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Conflict Theories of Crime

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Conflict Theories of exiled. While not specifically addressing crimi-

nal or deviant behavior, Marx did study changes
Crime wrought in the laws of several countries during
the Industrial Revolution. He noted that some
PAMELA BLACK
nations enacted laws criminalizing certain tradi-
tional behaviors and ways of life that may have
Theories of crime causation and criminality have impeded the progress of industrialization, and
gone in and out of fashion, some being abandoned anticipated the use of the law as a means to
entirely and some being modified to explain more protect and further the interests of the capitalist
accurately more contemporary phenomena. His- class.
torically, however, criminological paradigms have In order to understand conflict criminology it
evolved throughout human history, some having is necessary to differentiate between the conflict
been discarded and many still having supporters and consensus perspectives on the social contract.
and detractors. The consensus perspective argues that society is
The earliest explanations were spiritual expla- organized to represent the interests of the majority
nations, attributing crime and deviance to oth- of its members, and that it makes decisions and
erworldly explanations. God or the gods were creates policies that are based on the will of the
believed to protect the innocent and reveal the people and are designed to further the common
guilty. While spiritual explanations have been good. Even though the consensus perspective
dismissed as unscientific, natural explanations acknowledges the presence of competing groups
have a basis in scientific observation, and natu- in any society, proponents of this perspective
ral explanations for deviance have been applied believe that the state mediates between competing
throughout human history and continue to be to interest groups, and that society reflects the norms
this day. Paradigms that view crime as an expres- and interests of most members.
sion of free will, that view crimes as a result beyond The conflict perspectives argues that the func-
the control of the individual, and that view crime tion of the state is not to mediate between the
as a function of the way laws are written and inevitable conflicting interest groups, but to rep-
enforced are classified as natural explanations. resent the interests of and reflect the values of
Classical criminology views crime as behavior the group or groups that have sufficient power to
the individual chooses to engage in. From this control the state. While the consensus perspective
perspective humans are intelligent and rational considers agreement and harmony the glue that
and elect to engage in crime after weighting the holds society together, the conflict perspective
costs and benefits of criminality. For the past states that society is actually held together by a
century criminologists have most often viewed balance of ‘‘opposing group interests and efforts’’
criminal behavior not as something that is chosen, (Vold 1958: 204).
but as something that is caused by factors beyond Conflict criminology encompasses two aspects
the individual’s control. Contemporary theories, of criminology: it seeks to explain the behavior of
including some conflict criminological theories, the law, and it examines crime as a by-product
view most crime as something that is caused by of group and culture conflict. Law is a formal
external factors. form of social control, differing from other types
Conflict theory, and conflict criminology, trace of social control in that its form and sanctions
back to Karl Marx. The early years of Marx’s are determined and exercised by the state. The
career saw the industrialization and urbanization conflict perspective of the law acknowledges the
of many nations, as well as the general unrest in existence of consensus; however, from the con-
Europe culminating in the March revolution of flict perspective the behavior of the law and the
1848 in the German states. The revolution of 1848 criminal justice system can best be explained
was not successful, and many liberals (including as resulting from conflict between groups and
Marx) were forced to flee or felt permanently an exercise of power. The most powerful group

The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice, First Edition. Edited by Jay S. Albanese.
© 2014 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2014 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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2 Conflict Theories of Crime

