6.2: What are the Explanations of Crime Notes:

Patterns of Crime and Victimization

Age:

Social class:

Working‑class more likely to be convicted of street/property crime.
Middle/upper class more likely to commit white‑collar/corporate crime (often hidden).

Gender:

Men commit more crime overall, especially violent crime. Women commit more shoplifting crimes.
Women more likely victims of domestic violence and sexual crime.

Ethnicity:

Minority groups often over‑represented in crime statistics.
May reflect police bias, stereotyping, and institutional racism (Gilborn, 1990).

Explanations – Age

Police targeting / stop & search: young people stereotyped as “troublemakers.”
Self‑fulfilling prophecy: labelled as deviant → act deviant.
Stereotyping: youth linked to gangs, drugs, and violence.
Gang culture: peer pressure, identity, protection.
Socialization & control: weaker parental control, peer influence stronger.
Lack of opportunity: unemployment, exclusion from education.
Status frustration (Cohen, 1955): young working‑class males turn to delinquent subcultures for respect.

Explanations – Ethnicity

Explanations – Gender

Chivalry thesis (Pollak, 1950): women treated more leniently by police/courts.
Culture of masculinity (Messerschmidt, 1993): crime used by men to express masculinity.
Socialisation & control: boys encouraged to be tough, girls to be compliant.
Misogyny: violence against women reflects male power.
Stereotyping: women seen as less criminal, men as more aggressive.
Gang culture: male peer pressure, toughness.
Lack of opportunity: women historically excluded from crime linked to work (e.g. corporate crime).

Explanations – Social Class

Social exclusion: marginalisation leads to crime.
Material & relative deprivation: poverty drives theft and fraud.
Inadequate socialisation: weak family support → deviance.
Lack of opportunity: fewer chances for jobs, education.
Status frustration (Cohen): working‑class youth turn to delinquent subcultures.
Power inequalities (Marxism): ruling class commit hidden crimes, working class punished more.
Police targeting / stop & search: working‑class areas policed more heavily.

Sociological Theories on Crime & Deviance

Postmodernism: crime is diverse, global, shaped by consumer culture and technology (cybercrime, global crime).
Interactionism: crime depends on labelling; deviance is socially constructed.
Becker (1963): labelling theory: if you're labeled as a criminal you'll become that.
Cohen (1972): moral panics: media exaggerates a problem so harsher policing is enforced.
Functionalism: crime can be functional (Durkheim: boundary maintenance, social change).
Merton (1938): strain theory: crime results when people can’t achieve goals legitimately.
New Right: crime linked to moral decline, weak family values.
Subculturalism (Cohen, Cloward & Ohlin): deviant subcultures form due to blocked opportunities.
Marxism: crime reflects class inequality, ruling class control.
Chambliss (1975): laws protect ruling class interests.
Feminism: crime reflects patriarchy, male power, violence against women.
Heidensohn (1985): women controlled by socialisation and patriarchy.

Strengths & Limitations

Age

Ethnicity

Gender

Social Class

Theories

Functionalism: shows crime can be functional to keep society harmonious, but it ignores harm.
Marxism: exposes inequality, but it ignores choice.
Feminism: highlights patriarchy, but ignores male victimization.
Interactionism: shows importance of labelling, but ignores structural causes.
Postmodernism: explains new/global crimes, but vague and lacks clear solutions.

Merton's Strain Theory: