sociology
1) Physiological theories
In his book L’Uomo Delinquente Cesare Lombroso argued that criminals were throwbacks to an earlier and more primitive form of human being. He said there were several characteristics, such as large jaws, extra fingers and monobrows which were clear signs that someone was a criminal.
Lombroso said that we can easily identify who the criminals, so we should remove them from normal society and we can therefore remove any criminals.
Evaluation
Research has found that there is undoubtedly a link between genetics and behaviour; however this does not mean there is a link between genetics and crime. To say crime is caused by genetics alone would be to ignore all the social factors such as wealth, diet, health etc. and these clearly have an effect.
The basic problem with Lombroso’s theory is that it is far too simplistic, and we know there are many more factors that can cause crime then just your genetics.
2) Functionalist perspective
Crime is inevitable – Durkheim, a functionalist, said that crime is inevitable in society. This is because not everyone will buy into the collective sentiments of society, and will deviate from these norms and beliefs.
Durkheim said a certain amount of crime and deviance is normal and an integral part of all healthy societies. This is because it acts as a ‘safety valve’, providing a relatively harmless way for someone to express their discontent. For example, Cohen said that “prostitution performs such a safety valve function without threatening the institution of the family”, this is because he believed this crime of prostitution could relieve the stress in a discrete way without damaging the rest of the clients life.
Clinard said crime also served the function of acting as a warning device. This is because the crime indicates that there is an aspect of society that is malfunctioning. So the crime draws attention to the problem within society, which can then be fixed.
Durkheim said that crime in
In his book L’Uomo Delinquente Cesare Lombroso argued that criminals were throwbacks to an earlier and more primitive form of human being. He said there were several characteristics, such as large jaws, extra fingers and monobrows which were clear signs that someone was a criminal.
Lombroso said that we can easily identify who the criminals, so we should remove them from normal society and we can therefore remove any criminals.
Evaluation
Research has found that there is undoubtedly a link between genetics and behaviour; however this does not mean there is a link between genetics and crime. To say crime is caused by genetics alone would be to ignore all the social factors such as wealth, diet, health etc. and these clearly have an effect.
The basic problem with Lombroso’s theory is that it is far too simplistic, and we know there are many more factors that can cause crime then just your genetics.
2) Functionalist perspective
Crime is inevitable – Durkheim, a functionalist, said that crime is inevitable in society. This is because not everyone will buy into the collective sentiments of society, and will deviate from these norms and beliefs.
Durkheim said a certain amount of crime and deviance is normal and an integral part of all healthy societies. This is because it acts as a ‘safety valve’, providing a relatively harmless way for someone to express their discontent. For example, Cohen said that “prostitution performs such a safety valve function without threatening the institution of the family”, this is because he believed this crime of prostitution could relieve the stress in a discrete way without damaging the rest of the clients life.
Clinard said crime also served the function of acting as a warning device. This is because the crime indicates that there is an aspect of society that is malfunctioning. So the crime draws attention to the problem within society, which can then be fixed.
Durkheim said that crime in