in society creates definitions of normalcy and One of the earliest conflict theories was
deviance that are favorable to and serve to protect Thorsten Sellin’s (1938) culture conflict theory.
their interests. The powerful group is in a position Crime, for Sellin, was the result of conflicting
to create the law, described by Quinney (1970: 16) conduct norms. Homogeneous societies are
as the formulation of criminal definitions, and also characterized by a high percentage of shared
in a position to apply the law and its sanctions, norms and values, and therefore a consensus
described by Quinney (1970: 16) as the application model of the law is an accurate model. As homo-
of criminal definitions. Conflict theorists studying geneity decreases, and heterogeneity increases,
the behavior of the law differ in their interpreta- the law is less likely to represent a common set of
tions of who the powerful group or groups are. values. Hence, crime is greater in heterogeneous
Some conflict theorists recognize the pluralistic societies because of fewer shared conduct norms.
nature of power groups, stating that most soci- Crime rates are lower in homogeneous societies
eties have multiple power centers with at least because more people share the same conduct
some control and input over criminal definitions norms. Culture conflict is a complex process,
and their applications and acknowledge that the with both primary and secondary culture conflict
laws of society (and their enforcement) reflect at contributing to crime and criminalization.
least some common values. Other conflict, and Primary cultural conflicts are those that occur
particularly Marxists criminologists of the 1960s between two distinct cultures, and can occur in
and 1970s argue against the pluralistic model three ways: (i) as a result of colonization when
and instead focus on the role of an all-powerful the colonizer replaces the colonized groups’
‘‘power-elite’’ in determining laws, which then norms with their own; (ii) at border areas,
where divergent groups cross into each other’s
reflect not the common interests of society, but
territories (and normative structures); or (iii) as a
the values and interests of the power-elite.
result of migration, when members of an outside
Crime, or criminal behavior, reflects the conflict
group enter into the dominant group’s territory.
between social, economic, and political interest
Secondary cultural conflict processes are virtually
groups. Crime can be the result of either cul-
the same; however, it occurs through conflict
ture conflict or of group conflict. Culture conflict
between different subcultures, or between the
occurs when people act within the normative
dominant culture and one or more subcultures.
parameters of their own group; however, this
Vold (1958) developed an early model of group
behavior conflicts with the norms and standards conflict theory based not on cultural conflicts,
of the dominant group, who make the laws. but on conflicts of interest. Groups are created
Thus, many laws reflect the standards of behavior my individuals with common interests, and these
adopted by the powerful groups in society. The interests can best be furthered through the group.
behavior of less powerful groups, when it is not Furthermore, groups change, evolve, and disap-
part of norms of the powerful group, is consid- pear, and the process of creating and working with
ered deviant or criminal. Crime is not, however, a group creates group identification and loyalty,
only the result of mismatched norms and rules leading to emotional attachment to the group,
of social behavior. While this is sometimes the inspiring its members to actively seek to further
case, crime, from a conflict criminological per- the groups’ interests. The social interaction aris-
spective, may also be the result of overt group ing out of this process leads to social stability
conflict and competition. This type of crime is through the system of checks and balances arising
a direct result of group competition for scarce out of continual group mobilization. Crime, from
goods and resources. Individuals or groups may this perspective, is carried out not by individuals,
commit deviant or criminal acts as a means of but by groups for the good of the group; it may
acquiring goods and resources they have unequal also be carried out by individuals acting under
access to. Groups and the individuals in them the auspices of the group.
may also engage in crime as political action, Richard Quinney (1970) first posited that crime
designed to get their group more power, and to was not necessarily ‘‘real,’’ but that it was socially
help the group reposition itself in a more powerful created. The social reality of crime makes the fol-
position within society. lowing assumptions about crime: (i) crime is a
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Conflict Theories of Crime 3

