Overemphasis on street crime to distract away from the white collar and corporate crime that the bourgeoisie commit
The upper class use agents of social control to constructlaws to control the working class
2008 many MPs claimed for expenses they were not entitled to- led to publicoutcry over abuse of tax payers' money
What is considered legal/illegal reflects the interests of the bourgeoisie- they commit the sameamountofcrime but their power allows them to avoidprosecution
2008 National Fraud Authority
Benefitfraud costs the UK public over £1b yet taxevasion cost £15b
Functionalists, such as Durkheim, argue that our laws are a reflection of valueconsensus and the examples Snider gives, like using an offshore account, are notactualcrimes.
Gordon - Marxist
Selectivelawenforcement - prosecutions of the upper class are rare compared to working class
Individuals are deemed socialfailures, blaming them instead of the institutions of capitalism
Allows capitalism to remainunquestioned as threats are locked up in prison
Durkheim criticised Gordon's theory, arguing that the whole community decides who is prosecuted, reflecting valueconsensus.
Radical criminology combines marxist views with interactionism
Hall et al- radical criminology
There was a moral panic about crime and mugging - despite there being noevidence of increase
Media reporting led to concern for public safety which led to an excess of police
Drew attention away from economicproblems of capitalism such as industrial and social unrest
Merton rejects Hall's notion that high crime rates for the working class are fiction or political acts. It is merely a response to strain.
Chambliss - Marxist
Capitalism promotes 'criminogenic' values
Individualism and competition leads to stealing
Basing status on money leads to fraud
Oppression leads to public disorder and violence
Chambliss's theory is critiqued as non-capitalist societies, such as communist, socialist, and tribal experience crime