✅ Strengths
It explains why every society has crime. It shows why punishment matters: it strengthens shared values. It notices that rule-breaking can lead to useful change.
Explaining Crime » Functionalist, New Right and Subcultural Theories of Crime
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Cambridge spec: 6.2.6
- Why Durkheim said some crime is normal and even useful
- How Merton's strain theory links crime to blocked goals
- How Cohen and the New Right explain crime through subcultures and poor socialisation
- The strengths and limitations of each theory
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Unlock This CourseFunctionalism: some crime is normal and useful
Functionalism is the consensus approach, which assumes that society is built on shared values. You might expect functionalists to say that crime is simply a problem. In fact they say a little crime can even do society good.
Durkheim argued that crime is normal. Every society has some, however strict its laws. A society with no crime at all would be one where nobody ever broke a rule, and that is not realistic. What changes from place to place is how much crime there is and what counts as a crime.
He also said that some crime is useful, because it does two jobs.
- Boundary maintenance: when a crime happens and is punished, people come together to say "that is wrong". The reaction shows everyone where the line between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour lies and reminds them of their shared values.
- Change: behaviour that shocks one generation may be accepted by the next. Someone has to break a rule first, and this can show that a law is out of date.
Key terms:
- Boundary maintenance: the way a society's reaction to crime and punishment shows and reinforces the line between right and wrong.
Durkheim warned that too much crime is harmful, because it can weaken trust and shared values.
❌ Limitations
It does not explain why particular people commit crime. It ignores victims, who are not helped by "useful" crime. It assumes laws reflect shared values, when powerful groups may make the laws.
Strain theory: blocked goals
Robert Merton was also a functionalist. He said most people in a society share the same goals, such as wealth and a comfortable life, and are taught the same legitimate (lawful) means of reaching them: education, hard work and a good job.
The problem is that society does not give everyone an equal chance to use those means. When people share the goal but the lawful means are blocked, they feel strain. Some then look for other ways to reach the goal.
Key terms:
- Strain theory: the idea that crime and deviance result from a gap between the goals society sets and the lawful means people have to reach them.
Merton described five ways people respond.
- Conformity: accept the goals and the lawful means. Most people do this, even when success is hard.
- Innovation: accept the goals but use illegal means, such as fraud or theft. This is the response most linked to crime.
- Ritualism: give up the goals but keep following the rules, for example turning up to work with no hope of getting ahead.
- Retreatism: reject both goals and means, for example by dropping out of society through drug misuse.
- Rebellion: reject the goals and means and replace them with new ones, such as joining a movement that wants a different kind of society.
Example: a young person lives in an area with few jobs and leaves school with poor qualifications. They want the comfortable life they see advertised everywhere. With the lawful route closed, they may turn to selling stolen goods.
✅ Strengths
It explains why property crime is common among poorer groups, and why crime may be higher where lawful opportunities are few.
❌ Limitations
It focuses on money and property crime and says little about violence or crimes of the wealthy. It assumes everyone shares the same goals. Most people who feel strain still obey the law.
Subcultural theory: the delinquent subculture
Strain theory looks at how society's structure puts pressure on people. Subcultural theory asks how groups create their own rules. Remember, status frustration is the anger felt by people who cannot gain respect through school or work.
Albert Cohen argued that many working-class boys are judged by middle-class standards at school and often do badly. Denied status, they feel frustrated. Some join together and form a delinquent subculture, a group with values that turn the values of school and mainstream society upside down.
In this group, behaviour that is wrong in the wider society, such as vandalism, truancy and defying teachers, earns respect from friends. Cohen said much of this behaviour is done for the thrill and for status, not only for money.
Key terms:
- Delinquent subculture: a group of young people whose values encourage rule-breaking and reward it with status.
✅ Strengths
It explains group crime and why young people often offend together. It explains non-financial crime such as vandalism. It links crime to school and peer groups.
❌ Limitations
It mainly studies working-class boys and says little about girls or middle-class offenders. It assumes these boys all start by wanting success. Many young people in the same position never join such groups.
The New Right: poor socialisation and the underclass
You have already met the New Right and the idea of an underclass. On crime, the New Right argue that crime comes from poor socialisation, meaning that some children are not taught a firm sense of right and wrong, rather than from poverty itself.
Charles Murray argued that a growing underclass of people who depend on welfare and do not work has developed in some societies. He said that in these communities:
- children, especially boys, may grow up without an adult male role model and are not taught discipline and respect for rules;
- young men without steady work gain status from gangs and crime instead;
- benefits can make not working seem normal, so there is less pressure to follow the rules of work and family life.
Their answers to crime are often tougher punishments, stronger families, and benefits that encourage people to work and support their children.
✅ Strengths
It draws attention to the role of the family and socialisation in teaching right and wrong. It supports policies that help parents and children.
❌ Limitations
It blames poorer people and lone parents unfairly. Many children of lone parents never offend. It ignores unemployment and lack of opportunity, and the crimes of the wealthy.
Common mistakes
Writing "Durkheim says crime is good". He said some crime is normal and useful, but too much is harmful. Another mistake is mixing up Merton and Cohen. Merton's strain is about goals and lawful means being blocked. Cohen's subculture is about status and a group that turns school values upside down. Also, always give a strength and a limitation when asked to evaluate.
Exam-style question
(a) Define the term boundary maintenance. [2 marks]
(c) Explain three ways in which functionalist theories explain crime. [6 marks]
Model answer
(a) Boundary maintenance is the way a society reacts to crime and punishes it (1), which shows people where the line between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour lies and reinforces shared values (1).
(c) Any three developed explanations, for example: Crime is normal (1): Durkheim argued that every society has some crime, so it is a normal part of social life (1). Strain (1): Merton said that when people share goals such as wealth but lawful routes are blocked, some turn to illegal means (1). Subculture (1): Cohen said that working-class boys who fail at school can form a delinquent subculture that gives status for breaking rules (1).
Exam tip
For "explain three ways", name each theory or sociologist, then add a clear "because" or "so" link to crime, so that each point earns its second mark.