definition of human conduct created by autho- enforcers to a prohibited act. If all levels (police,
rized agents in a politically organized society; (ii) legal system) find an act repellent there will be
criminal definitions describe behaviors in conflict high arrest rates, high conviction rates, and stiff
with the interests of those with enough power to sentences. When police find behavior offensive,
shape public policy; (iii) criminal definitions are but higher levels (prosecutors, judges) do not,
applied by those in society that have the power there will be high arrest rates but low conviction
to shape the enforcement and administration of rates and less severe sentences. If police do not
criminal law; (iv) behavior patterns are struc- find an act repellent, but higher-level enforcers
tured in relation to criminal definitions, and in do, arrest rates will be lower, but conviction rates
this context persons engage in actions that have will be higher and sentences more severe.
a probability of being defined as criminal; (v) William Chambliss and Robert Seidman (1971)
conceptions of crime are constructed and spread utilized an organizational approach to the behav-
throughout society by various means of com- ior of the criminal justice system, using an analysis
munication; (vi) the social reality of crime is of the everyday functioning of the system to
constructed by the formulation and application determine if the state uses its power to peacefully
of criminal definitions, development of behav- resolve conflict (consensus theory) or if the power
ior patterns related to criminal definitions, and of the state itself is a prize available to the strongest
the constructions of criminal conceptions. Sim- of competing interest groups within a society. The
ply stated, power groups in society define what main points of this theory are: (i) law enforcement
crime is, they usually define crime as behavior agencies are bureaucratic organizations; (ii) orga-
that conflicts with their interests, the same power nizations and their members replace the official
groups have the ability to enforce their definition goals and norms of the organization with policies
of crime, and the same power groups disseminate that will maximize rewards to and minimize the
their definition of crime throughout society. strains experienced by the organization; (iii) goal
Turk (1969) argues that social order will be substitution can occur because there is little to no
maintained only when the authority group is able motivation for members of organizations to resist
to find the right balance between consensus and goal-substitution, and the nature of criminal law
coercion. In other words, if a society becomes too allows for considerable discretion by its agents;
coercive, or too egalitarian, conflict (and crim- (iv) the agencies of law enforcement are depen-
inality) will erupt. Turk distinguishes between dent on political organizations of resources; (v) as
social and cultural norms. Cultural norms are the a rational organization (which maximizes benefits
laws as they are written, social norms the laws and minimizes costs) law enforcement agencies
as they are enforced. Conflict (and crime) result will process the politically weak, and avoid pro-
when authorities actively enforce the law as it is cessing the politically powerful; (vi) it is to be
written, and when the conflict group is able to expected that a disproportionately high number
explain their ‘‘criminalized behavior’’ within the of the weak will be processed by the police and
framework of their social norms. Another way to courts, and it is to be expected that the violations
understand this concept is that laws are unlikely of the powerful will be mostly ignored.
to be enforced when they conflict with the author- In 1986 Vold and Bernard developed a theory
ity group’s own values; only when the laws reflect of crime and law incorporating elements of
the values of the authority group are they likely to conflict theory and social learning theory, as
be enforced. Other factors contribute to the like- well as drawing from Vold’s earlier (1958) work,
lihood of conflict or criminality: organized, tech- Quinney, and Chambliss and Seidman. This
nologically sophisticated conflict groups are more theory includes the following propositions: (i)
likely to be engaged in conflict with the authority complex societies are composed of groups, each
group when the authority group lacks organiza- with different norms, values and interests; (ii)
tion and/or sophistication. However, while these individuals behavior in accordance with their
factors contribute to conflict, conflict does not own interests, and this is reflected in their groups,
necessarily translate into criminality or criminal- which tend to develop distinct behavior patterns;
ization. The primary factor leading to criminal- (iii) the more power a group has, the less likely
ization is the attitude of the different levels of it is that its norms and values will come into
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4 Conflict Theories of Crime

