Perspectives on

Crime
Sub-Cultural Theories – The Delinquent Subculture,
Delinquency and Opportunity
Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Identify each of the subcultural theorists.
 Describe Cohen’s ‘Delinquent Subculture’, Cloward and Ohlin’s ‘Delinquency and
Opportunity’ and Miller’s ‘Delinquent Subculture’.
 List the ‘focal concerns’
 State the criticisms of this perspective.
 Evaluate the relevance of the theories to an understanding of crime in the Caribbean.
Albert Cohen – The
Delinquent Subculture (1955)
 Focuses on lower working class young men.
 Cohen argues that these young men are socialized into the norms and values of
mainstream society, but due to a lack of opportunities and failure, they find it difficult to
use the legitimate means of achieving or accessing the goals of society. As a result,
they are placed at the bottom of the social structure.
 The lack of opportunities stems from a lack of educational success and employment in dead-
end jobs.
 Failure stems from cultural deprivation, which means that they do not value educational
success and are more oriented towards immediate gratification, present – time and are
fatalistic.
 As a result, they become frustrated and experience status frustration.
 Frustration and dissatisfaction felt because of their lower class position.
 This occurs because society see them as failures and show or give them no respect. They
also have no rank in society.
Albert Cohen – The
Delinquent Subculture (1955)
 Cohen points out that in search of respect and status, the young men turn to others
who are in the same position and try to find ways to deal with their frustration.
 They reject the success goals of the dominant or mainstream society which results in
the formation of the delinquent subculture.
 A collective solution to the common problems of lower working class adolescents.

 In this group, together the young men create their own set of values and norms, which
are usually in direct opposition to those of mainstream society.

 Thus, deviant acts such as stealing, robbery, etc. become the acceptable means to
achieve status.
Albert Cohen – The
Delinquent Subculture (1955)
 The young men engage in these acts with their peers or peers knowledge and in this
way, they receive recognition and admiration.
 Their skills and prowess in deviant or criminal activities affords status within the group or
gang.
 This helps to alleviate their status frustration.

 Cohen also argues that these young men engage in deviant acts not only for the need
of status but because it puts them in favour or good graces with the group.
 They adopt similar modes of dress, speech and mannerisms
 They may even engage in deviants acts just for fun or for ‘kicks’.
Richard A. Cloward & Lloyd E.
Ohlin – Delinquency and
Opportunity
 Cloward and Ohlin sought to explain or show that deviance is not only about criminal
activities but also involves a wide range of deviant subcultures.
 Also, tried to explain that people can chose to use illegitimate means to success.

 Where as Merton and Cohen argued that deviance occurs when persons reject
legitimate opportunities or means or that there are different ways of achieving success
through legitimate means, Cloward and Ohlin argue that there are opportunities for
success through illegitimate means.
 Like Merton they believe that there is greater pressure on the working class to
deviate.
 They point out that within the working class, young men chose to use illegitimate
opportunity structure to achieve success.
 They pointed to three subcultures that the young men use to become successful.
 Criminal subculture, conflict subculture, retreatist subculture
Richard A. Cloward & Lloyd E. Ohlin
– Delinquency and Opportunity
Types of Subcultures
Criminal Subculture
 Found in stable working class communities
 Have a well-established pattern of adult organised crime
 (Italian and Chinese communities in New York and Los Angeles)

 Provides a learning environment for the young in the community through the presence
of criminal role models.
 A vibrant illegitimate opportunity structure exist for those who wish to use it.
 Successful young criminals have the opportunity to climb the hierarchy.

 The young men engage mainly in utilitarian crimes.

 Money making – car stealing, larceny and robbery
Richard A. Cloward & Lloyd E. Ohlin
– Delinquency and Opportunity
Types of Subcultures
Conflict Subculture
 Found in lower working class communities, largely unstable and transient in nature.
 Inner city neighbourhoods

 There are high levels of unemployment and poverty.

 Little organised crime – no learning of the ‘ropes’.
 Both legitimate and illegitimate structures are blocked.
 Anger and frustration are features of the community.
 Gangs are created and gang activities take place.
 Conflict emerges as gangs fight over turf.
 More powerful gang members receive recognition and prestige.
Richard A. Cloward & Lloyd E. Ohlin
– Delinquency and Opportunity

Types of Subcultures
Retreatist Subculture
 Can exist anywhere as it is attractive to those who have failed in both the legitimate
and illegitimate opportunity structures.
 Made up of failed criminals, gang members who retreat to the retreatist subculture.
 The members of this group are alcoholics, drug dealers, junkies and other outcasts.
Society generally see them as pests.
Walter Miller – “The
Delinquent Subculture”
 Miller argues that a distinctive community exists in which the members have created a
set of cultural patterns that are transmitted from generation to generation.
 He argues that these cultural patterns are different from mainstream society as they
challenge middle class norms and come into conflict with middle class culture.
 This, Miller called the ‘delinquent subculture’.
 His theory is based on research done in a US city. He found:
 Persons in these communities tend to be uneducated, unskilled and provided cheap labour to
nearby factories.
 The lives of the community members were miserable because of unemployment or they had
boring repetitive and routine jobs.
 To cope with their dissatisfaction they turned to their community for excitement.
Walter Miller – “The
Delinquent Subculture”
 Miller continues that these lower-class communities create their own set of cultural
traditions and live by a set of values that is different from ‘mainstream society. These
are called ‘focal concerns’.
 In the process of living up to these ‘focal concerns’ people commit deviant acts.
 Miller identified the following ‘focal concerns’:
 Trouble rather than law-abiding behaviours.
 Toughness and masculinity rather than weakness and effeminacy.
 Smartness or outsmarting others than being outsmarted.
 Belief in fate, fortune or luck rather than owning or controlling one’s life.
 Freedom as opposed to dependency on others.
 Criticisms
 Concerning Cohen’s arguments, Miller points out that in some communities the subculture
is such a big part of it that the members are never socialized to accept the values of main-
stream society but to those of the subculture.
 Therefore, what members of society consider as deviant is normal to the members of the
subculture.
 Cloward and Ohlin were criticized for using data that was 40 years old, as a result, the
applicability of the information was called into question.
 Also, Cloward and Ohlin alluded that some criminal activities such as drug use was limited
to the lower class. However, drug use occurs in all strata of society and is not limited to only
one environment.
 Cloward, Ohlin and Miller are criticised for treating the lower class as a homogenous group.
This is not the reality as there are significant differences among this group.
 Miller seem to suggest that middle class rural youths do not engage in deviant activities for
the same reasons, however, youths in all communities drift in and out of deviance from time
to time.
References
Chinapoo, C., James, N., & Lee-Paisley, M. (2014). CAPE Sociology. Harlow: Pearson
Education Limited.
Haralambos, M., & Holborn, M. (2008). Sociology: Themes and perspectives. London:
Harper Collins Publishers Limited.
Mustapha, N. (2013). Sociology for Caribbean Students (2nd ed.). Kingston: Ian Randle
Publishers.