Evaluation Of Sociological Theories On Crime And Deviance

This assignment will discuss the problems between crime and deviance, what counts as crime and deviance and how it varies with place and time. It will include the difference and similarities and give examples of defining crime and deviance. Finally the essay moves on to looking at how to identify why official statistics do not reflect in today’s society and may not be totally accurate.

Furthermore, Cloward and Ohlin combine Merton and Cohen’s theories by stating that there is a legitimate opportunity such as passing exams and getting a job, and an illegitimate opportunity, such as gangs. They believe that the working class have easier access to the illegitimate structure meaning that it is easier for them to commit more crimes and so face more pressure to do so. Cloward and Ohlin claim that there are 3 types of subcultures: criminal subculture in which people climb the professional criminal hierarchy, conflict subculture in which there is little/no social cohesion and retreatest subcultures in which people fail in both the legitimate and illegitimate opportunity and retreat to things such as alcohol and drugs. This is useful when looking at explanations of crime as it highlights the

He noted that other sociological theories of crime believed that since crime is bad, individuals involved in crime are also inherently bad. Tannenbaum disputed the notion perpetrated by other sociological theories that crime was the result of the individual’s inability to adjust to the society. On the contrary, he argued that deviants view themselves as part of a particular group in the society, where their behavior is acceptable by other group members.

In any and every society, there is a level of deviance or crime, no matter how big or small. Deviance is when the norms of a society are disregarded, while crime is when there is a defiance of laws within a society. Individuals who are deviant tend to be nonconforming to the society in which they live, challenging social expectations and deviating from what is considered the norm. Meanwhile, crime is a form of deviance that also discards norms, but in a way that breaks the laws of a certain society or community. When looking at deviance and crime in a micro-level perspective, there are three different theories often used to analyze the reasoning for both in a society. These theories include the Differential Association Theory, the Control Theory and the Labeling Theory. In further dissecting these theories, one can gain a greater insight into the workings of society.

Most theories of crime tend to be ‘ahistorical.’ “They do not treat the question of how the material conditions of society and crime evolve together as relevant to the study of crime” (Chambliss, 1974, page 25). For Marxists this is a problem because ahistorical theories fail to link the phenomenon under investigation – in this case, crime. Ahistorical theories attempt to reason that crime occurs outside of social systems and is something that develops on its own. Two important elements develop

Examine and assess the usefulness of one of the following theories of crime and deviance in terms of explaining crime and the social problems in modern society.

Chapter 7 discusses a variety of "Subcultural" theories for explaining crime. Choose one of these theories and discuss its strengths and weaknesses. Which subcultural theory do you believe explains criminal behavior most accurately and why?

David Gordon argues that crime is an inevitable product of capitalism and the inequality that it generates. He argues that inequalities in wealth and income create poverty and homelessness for

Labelling Theories' Contribution to the Sociological Understanding of Crime and Deviance Becker is the main sociologist studying labelling theory on deviance, he argues that 'social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance.' Meaning acts only become deviant when observers perceive it and define it as deviant. An example of this would be the act of nudity, it is accepted in the bedroom between husband and wife or on a nudist camp, but when a stranger was to enter the bedroom, or someone was to streak across a sporting event, others would usually see this as deviant, and this deviancy would become a label on the individual. Several factors affect what the

Deviance and crime are wide-ranging terms used by sociologists to refer to behavior that varies, in some way, from a social norm. Cultural Norms are society's propensity towards certain ideals; their aversion from others; and their standard, ritualistic practices. Essentially the 'norm' is a summation of typical activities and beliefs of group of people. This essay will evaluate the sociological theories associated with crime and deviance and to compare and contrast these main theories. And find links between these theories to today’s society. There are various Sociological deviance theories, including Structuralist: why do some people break the rules? ,

Culture refers to spiritual, intellectual and aesthetic development of an individual, group or society. It captures a variety of products and activities that determine and define the way of life of a people. Cultural theories are thus tools that give understanding to values, codes, norms discourses, ideologies and pathologies. Theory offers a model of influence through which culture exerts on social life and social structures. Theories play a role in the provision of stability, opportunity and solidarity or as in this article means to understand and resolve conflict (Burton et al.). This writing focuses on sociological theories in the cultural setting of Jena in Louisiana (A Town in Turmoil).

The sociological theory suggests that the majority of people will conform to the community with which they are living. The family and educational structure can influence and even foretell a person’s inclination towards crime. For example, if a person lives in a community where the schools, neighborhoods, and other businesses and organizations are thriving economically and socially with order then the person will do the same. The person will be more likely to act in a way that is cohesive with the rest of the community. However, if the same organizations for any reason due to social or economic factors, suffer negative impact and disorder that the same person in that community will ultimately turn to negative solutions or crime for survival within the community.

Those who don’t have equal opportunity are considered “strains” thus more likely to be a delinquent. People have differential means available for achieving these culturally supported goals. Some have blocked opportunities, maybe because of class location or socioeconomic status, but also because of race, ethnicity, or gender discrimination. As a consequence these individuals are unable to achieve their goals through legitimate means. Society offers members of different social group’s very different institutional means of achieving its goals such as opportunities for education regardless of ability, fulfilling work, and financial aid. A gap between effort and reward makes it impossible for some people to set realistic, achievable goals or to plan legitimate ways of achieving their goals. People can break out of this system but it is not easy. For example, imagine a fisherman casting his net over the side of the boat, while the net is designed to catch certain fish it cannot catch all of them no matter what some of the fishes will escape or avoid the net. This analogy represents the social theory structure where some people can break through poverty while the odds for other are too great to overcome. Subculture plays a big part in increasing or decreasing the chances of an individual to break out of poverty. Subculture is a set of values, norms and beliefs that differs from those within the dominant culture. If a person

Another theory is the subcultural theory which states that failure to attain success always push adolescence to join the street hence crime and delinquency. Most adolescence, when missed their target in life at high school, finds it very difficult to get back on their feet and start it all again but instead enter into deviance act. When children are frustrated by their status and realizes their other peers in the upper and second class are doing well in life, they force

In studying crimes and deviance, sociologists look to explain what types of behavior are defined as deviant as opposed to criminal, who defines deviant behaviors, why people become deviant, and how society deals with deviant behavior. Deviance is defined by sociologists are behavior that significantly goes against expected rules and norms. Criminal behavior is behavior that violates the law. Sociology studies groups as opposed to individuals, so when studying crime and deviance, sociologists are looking at the factors that influence groups as a whole to engage in crime and deviant behavior. In defining deviant behavior, the definition may vary throughout different groups. Not all groups of people will consider the same behaviors