Functionalist Crime Theorists

• Durkheim (Anomie, Crime is Inevitable & Functional)
• Merton (Strain Theory)
• Hirschi (Social Bonds Theory)
• Erikson (The Publicity Function)
• Albert Cohen (Safety Valves)
• Matza (Drifting)
• Miller (The Structural Origins of Crime, and the Cultural Causes)

Durkheim - Crime

Durkheim - Functionalist

Durkheim believes that society is held together by shared values. However, not everyone in society adheres to these collective sentiments. An example of this would be someone who chooses a job that earns little money purely because they'll enjoy it - they are breaking social norms because in western culture, it is seen as important to have material wealth, which is harder to have if you have a low paying job.

If there is a period where several people seem to lose their norms and values, this can be referred to as 'anomie'. An example of anomie would be the London Riots in 2011. People who were normally law abiding citizens were suddenly seen looting shops and vandalising property, purely because society had completely lost it's norms and no one knew how to react to this.

Durkheim also spoke about how crime is inevitable and functional. He argues that crime is inevitable due to something which he called the 'Society of Saints'. This is when even in a society where everyone is a 'saint' something will still be considered deviant. For example, in a classroom where everyone is shouting, someone whispering wouldn't be seen as deviant, whereas in a classroom which was silent, someone whispering would be seen as the deviant individual in that situation. He also argues that crime is functional because it helps to create social change. For example, homosexuality used to be illegal, but because so many people committed he 'crime' it became normal and as a result, society accepted it.

He also states that crime creates social cohesion, for example, crimes against children are widely seen as unacceptable, and people unite over their opinions.