THE THREE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CRIME

 

FUNCTIONALISTS’ PERSPECTIVE

Functionalist believe that crime is inevitable for the smooth running of society. The Functionalist interpretation of crime starts with society as a whole. They analyse crime by focusing on the nature of society, rather than at persons who make up such a society. Durkhiem, a functionalist, believed that crime is something positive and without it, society would crumble. Some aspects that he deemed positive are:

·         Social Regulations- Each time the police arrest a person, they use it as an example to ensure that the rest of society understands that crime is unacceptable and if it is done it would be rewarded with punishment.

·         Social Integration- Functionalist believes that crime strengthens social integration. For example, anytime a terrible crime takes place the whole community joins together in bashing said crime and the sense of belonging to a community by sharing similar opinions on crime are formed.  They believe crime brings people closer. (Thompson, 2019)

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE

As we all know the conflict theorist goes against everything functionalists believes in. They see functionalists as old fashion and believe that their ways can not work in society today. The conflict theorists believe that social inequality is the main reason behind the crime in society. Crime is seen to be done by the lower classmen/working class, however, this perspective rejects this notion and states that crime can take place in all social classes. From this view, the law is selectively forced on the working class (the factory workers) and less on the ruling class (the factory owners). In short words, the conflict perspectives focus on inequality in the stratification of society.

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SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISTS’ PERSPECTIVE

The interactionists focus on interactions between persons. They believe that crime is based on the opinions of society. Acts are only deviant because society deems it deviant. Individuals who commit crime don’t view it as deviant, however, it’s the way society reacts to the crime that makes it unacceptable.

 

References

Thompson K (February 5, 2019). The Functionalist Perspective on Crime and Deviance, ReviseSociology.

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