What is anomie and what are the conditions that cause anomie? Anomie is a term in which may be describe as a personal condition resulting from a lack of norms. It also can be referred to the fairly of society to regulate goals of human desire. Anomie can also be observed through different effects that can lead to criminal and deviant behavior such as suicide. Anomic theory is considered a sociological theory that tries to explain the pattern of crimes through macro level of analysis.
They are failure to achieve positively valued goals, removal of positively valued stimuli, and confrontation with negative stimuli (Agnew, 1992). The major assumptions of General Strain Theory place emphasis on these types of strains and stressors and how they cause deviant behavior. The connection between the strains and deviant behavior are the negative emotions that are produced by the strains such as anger and anxiety. The causes of deviant behavior can be linked to those emotions and the personal resources available to handle the emotions. 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.
This synthesises with the idea created by Durkheim that when the collective conscience of a society is destroyed then crime becomes inevitable a state of anomie. This idea of crime being inevitable when the collective conscience of society is broken is supported by the work of Dennis. He developed the concept of the moral fabric of society. He suggested that the break down in marriage and the changing role of women in the family led to the marginalisation of the father. He also believes that there has been a decrease in the moral condemnation shown towards men who leave their families.
In such a sense, that in a hierarchical society, the dominant class defines, imposes, and enforces their ideologies of crime on the lower classes. (Thio et al., 2010, p. 37). One of the inherent qualities of being of the dominant class, is the assumption of this class to be of higher socio-economic status. Having to apply this theory to such an impoverished area, and due to the restrictions imposed upon this application to within the favelas themselves, this definition of the dominant class is altered to fit the demographics. As such, the new definition will be applied in the circumstances of the dominant class having a higher power status achieved through violence and the prestige earned through the drug trade, rather than being an economically empowered class.
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.
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess different sociological explanations for victimisation in society There are many different sociological explanations for victimisation in society. First of all the UN defines victims as those who have suffered harm mentally, physically or emotionally such as suffering or loss in financial ways where as writer Neil Christie disagrees and goes on to say that the belief that the victim is socially constructed. By this he means that the portrayal of a victim comes from the media, public and criminal justice system as a young child or an elderly person who is the target of an attack by a stranger. Linking to Item A, positivist victimology is defined by Miers as having three features such as it aims to identify victims who have contributed to their own victimisation. Also two other features are mentioned like it aims to identify the factors that produce patterns in victimisation and how it focuses on interpersonal crimes of violence.
Conflicting social values contribute to the gangs and gang violence we see in society. Social strain theory is conflict between goals and means. This conflict has to do with unequal distribution of wealth and power, frustration, and choosing
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.
With poverty being the most substantial factor in this writer’s opinion, because one can remove all other facets and keep only poverty, which still puts this particular social class in the most prevalent community to commit deviant acts. Although, with this research it has been found that another median exist that is not viewed as the standard definition of crime and punishment. However, is more powerful and more imposing on social norms then we as a society are willing to acknowledge and comprehend. Moreover, the median in question is greed and power that can be looked at through the history of this or any other culture or nation. With how to contain a growing population of prisoners America has transformed from a publicly or governmentally run prison facilities, into a shift to ever growing for profit private prison institution systems.
Like the item says, 'functionalist sociologists focus on how far individuals accept the norms and values of society.' Durkheim blames people not being fully integrated into society’s norms and values as to why they commit crime. So he said once people have served their time for their crime, they should be reintegrated. It’s a strength that Durkheim suggests them being reintegrated as it means they’re less likely to reoffend if they feel they belong to their society and do not look for status through crime. However, interactionists would say that agents of social control cause crime, not the society you are in.