Examine the role of access to opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance (21 marks)

Deviance is an act that goes against the norms and values of social construction. There are many different factors to be considered when examining opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance. Functionalists, especially Durkheim sees society as a stable system based on value consensus-shared norms, values, beliefs and goals. This produces social solidarity, binding individuals together into one harmonious unit. To achieve this, society must participate in socialisation and social control. These functionalist concepts easily link to the functionalist explanation of crime where crime is portrayed as inevitable and functional for society. Whilst crime disrupts social stability, functionalists see it as inevitable and universal. Durkheim sees crime as healthy for social as society needs some individuals who are inadequately socialised and prone to deviate. Also in highly modern societies, there is a specialized division of labour and a diversity of subcultures. Individuals and groups become increasingly different from one another, and the shared rules of behaviour become less clear. This is what is known as anomie. An example of where anomie occurs is in suicide, where rapid social change in modern society, leaves individuals unsure as to where they fit in.

For Durkheim, crime fulfils two important positive functions, the first of which is boundary maintenance. Crime produces a reaction from society, uniting its members against the wrongdoer and reinforcing their commitment to value consensus. This is the function of punishment; to reaffirm shared rules and reinforce solidarity e.g. courtroom rituals publicly stigmatise offenders, reminding everyone of the boundary between right and wrong. This is similar to the ideas of Stan Cohen who states that the media