Socialogical Explanation of Crime - Assignment Example

Sociological Explanation of Crime Sociological Explanation of Crime Outline Marxist Views on Crime The views on crime presented by Marxist theories are based on conflict, which primarily suggest that crime is the result of social inequality. The exploitive nature of capitalist societies creates divisions between the working and ruling classes, resulting in conflict. Therefore, crime is an unavoidable consequence and component of the social inequalities created by capitalism. The working class is driven into poverty by being exploited by those who own the means of production while the owners of the means maintain their profits. The eventual material deprivation, which is also a function of low wages, drives the workers into crime. In other words, the Marxist views approach crime from the perspective of law, which they opine is designed and enforced in a manner that often favors the upper classes and oppresses the working class, creating selfish mindsets. The views support this opinion by pointing out that the creation of the laws does not stem from consensus between the working and upper classes (Anderson & Taylor 2009, p. 48). Outline the Functionalist View of Crime Functionalist views of crime suggest that crime is largely inevitable as a result of society members not sharing the same norms and values. The society is characterised by different compositions of circumstances and influences, which means that individuals have different degrees of commitment to shared morals and values, leading to the inevitable nature of crime. Being a fundamentally structuralist theory by consensus, the view locates the source of crime in the society’s structure and actually suggests benefits in the occurrence of crime (Bar Charts 2000, p 69). One benefit of crime suggested by the view is its potential to strengthen collective values, which would otherwise weaken if members of the society are not reminded where wrong and right behavior have their perimeters. According to the proponents of functionalism, crime, or generally deviance, enables social change that develops new ideas. For example, it serves as a warning that the society is malfunctioning. However, the view also points out that the weak always suffer because of the negativity of crime. Crime also limits social progress caused by disorder. What are the Criticisms of Either View First, Marxist views ignore the victims of crime and fail to account for the harm caused by offenders. Then, their opinions on the creation and enforcement of law seem heavily biased and one dimensional in the way they suggest that it is the function of the working class’ interests (Bar Charts 2000, p 74). They do not give room for the intricacy of influences on making law as they mainly rely on class division and inequalities to explain crime. This does not explain the reason for the majority of people across all classes not offending, because the focus of the theory is on offenders and justifying their behavior. Evaluated critically, the view seems to suggest that people can only be stopped from offending by extreme means such as a revolution. The functionalist view can be criticised for the way in which it considers the principal units of analysis to be the society and the constituent institutions yet social change is not accounted for. From the functionalist perspective, needs are attributed to the society, yet society can only be viewed as alive and having needs by virtue of the human beings in it. This can strongly be criticised because the view only considers the significance of the humans in society in terms of the positions they occupy in social systems (Anderson & Taylor 2009, p. 93). This point further emphasises the failure to account for social change because since the individual’s role is downplayed, the view cannot effectively recognise and acknowledge how their actions affect social institutions. Discuss the Issues and Principles around Integration Integration entails dynamic processes by multiple actors in mutual engagement to facilitate productive participation by diverse members of a society in social life. The aim of integration is to enhance an inclusive and shared sense of belonging. Theoretical integration occurs in various forms such as conceptual integration, propositional integration and social integration. Theoretical integration combines similar theories with the objective of coming up with a single one that is superior to any other presented individually. Theoretical integration is controversial because although it acknowledges the fact that emerging theories cannot be developed in isolation, its successes have largely been minimal. This is because theories are only recognised as integrative for a while and soon tend to be perceived and tested separately by theorists. This counters the principle objective of combining the strongest elements of the individual components of various theories, making the detrimentally competitive (Paternoster & Bachman 2001, p. 301). Discuss the Issues and Principles around Inner Cities The social disorganization theory as presented in sociology links the rates of crime to the characteristics of neighborhoods, especially ecological characteristics. The residential location of an individual has similar potential to influence them into crime as does their personal characteristics. Dilapidated housing, high unemployment, poverty, and high mobility give rise to crime in inner city areas according to the concentric zone theory (Paternoster & Bachman 2001, p. 289). Social ecology explains that crime persists at high rates in certain neighborhoods