Is Crime Always Functional?

In my criminology class we have to write a response to two papers arguing whether or not crime is "functional" or not. Emile Durkheim, a sociologist from the 1920s argues that crime is functional because it presses the morals of society, and allows for a sense of unity among law abiding citizens. I agree with this paradigm to a point, but can crime be ALWAYS be functional? I think not. Durkheim may be right in certain cases like with Rosa Parks, and others who pressed for equal rights, but how can crimes like those commited by Ted Bundy, Joel Rifkin, Edward Gein, Bernard Madoff, and those involved with the Enron scandal be even thought of as Functional?

I remember watching a documentary on the discovery channel which explored the parts o fthe brain that are involved with crime and deviance, and it claimed that there is indeed a part of the brain that involved with rationalizing criminal behavior. The Amygdala, the part of the brain that deals with emotions and fear, is actually smaller in criminals meaning that criminals have a harder time relating to how people feel as a result of their actions. In this expose, they interviewed Joel Rifkin and asked him what was going through his mind when he was murdering those women, and he said that he was simply focused in the now. This shows that the Amygdala and the cerebrum, the part of the brain that thinks rationally, were not communicating as well as it should and the cranial check against the amygdala didn't work to prevent Rifkin's actions.

In other white collar criminals such as those involved in the Enron Scandal the amygdala communicates normally with the cerebrum, it is just smaller and inhibits the way that the perpetrators feel fear and emotion. This enables these criminals to embezzle away people's retirements without the thought of what this will do to people's lives.

In summary, No I don't think that crime is ALWAYS functional, but that isn't what I'm supposed to write about so that is why I am writing this here. By the way don't quote me because I'm not sure if I got the physiology of the brain right...