Why Lower status groups have higher crime rates?

check to some sociologists, disdain status groups have in luxuriously spiritser law-breaking rates because they do non have access to licit authority of achieving. This view is supported by sociologists such(prenominal)(prenominal) as Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin who believe members of the get classes commit crime because they atomic number 18 not abandoned the same opportunities to carry with as new(prenominal) members of society. However, this view could be disputed, as it is by sociologists such as milling machine and Murray who believe otherwise incidentors ar involved such as the focal concerns.This essay will assess the extent to which demoralize status groups commit crime because they are denied access to the decriminalise lead of achieving success. jibe to Cohen, lower class boys have the same success goals as the rest of society barely have no opportunity to make whoopie these goals. He believes that the lack of opportunity here is because of their educa tional failure and consequently their dead-end jobs. This could be supported by Willis ethnographic study on a number of lads at school.This study showed that these boys had come to terms with the fact they were going to be stuck in dead end jobs as they did not win anything at school and at that placefore formed anti-school sub cultivations to deal with this. According to Cohen this amounts in status frustration as the individuals become frustrated that they buttocksnot achieve anything and with their low status in society. Due to this, they turn their attentions to achieving through other federal agency crime, they egest the success goals of common culture and replace them with others as Merton described in his responses to heathen goals.This new found c all in alling can help them to gain status and recognition, especially from their peers, albeit for the wrong reasons and thus a delinquent subculture is formed. It can be seen as a collective dissolving agent for all the problems faced by the lower classes. Cohen believes that the delinquent subculture takes its norms from the larger culture but turns them up stance down. Thus, the subcultures are a negative reaction to a society that has denied opportunity some of its members.This would suggest that the members of lower status groups depart because they are denied access to the conventionalism routes of success and shows that because of this in that location is greater blackmail on certain groups in society to deviate. Cloward and Ohlin follow the same path as Cohen, however they develop his ideas. According to them Cohen failed to look at the illegal opportunity structure. They believe that lower status groups are denied access to the legitimate means of achieving success however an illegitimate route is forthcoming to them.This opportunity could come from the fact that in some areas there may be a high rate of adult crime and this means that there is access for adolescence to follow the same path however in other areas this culture may not be present. According to Cloward and Ohlin areas with a high rate of organised adult crime creates a learning purlieu for younger generations, meaning the common norms and values in these areas are unlike from those who apply themselves to the legitimate opportunity structure and a criminal subculture is created. battle subcultures are created in areas where there is little opportunity for adolescence to achieve through the illegitimate opportunity structures. This means that there is no access to any legitimate or illegitimate opportunity structure. According to Cloward and Ohlin the response to this status is usually gang violence as a means of range built up tension and frustration towards the lack of opportunity. Retreatist subcultures are too created by those who have failed to have access to illegitimate or legitimate opportunity structures, thus they retreat from society and enter a retreatist subculture.Thus, all of these subcultures are created because these citizenry do not have access to the normal means of achieving success. Other sociologists however, believe that it is not the opportunity for success but other factors that influence lower class crime rates. Miller, who studied lower class subcultures in 1950s America, discovered that the subcultures were not formed because of the inability to achieve success, but because of the existence of distinctive lower class subcultures. According to Miller there are a number of long held cultural traditions followed and these differ to those of the higher strata.He believed that these traditions passed down from generation to generation actively encouraged lower class men to break the law. Miller believes that there are a number of focal concerns of the lower class. These focal concerns are toughness that involves trying to prove their masculinity smartness, which involves trying to outsmart from each one other and excitement which involves havi ng fun which could involve alcohol, drugs, gambling and joy riding. According to Miller argues that delinquency is except the members of the lower strata acting out the focal concerns, if in a slightly exaggerated wayHe believes that it has a dispense to do with boredom of work and these focal concerns help them to await with the day-to-day boredom. Thus, the crime rates of the lower class are not because of the opportunities available to them but because of they have their own norms, values and traditions that are carried through from generation to generation. Murray in like manner believes that it is not due to opportunity but believes in an under-class who are a group of either unemployed or unemployable people.He believes that this underclass share there own common norms and values and reject those of mainstream society. He believes that the welfare states are to blame as it means that people do not feel the need to work and can live of the state and reject the idea it is i mportant to hold down a job, thus they turn to criminality. This means that he does not agree that crimes are attached because of the lack of opportunity, but more because of the opportunity to be given money from the state and not have to do anything.Stephen Jones also agrees that there us an underclass, but believes there are also number of side issues such as racial tension and gang warfare that helps to fit to the crimes. This view could be supported by crimes in Britain such as the shootings of Letisha Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis in 2003. Overall, it can be said that there are a number of reasons as to why crime rates are high in the lower class. It could be because they are denied access to legitimate means of achieving success as they need to fine some way to succeed.However, it could also be due to the fact that learning environments are created and traditions are passed though the generations making it common and normal in the lower classes for crimes to be committed an d normal for aspects such as racial tension to be a big part of life. Therefore, there it could be said that it is not just because of there is a lack of opportunity for members of the lower class, but because they already have there own norms and values of which t follow.