Sociological Theories
of Crime
Law and Order
From a Marxist
perspective, I’m
simply a member of
the oppressed
proletariat.
Society is breaking
down, and I am a
product of inadequate
socialisation
This is what I get a
buzz from, and I’m
taking all the credit for
it. Give us the money
... and fast!
What are the causes of crime?
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Functionalist
New Right
Environmental/Subcultural
Interactionism/Labelling
Traditional Marxist
Left Realist
Feminist
Theories of Crime
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Societies have value consensus on good and bad
behaviour
Deviance may be unusually good, bizarre or (most
commonly) immoral/illegal
Deviants persistently behave differently from the
normal majority
The more deviant the act, the more likely to be illegal
Crime arises when socialisation breaks down and the
tendency towards selfishness is unrestrained;
responsibility is more structural than individual
Functionalist
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Societies have value consensus on good and bad
behaviour
Deviance crosses the boundary of this consensus
Deviants persistently behave differently from the
normal majority
More deviant acts more likely to be illegal; but
illegality is sometimes over-defined by interfering
bureaucrats
Crime arises from poor upbringing, genetic defects or
even government interference; responsibility more
individual than structural
New Right
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Society is a complex whirlpool of changing and
conflicting values (subcultures)
There are dominant, mainstream values, and
deviance is the result of following subcultural values
Deviants are not ‘wrong’, just subscribing to different
values
Laws reflect majority/mainstream values
Crime is inevitably caused by culture clash
Environmental/Subcultural
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Society is about the interaction of individuals and
groups in interpreting/ determining ‘normal’
behaviour
Deviance is interpreted differently depending on time,
person and place
Deviance is about differences of interpretation rather
than major differences between people
Legal definitions are determined through pressure
group activity
The causes of crime relate more to how people define
crime, but there is little difference between ‘deviant’
and ‘normal’ people
Interactionist/Labelling
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Society is structured on the basis of exploitation of
the masses (proletariat) by an economic elite
(bourgeoisie)
Deviance is behaviour disapproved of by those in
power as undermining/threatening to the system
‘Deviants’ are victims of a bullying, repressive state;
white collar law-breakers are rarely branded criminal
Legal definitions are determined by the level of threat
of a behaviour to the ruling class
Crime is caused by the unfair, corrupt nature of
capitalist society; Marxists like to highlight crimes of
giant corporations
Traditional Marxist
View of society similar to Marxism, but also a belief in
commonly shared values and the need for practical
solutions within a capitalist system that is not going
away
 Deviance may be defined by powerful groups, but a
complexity of factors are also at work – e.g. gender,
race etc.
 Not so concerned with legal definitions as with
deviant behaviour that is damaging to society; e.g.
homophobic harassment, minor street crimes
 Crime is caused by capitalist society’s marginalisation
of groups such as young, working class males
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Left Realist
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Society is based on the exploitation of women by men
Deviance is determined differently for women than for
men
‘Deviants’ are defined in relation to their roles in
society, with men construct the roles of women
Women commit far less criminal acts, so concern is
not so much with criminality as the way in which
‘normal male’ behaviour is deviant for them
Women encounter the law more as victims than
perpetrators
Female crime is more likely to be caused by economic
need; e.g. prostitution, shop-lifting
Feminist
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Functionalist – based on theory rather than research
New Right – combination of theory and secondary
research
Subcultural – often uses participant observation
Interactionist – tends to use observation, participant
observation and case studies
Marxist – abstract/theoretical rather than researchbased, although participant observation and case
studies may be used
Left Realist – makes much use of detailed victim and
attitude surveys
Feminist – combination of theory, secondary research
and intensive case studies
Research Methodology