Subcultural Theories of Crime

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how subcultural theories provide an alternative view to the sociology of crime, by using the subculture of a particular social group to explain the acts of crime and deviance that are committed by the groups' members. It assesses the subcultural theories of crime and deviance, paying particular detail to sociological theory, including studies from the Chicago School of Sociology, Cohen, Merton, Cloward and Ohlin and Matza.

From the Paper:

"Most of these studies are conducted by American sociologists and are consequently based on an American experience of society, which often appears inconsistent to British ways of life. Downes and Rock, however, argue that Matza's theory is particularly applicable to the British context as British studies of delinquent subcultures, particularly with young people show that young delinquents were not in fact members of structured gangs, but they had become dissociated from mainstream society because they were uninterested in their long term future. Sociologists have however criticized Matza's theory. Taylor Walton and Young argue that those who use the techniques of neutralization do not challenge the dominant values in society."

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