for long periods of time without regard to the population that inhabits the area. Therefore, ideally, it is not the inhabitants that produce and perpetuate crime but rather, the places and neighborhoods themselves. In inner cities, this notion arises from the breakdown of controls, both institutional and community-based which, in turn, arise from immigration, urbanisation and industrialisation. The local institutions such as churches, families and schools in inner cities fail to provide a sense of community to the residents because they are not sufficiently established to provide guidance and nurturing, especially for children. Outline the ‘Labelling’ Process with Particular Reference to Stanley Cohen’s Work The labeling theory assumes that deviance and conformity are not the outcomes of what people do as much as they are of the responses their actions draw from other people. Deviance is often amplified by the mechanisms put in place to control it and according to Stanley Cohen, who was an interactionist, media exaggeration resulted in serial, moral panics that led to higher levels of prosecution (Thompson 2006, p. 100). This, in turn, only yields higher deviance levels and the likelihood of reoccurrence. The way the media constructs images of deviants promotes ignorance by misinforming consumers of the information. By investigating the reports presented by the media, Cohen found that facts were highly misrepresented, effectively implicating certain groups and using them as scapegoats. The implicated groups are also used as an ideological social control which justifies defiance’s increasing power. Folk Devils Folk devil is a term that is used in reference to the deviant groups perceived as a threat to social order and at the core of moral panic whose negativity was overstated by the media. Blamed for social problems and often the subject of pervasive hostility campaigns, folk devils are portrayed as deviant outsiders (Thompson 2006, p. 94). Moral Panics Moral panics are the culmination of pursuing folk devils, expressed as intense feelings towards issues considered as threats to social order. The media has been perceived as perpetrators of moral indignation by their mere reporting (or misrepresenting) facts and effectively generating panic and anxiety (Thompson 2006, p. 114). Deviancy Amplification Deviancy amplification defines the media’s process of exaggerating the seriousness and extent of defiant behavior. This is a term often used by media critics in reference to the cycle of growing volumes of reports on undesirable events such as antisocial behavior. Deviancy amplification generally results in moral panics (Wilkins 2001, p. 83). Gender in Relation to Feminist Criminology Gender entails expectations constructed socially regarding behaviours and attitudes of men and women refered to typically as masculinity and femininity and it is a key organising constituent of social life. Feminist criminology does not regard men and women homogeneously as groups but rather, acknowledges the varied gender privileges among different groups (Belknap 2007, p. 139). Patriarchy in Relation to Feminist Criminology Patriarchy is the masculine running of women’s sexuality and labour power, and forms the society’s most significant relations. It is also considered as one of the root causes of gender inequality and explains the characteristics of male privilege and how women ended up occupying subservient roles (Morash 2006, p. 119). Socialisation in Relation to Feminist Criminology Socialisation in this context refers to models of social learning processes that influence crime levels and how the processes vary when applied to men and women. Here it is suggested that man are prompted by male gender socialisation to be aggressive and seek violent methods of solving problems. On the other hand, women are prompted by female socialisation to be less aggressive than men and pursue non-violent methods to solve problems. While male socialisation emphasises on active and individualistic characteristics, female socialisation focuses on passive and sharing behaviour (Morash 2006, p. 114). Dark number in Relation to Feminist Criminology This is generally in reference to unreported crime and questions the credibility of official statistics. It also refers to crimes that are committed at any given time and place but although reported to authorities, are never recorded. Feminists also opine that many crimes committed by women are not reported or recorded (Morash 2006, p. 122). Chivalry in Relation to Feminist Criminology Chivalry is the concept that women receive more lenient treatment from the criminal justice system. Faced with sex differentials, not all feminists advocate for the equal treatment of women by the criminal justice system. It reverberates the views of female inmates victims and opines that the justice process, which is male-dominated is a function of the desire by men to be protective over women (Morash 2006, p. 104). References Anderson, M & Taylor, H 2009, Sociology: the essentials, Wadsworth, California. Bar Charts, Inc. 2000, Sociology: the basic principles of sociology for introductory courses, Bar Charts Inc., Florida. Belknap, J 2007. The invisible woman: gender, crime, and justice, Wadsworth, California. Morash, M 2006, Understanding gender, crime, and justice, Sage, California. Paternoster, R & Bachman, R 2001, Explaining criminals and crime. Edited by, 287–302. Los Angeles: Roxbury Thompson, K 2006, Critical readings: moral Panics in the media, Open University Press, Berkshire. Wilkins, L 2001, Social deviance: social policy, action and research, Routledge, New York. Read More