Durkheim on Crime

1
Durkheim on Crime

• Crime Positive Negative

2
Positive Negative aspects of Crime

• Positive Re-affirming boundaries
• Changing Values
• Social Cohesion
• Negative Anomie Collapse of values leads to
  soaring crime rate (eg- looting)
• TASK Using the newspaper provided, spend a few
  minutes trying to illustrate Durkheims ideas on
  positive negative aspects of crime.Highlight
  and annotate what you find in the paper.

3
Family Crime

• Family Most important agent for giving us
  values
• TASK Write down how the family does this
• Longtitudinal studies of family have shown that
  committing crime is often more likely if it is a
  family trait.
• Some writers have suggested that changes in
  family structure have affected this correlation

4
Dennis 1993, argued the following family
changes affected the increase of crime related to
family

• Changing role of women Father has been
  marginalised (Lack of role model)
• Increase in Fathers leaving Decrease in moral
  condemnation to men who leave their family
  therefore men can leave more easily
• Growth of Cohabitation Partner not for life
  anymore, hence general degradation of strong
  moral values

5
Whats the underclass? According to Murray
(1990)

• Group of young people whoLive off benefits
  illegal economy have lots of short term sexual
  liasons not relationships have numerous
  children who are born from these dont see their
  offspring as their responsibility
• The offspring then have no role model arent
  taught values hence continuous cycle
• Law abiding majority driven out communities
  getting worse worse

6
Wilson Kelling agree with Dennis Murray to an
extent (1982)

• They argue most communities consist of balance
  between law-abiders/potential criminals. The law
  abiders maintain balance
• Law abiders feel able to make comments and take
  action against potential criminals by making them
  pick up litter/respect people etc.
• This view goes back to Durkheims initial ideas
  in some ways (re-inforcing boundaries etc)

7
Etizioni Communitaranism

• Etizioni argued (1993) that crime has increased
  due to lack of community involvement.
• Due to communities feeling they had less power to
  intervene in issues, they can no longer be
  bothered to try leaving it to authorities (eg
  police) and this is causing increased crime in
  the community

8
Conclusion Homework

• Most Sociologists argue that decline in family
  values can lead to increase in crime, as without
  family and community people resort to their
  natural unpleasant selves
• Box disagrees with this in his Marxist approach
  find out about and make notes on Boxs approach
  for homework, p.213-214.