conflict with the norms and values of society; crime and criminality, such as critical and Marx-
(iv) bureaucracies (including law enforcement) ist criminology. Conflict criminology has also
strive to maximum benefits and minimize costs contributed to some feminist criminologies, and
and hence will prosecute those with less power; Sellin’s culture conflict theory is a precursor of the
(v) the official crime rates of groups are inversely more contemporary subcultural theories of crime.
proportional to their political and economic
power, independent of other factors. SEE ALSO: Classical Criminology; Critical
Empirical tests of hypotheses based on a con- Criminology; Feminist Theories of Criminal
flict theory of criminal behavior are rare. The Behavior; Marxist Criminology; Peacemak-
results of the few studies that have been carried ing Criminology; Social Process Theories;
out have yielded inconclusive results. A study by Subcultural Theories of Crime.
Brunk and Wilson (1991) found no relationship
between the number of interest groups and crime
rate, but did find a relationship between crime References
and the type of interest groups. The usefulness
of conflict models of criminality and the law is Brunk, G. G., & Wilson, L. A. (1991) Interest groups
limited by the fact that society is not just a sys- and criminal behavior. Journal of Research in Crime
tem of conflicting and competing interest groups. and Delinquency 28,: 157–173.
Vold (1958) expressly excluded irrational crimi- Chambliss, W. J., & Seidman, R. B. (1971) Law, Order,
nal acts from his theoretical framework, stating and Power. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley.
Curran, D. J., & Renzetti, C. M. (2001) Theories of
that some acts are not a reflection of warring
Crime. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
interest groups. He also warned that ‘‘group con- Holmes, M. & Smith, B. (2006). Race, threat, and
flict hypothesis should not be stretched too far’’ police brutality: A social psychological perspec-
(Vold 1958: 219). Conflict theory has, however, tive. Conference Papers – American Society of
been used to explore organized and white-collar Criminology, 1.
crime, arrest and sentencing patterns, and crime Holmes, M. D., Smith, B. W., Freng, A. B., & Muñoz,
patterns of various minority groups. E. A. (2008) Minority threat, crime control, and
Some contemporary research does seek to police resource allocation in the southwestern United
test hypotheses based on conflict criminology. States. Crime and Delinquency 54(1), 128–152.
Jacobs, D., & Kent, S. L. (2007) The determinants
Conflict theory has been used to explore the
of executions since 1951: How politics, protests,
link between police expenditures and perceived public opinion, and social divisions shape capital
minority threat (Holmes et al. 2008; Ruddell and punishment. Social Problems 54(3), 297–318.
Thomas 2010). It is also used in studies of racial Quinney, R. (1970) The Social Reality of Crime. Boston:
profiling and police brutality (Holmes and Smith Little, Brown.
2006). Sentencing disparity (majority/minority Ruddell, R., & Thomas, M. O. (2010) Minority threat
group) has also lent itself to conflict theory anal- and police strength: An examination of the Golden
ysis. Jacobs and Kent (2007) used execution data State. Police Practice and Research, 11(3), 256–273.
Sellin, T. (1938) Culture Conflict and Crime. New York:
since 1951 to test a modified version of conflict
Social Science Research Council.
theory, finding that a perceived minority threat Turk, A. T. (1969). Criminality and the Legal Order:
affected public support for executions. Chicago: Rand-McNally.
Traditional conflict theory can be described as Vold, G. B. (1958) Theoretical Criminology. New York:
focusing on crime as the result of intergroup con- Oxford University Press.
flict over scarce resources; it also considers crime Vold, G. B., & Bernard, T. J. (1986). Theoretical Crimi-
relative and socially defined, and as such presented nology, 3rd edn. New York: Oxford University Press.
a view of crime that differs considerably from the
micro (individual) level theories of crime cau-
sation prevalent since the dawn of criminology. Further Readings
Despite the difficulty in testing and limited scope
of conflict theory, Curran and Renzetti (2001) Akers, R. L. (2000) Criminological Theories: Intro-
point to the importance of conflict theory as the duction, Evaluation, and Application. Los Angeles:
framework for other, more inclusive theories of Roxbury Publishing Company.
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Conflict Theories of Crime 5

Bernard, T. J. (1983) The Consensus–Conflict Debate: Turk, A. T. (1966) Conflict and criminality. American
Form and Content in Social Theories. New York: Sociological Review, 31, 338–352.
University Press. Turk, A. T. (1977) Class, conflict and criminalization.
Black, D. (1976) The Behavior of Law. New York: Sociological Focus, 10, 20–220.
Academic Press. Turk, A. T. (1982) Political Criminality. Beverly Hills:
Dooley, B., & Delisi, M. (2007). Racial Profiling: Sage Publications.
Rhetoric Or Reality? Conference Papers – American Williams, F. P., III, & McShane, M. D. (1993) Crimi-
Society of Criminology, 1–31. nology Theory: Selected Classic Readings. Cincinnati:
Glaser, D. (1978) Crime in Our Changing Society. Anderson Publishing Co.
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Williams, F. P., III (1980). Conflict theory and differen-
McShane, M. D. (1987). Immigration processing and tial processing: An analysis of the research literature.
the alien inmate: Constructing a conflict perspective. In J. A. Inciardi (ed.), Radical Criminology: the Com-
Journal of Crime and Justice 10, 171–194. ing Crises. Beverly Hills: Sage, pp. 213–232.
Quinney, R. (1980) Class, State, and Crime. Second
Edition. New York: Longman.
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ABSTRACT
The conflict perspective argues that the function of the state is not to mediate between the inevitable
conflicting interest groups, but to represent the interests of and reflect the values of the group or
groups that have sufficient power to control the state. Conflict criminology encompasses two aspects
of criminology: it seeks to explain the behavior of the law, and it examines crime as a byproduct of
group and culture conflict. The usefulness of conflict models of criminality and the law is limited by
the fact that society is not just a system of conflicting and competing interest groups. Conflict theory
has, however, been used to explore organized and white-collar crime, arrest and sentencing patterns,
and crime patterns of various minority groups.

KEYWORDS
conflict; deviance and social control; social norms; subcultures

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