Anomie theory provides an explanation of the concentration of crime. The theory leans on one founder of sociology, Emile Durkheim, who used the term to describe the lack of social regulation as one manner that could evaluate higher suicide rates. Durkheim stated that he observed that social periods of disruption brought about greater anomie and higher rates of crime, suicide, and deviance. Some people may lose sight of what is socially acceptable and have difficulty in dealing with society. This theory is also sociological in its emphasis on the role of social forces in creating deviance.
One subculturalist that believes crime is a collective activity is Albert Cohen. Cohen argues that crime is a collective response to strain. Individuals join together and form a subculture to cope with the feelings of strain. Strain is the gap between society’s goals and legitimate means of achieving them. But due to poor educational achievement and low paid manual work they are unable to gain these goals.
Edwin H. Sutherland, a renowned criminologist, developed the theory of differential association, where deviance is explained in terms of the individual’s social relationships. This theory differed drastically from the typical justification of crime relating to biological and psychological issues. Differential association states that an individual’s delinquency can be attributed to an excess of definitions favorable to the violation of laws versus definitions unfavorable to the violations of laws. Sutherland based his differential association theory on the basis of three lines of consideration: symbolic interactionism, cultural transmission and culture conflict (Brown 321, “Edward Sutherland”). Symbolic interactionism is a belief that as individuals and groups interact, peoples’ selves are formed as social products.
Labeling theory involving Gangs There is a separation that is prevalent in today’s society between the rich and the poor. People who are born rich are able to commit crimes and avoid the punishment that follows, while the poor must face full punishment of the law and have few if any rights when it comes to formal sanctions of law enforcement. When you think of a gang more than likely, you do not think of a large group of close friends but rather a group of people who are menaces to society who carry guns, sell drugs, and cause havoc and violence in many different types of neighborhood’s. This is why we will investigate in further detail the labels that are placed on gangs using labeling theory and the effects it has on their social interactions. A sociologist by the name of Walter Miller did a study where he interviewed law enforcement personnel and social service professionals who dealt with youth gangs.
The positivist writer Mendelsohn argued that the victim of a crime ‘had an aptitude, although unconsciously, of being victimised’. He stated that victims ‘look, think and act differently’ than non-victims which increases their chances of becoming victims again. However, the positivist approach can be argued to be reductionist as it identifies certain patterns of interpersonal victimisation but ignores wider structural factors influencing victimisation
Rather than focusing on social situations, the criminal and deviant act, the interactionists focused on the reaction to the act and its effects on the deviant individual. One main possible criticisms of interactionist theory is that to some extent ignores and privatisation and its effect on crime. Can negative labelling be the only reason that crime is predominantly more in working class area than in middle class ones? The “new criminology” was a radical development of traditional Marxist theory (Young, Walton and Taylor) they attempted to combine the process of labelling with Marxist explanations of social inequality to explain crime. A criticism of both the original interactionists and the new criminology came from the “New Left Realists”
The problem for any society is that these boundaries are unclear and change over time. While a certain, limited amount of crime may perform positive functions for society, according to Durkheim, too much crime has negative consequences. His most well known concept was that of 'anomie', which has been widely used in sociology. According to Durkheim, society is based on people sharing common values which form the basis for actions. However, in periods of social change, people may be freed from the social control by collective conscience and start to look after their own self need rather than following social values.
This helps to define why some individuals with similar strains commit crimes and why others chose legal manners in which they deal with their strains and emotions. General Strain Theory can help to explain any act that is considered deviant by society, and carries with it some sort of punishment, either formally or informally (Agnew, 2006). Failure to achieve
Society is exposed to criminal behavior through media, and tends to classify that behavior as deviant according to current societal beliefs and concerns; however, the processes that create crime do not receive significant attention. This neglect is characteristic of correctional criminology, which is a “correctional, social-problems-oriented approach to the study of crime” (Hester & Eglin, 1992, p.7). Correctional criminology has three major flaws that are problematic from a sociological point of view. Correctional criminology concerns itself with the causes and cures of crime, treats humans as objects rather than conscious beings, and fails to take into account that crime is socially constructed. These flaws cause crime to be viewed from a perspective that is not sociologically sound.
Social disorganization is the complete opposite; these communities face a difficult problem of lacking these characteristics. Social disorganization believes that the main factor in one’s life of committing crime derives from the lack of support of his or her society. Individuals living in poverty who witness others with wealth believe he or she will never reach that milestone maintaining his or her current life. Crime is the other option for individuals not blessed with an opportunity to obtain wealth. Social Disorganization Theories Between the theories that represent social disorganization, two define the term in relation to the definition, which will help one understand the purpose of social disorganization.