topic 3 Crime and deviance

• criminogenic capitalism


  the exploitation of the working class leads to a rise in crime, for example poverty means crime is the only way the WC can survive or obtain consumer goods of capitalist advertising
• functionalism - class difference in crime

  sees the law as a reflection of society's shared values, and crime as the product of inadequate socialisations of these value
• Miller - functionalist


  the lower class has developed an independent subculture with its own distinctive norms and values that clash with those of the main stream culture, explains why the lower class have a higher crime rate
• Labelling theory (of crime)

  - they focus on how and why working class people come to be labelled as criminals instead of the causes of working class criminality

  
  

  - they emphasise the stereotypes held by law enforcement agencies that see the working class as typical criminals
• capitalism as a 'dog eat dog' system

  the ruthless competition in capitalist society is driven by the profit motive which encourages a mentality of greed and self-interest.
• white collar crime


  The win at all costs or go out of business mentality is the cause of many capitalists committing crimes like fraud and tax evasion
• Chambliss (1975 marxist)


  - laws to protect private properties are the cornerstone of the capitalist economy

  
  

  - this is illustrated through the introduction of English laws into Britain's East African colonies
• selective enforcement (marxists)


  when it comes to the application of the law by criminal justice systems, the court tend to be selective with which crimes they enforce. E.g. working class and ethnic minority groups are criminalised the court ignores the crime of the powerful
• Pearce (1976)


  laws benefit the ruling class as well and gives capitalism a 'caring face' and creates a false consciousness amongst the working class
• evaluation of marxism


  - ignores the relationship between crime and non-class inequalities such as ethnicity and gender

  
  

  - over predicts the amount of crime in the working class as not all poor people commit crime despite the pressure of poverty
• Taylor et al 'fully social theory of deviance'


  the wider origins of the deviant act (inequality of power and wealth), the immediate origins of the deviant act
• Evaluation of critical criminology


  critical criminology romanticises working class criminals as 'Robin Hoods' who are fighting capitalism by re-distributing wealth from the rich to the poor
• Sunderland (1949) - white collar crime


  crime committed by people of high social position in the course of their occupations
• occupational crime


  criminal offenses committed through opportunities created in a legal business or occupation
• corporate crime


  crimes committed by executives in order to benefit their corporation
• financial crime


  tax evasion, bribery, money laundering and illegal accounting
• Crime against consumers


  Fraudulent sale of securities, violation of pure food and drug laws
• crimes against employees


  Sexual and racial discrimination, violations of wage laws, of rights to join a union or take industrial action, and of health and safety law.
• crimes against the environment


  Illegal pollution of air, water and land such as toxic waste dumping.
• state-corporate crime


  those illegal and harmful acts that occur at the intersection of state agencies and private corporations
• Invisibility of Corporate Crime - The Media


  Give little coverage on corporate crime, and therefore reinforces the stereotype that crime is a working class phenomenon
• invisibility of corporate crime - lack of political will


  politicians rhetoric on being 'tough on crime' is focused instead on street crime. E.g. while the Home Office uses crime surveys to discover the true extent of 'ordinary' crime, it does not do so for corporate crime
• invisibility of corporate crime - the crimes are often complex

  law enforcers are often understaffed, under resourced and lacking technical expertise to investigate effectively
• invisibility of corporate crime - de-labelling


  at the levels of laws and legalities, corporate crime is consistently filtered out from the process of criminalisation
• Example of de-labelling


  in 2010 there was a tax evasion investigation against accounts of the HSBC bank, one prosecution was made but there was no action taken against the bank.
• invisibility of corporate crime - under reporting


  society at large can also be a victim of crime or the environment instead of an individual.

  
  

  individuals may be unaware that they have been victimised (e.g. being illegally duped into buying the wrong mortgage).
• explanation of corporate crime - strain theory (Box 1983)


  if a company cannot achieve its goals of maximising profit by legal means, it may employ illegal ones instead
• example of strain theory in corporate crime - Clinard and Yeager (1980)


  law violation by large companies increased their financial performance deteriorated, suggesting a willingness to 'innovate' to achieve profit goals
• Differential Association Theory (Sutherland)

  people have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associate with persons who are more favorable toward deviance than conformity
• Skyes and Matza (1957) Techniques of neutralization

  individuals can deviate more easily if they can produce justifications to neutralise moral objections to their misbehaviours
• labelling theory - Cicourel (1968)


  The middle class are more able to negotiate non-criminal labels for their misbehaviour
• De-labelling (Nelken)


  Where businesses and professionals is able to avoid labelling, e.g. can afford expensive experts such as lawyers and accountants
• marxists - corporate crime


  corporate crime is a result of capitalism. Because it's goal is to maximise profits, it inevitably causes harm, such as death and injuries among employees and consumers
• Box (1983) - Mystification

  capitalism has spread the ideology that corporate crime is less widespread or harmful than working class crime.

  
  

  Capitalists control over the state means it is able to avoid making or enforcing laws that conflict with its interests
• evaluation of the explanation of corporate crime

  Nelken (2012) argues that it is unrealistic to assume that all businesses would offend were it not for the risk of the punishment. e.g. maintaining goodwill with other companies helps them from resorting to crime