Social Class and Crime

• What do prison statistics suggest about crime and social class?

  Lower class commit more crime
• How do consensus theorists view the relationship between social class and crime?

  They accept lower class commits more crime
• What do Marxists believe about elite crimes?

  Elite crimes are hidden and more harmful
• What are the limitations of statistics on social class and crime?

  • Proxies for social class used
  • Reporting bias from lower classes
  • Surveys may miss specific crime types
• What does Robert Merton's Strain Theory explain?

  Crime increases due to blocked opportunities
• What is 'anomie' according to Merton?

  Imbalance between goals and means
• How do working classes respond to blocked opportunities?

  By adopting innovative criminal methods
• What does Albert Cohen's Status Frustration theory emphasize?

  Cultural factors over material factors
• How do working class boys resolve status frustration?

  By forming delinquent subcultures
• What is the main research by Aaron Cicourel about?

  Police perceptions and social class of offenders
• What are the two stages in Cicourel's delinquency process?

  Police stop and juvenile officer interaction
• How does Cicourel explain the arrest of working class delinquents?

  They fit the police's delinquent profile
• What do Marxists argue about crime in capitalist societies?

  All classes commit crime, elite crimes are hidden
• What is 'crimogenic capitalism'?

  Capitalism generates conditions for crime
• Who argues that capitalism leads to inequality and crime?

  David Gordon
• What is the impact of capitalism on individual behavior?

  Encourages self-interest and materialism
• How do Marxists view the relationship between wealth and crime?

  Visible inequality leads to frustration and crime
• What are key concepts related to elite crime?

  • White Collar Crime: Individual interests against organizations
  • Corporate Crime: Crimes for corporate profit
  • Elite crimes are more costly than street crime
• What is the estimated cost of corporate fraud to taxpayers in the USA?

  $500 billion
• What do Corporate Watch and Multinational Monitor suggest?

  Corporate fraud is widespread
• How do elite crimes compare to street crimes in terms of economic impact?

  Elite crimes have a greater economic toll
• What are the main theories explaining social class and crime?

  • Consensus Theory
  • Interactionism
  • Marxism
  • Right Realism
  • Left Realism
• What is the primary drive behind corporate crime?

  Desire to increase profits
• How do Marxists view the crimes of the elite compared to street crime?

  Elite crimes have a greater economic toll
• Who pointed out the cost of White Collar Crime?

  Laureen Snider
• What do Corporate Watch and Multinational Monitor suggest about corporate fraud?

  Corporate fraud is widespread
• What has the General Accounting Agency of the USA estimated about savings and loans companies?

  Hundreds have failed due to insider dealing
• What is the estimated cost of corporate bailouts to taxpayers in the USA?

  Approximately $500 billion
• How much does the corporate bailout cost per household in the USA?

  $5000 per household
• What was Bernie Madoff sentenced for in 2009?

  Masterminding a $65 billion fraud
• How did the US district judge describe Madoff's fraud?

  As staggering with a massive breach of trust
• How many counts of fraud did Madoff plead guilty to?

  11 counts
• How did victims describe Madoff in their testimonies?

  As a thief and a monster
• What type of scheme did Madoff operate?

  A Ponzi scheme
• What did Madoff do with clients' money instead of investing it?

  Held it with a bank and paid bogus returns
• How much money did Madoff claim to manage at the time of his arrest?

  $65 billion
• What was the actual amount left when Madoff was arrested?

  Just $1 billion
• What do Right Realists attribute to the increase in crime rates?

  Changes to family structure and the underclass
• Who is associated with the concept of the underclass in relation to crime?

  Charles Murray
• What does Murray argue about the welfare dependency of the underclass?

  It leads to a decline in marriage