-spot (impulsive) behaviour.� �There is a lot of attention on working class crime instead of white collar crime� �It has ignored the role of poverty in crime –ignoring the gap between rich and poor as a reason for poverty |
Left Realism
Side by side at the same time grew the belief of Left-wing Realism under the influence of Jock Young. The theory claim that inequality stems from a capitalist society. For things to change we need a startling change in society and action to create a more equitable society because disparity is leading to crime
They believe the right-wing response to crime leads to a powerful police force and too much emphasis is put on the anti-social crime of the working class while the crimes of the upper class and the wealthy are largely ignored. While accepting that poverty causes crime, left-wing realists believe that a better police system is needed as a means of reducing crime. They also believe that communities have lost their faith in the police, and that a large proportion of the working class have been left behind by society.
Strengths | Limitations |
Gives more attention to the victim's role than any other theory and acknowledges numerous causes of poverty� �Highlighting the importance of poverty in causing crime and its impact on society
| It overstates the poverty of the working class and does not explain white collar crime� �It doesn't explain why some people who faces economic deprivation don’t offended.� �Has a tendency to over-emphasize and depict crime as more of a problem than it is. |