Theories on Crime

Working class boys strove to emulate middle-class values but lacked the means so this led to status frustration

• Merton

• Durkheim

• Cloward and Ohlin

• Cohen

Crime and deviance are evidence of a poor fit between socially accepted goals and approved means

• Merton

• Cohen

• Cloward and Ohlin

• Durkheim

This occurs when the collective conscience becomes too weak to restrain the selfish desires of individuals

Merton stresses the existence of common goals in society whereas there are in fact a variety of goals that people strive to attain at any one time

• Cohen

• Hobbs

• Ruggiero and Khan

• Valier

Durkheim suggests that every society shares a set of core values known as

• Reaffirming boundaries

• Anomie

• Social cohesion

• Collective conscience

I suggest that crime can have positive effects such as being used as a safety valve

• Davis

• Wilson and Kelling

• Lea and Young

• Durkheim

I suggest there are 3 possible adaptations of the illegal opportunity structure

• Cohen

• Merton

• Valier

• Cloward and Ohlin