‘Assess the contribution of subcultural theories in explaining ‘subcultural crime and deviance’ in society today’ (21 marks – January 2011 examination)

The theories of subcultural sociologists are based on the idea of subcultures, which are made up of a group of people who share the same norms and values as one another. These norms and values are of contrast to those of mainstream society. The individuals within these groups have rejected these mainstream views due to a variety of problems such as material deprivation, which many blame on the main society for not fulfilling their needs.

Cohen believed that crime was a result of status frustration; this was the result of an extensive study on lower working class boys, who he noted blamed wider society for their lack of success in attaining the same successes as those in mainstream society. This meant that they deviated into collective crime as a means of attaining higher status within a subculture. Cohen’s ideas are very similar to that of Merton’s however he suggested that rather than taking part in individual crime they rather turn to the values of a delinquent subculture. By joining these subcultures he also noted that they tend to turn to crime, this is due to the high subcultural value placed upon acts such as vandalism and stealing. Cohen’s theory is positive due to the explanation of non-utilitarian crimes, which other theories have failed to explain; Cohen views crime as an attempt to gain respect or status. There are however problems with his theory as it is criticized massively by Marxist sociologists as it seems to suggest that crime is only a working class problem; whereas it isn’t, doe to the presence of white collar crime. Feminists would also be critical of his theory as it lacks explanation of female crime, because it focuses solely on male crime.

Subsequently after Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin