social class

• Strain theory


  Typical prisoner in the UK in under 30 and working class.

  Merton - argues that crime increases when there is a 'strain' or gap between society's success goals and the available legitimate means to achieve those goals. - imbalance between goals and the ability to achieve them - 'anomie'.

  Merton argues that crime is higher among working classes because they have fewer legitimate opportunities to achieve material successes.
• Strengths of Strain theory

  Official statistics show higher rates of acquisitive crime among those from unskilled manual and lower social class backgrounds.

  Indicates they want to succeed through education/work but lack access to same opportunities as other - lack of legitimate means to achieve societal success goals leads to higher crime rates in working-class communities.
• Weaknesses of Strain theory


  Miller - places emphasis on how working-class individuals are socialised differently from their middle-class counterparts - children from working class communities develop a different set of values that places them at greater risk of becoming involved in offending - focal concerns.

  A group response rather than an individual response to strain.

  Whilst W/C boys aren't looking for trouble if trouble comes their way, deviant/criminal responses are more likely to occur.
• Capitalist society and white-collar crime

  Newburn - Identifies a weakness in current sociological approaches as they tend to focus on crimes that consist of powerless crimes, rather than powerful crimes, eg. working class people according to statistics commit more crimes, but they have the least amount o power in society.

  Timmer and Eitzen - State white-collar crime & corporate crime are mostly committed in offices & boardrooms of businesses hence the term 'crimes in the suites', rather than the 'crimes on the streets
• Weaknesses of Capitalist society and white-collar crime

  White-collar crime attracts significantly less attention from the public who are more concerned about being victims of violent crimes against the person or property.

  EG. someone in receipt of a bribe to cancel a parking ticket won't report it and neither will the proponent as they're both guilty - meaning statistics on these types of crimes are lower due to underreporting.
• The Underclass


  Bias in the CJS

  Reiner - Found 74% of prisoners were unemployed or in lowest occupational levels before imprisonment.

  Murray - Argues that welfare benefits led to the decline of marriage lone-parent families therefore increased. The rise in crime is due to changes in family structures and growth of underclass. Lack of paternal discipline and role models leads to boys turning to delinquent street culture.
• Strengths of The Underclass

  Official crime statistics show that crimes against the person or property are more likely to be committed by those from poorer backgrounds.

  Suggests the right realists explanation for criminal behaviour may have some validity or we would expect more random patterns of offending across different social groups so class must play a part.
• Weaknesses of The Underclass

  Left realists argue crime is not the results of poor parenting, but that it is caused by the structure of society that marginalises certain groups.

  Amplified by relative deprivation, where all individuals are exposed to goods and services they cannot access through TV/media - can lead to some individuals breaking the law.

  Crime is a symptom of these causes, class is not the cause.
• Cohen - Status-frustration


  Cohen - some crime was not always economically motivated but often done for the 'thrill of the act' eg. vandalism.

  Working class children want to do well, but find themselves struggling against their middle class counterparts - 'status frustration'.

  The result is the rejection of middle class values and the emergence of a subculture/delinquent gang.

  The gang gives its members a sense of status achievement and a way of hitting back at the system that has labelled them failures.
• Strengths of Cohen - Status-frustration

  Pitts - There is some evidence that working class boys from deprived areas & schools interpret education as denying them status & seek to attain it through hypermasculinity & violence with a sense of belonging in gangs
• Weaknesses of Cohen - Status-frustration

  Cohen fails to account for the fact that most W/C boys who have been deprived of status don't join delinquent subcultures and actually strive to make the most of their situation.

  Many W/C boys are conforming within the education system even if they're not coming out the other end as 'successful' - end result may be low skilled/paid but not a deviant lifestyle.
• Gordon - rational and realistic


  Capitalism causes greed; Gordon: capitalist societies are 'dog eat dog societies' where there is immense competitive pressure to make more more -- state ideological apparatus.

  Working class crime is a rational and realistic response to class inequality.

  Working class people feel alienated that the gap is widening and can see the CJS protect the interests of those at the top.
• Strengths of Gordon - rational and realistic


  White-collar crime not being pursued as vigorously - Tax Fraud costs £14.5 billion vs at most estimate Benefit Fraud costs £2.5 billion but is demonised more.
• Weaknesses of Gordon - rational and realistic

  Marxist explanations are accused of being too reductionist - they 'reduce' everything down to class and economics.

  Postmodernists - society is complex and fragmented and while capitalism and social class influences people's behaviour, there are many other equally important influences.

  Wealthy is not the only source of power and class is not the only important influences.
• Cicourel - Canteen culture


  Police and juvenile officer's meanings/perceptions explain why most delinquents come from W/C backgrounds.

  Defining a young person as a delinquent is a complex process involving 2 main stages - Stage 1. Police interaction - police deem behaviour as 'suspicious' based on location. Stage 2. Juvenile officer interaction - juvenile officer has a 'typical delinquent profile' in mind, W/C youths more likely to fit this profile, middle-class delinquents less likely to be charged, as they fit the profile.
• Strengths of Cicourel - Canteen culture


  Interactionists argue individuals from W/C neighbourhoods are more likely to be labelled as deviant, leading to a criminal master status.

  Official criminal statistics show working-class males as being significantly more likely to be stopped and searched by officers.
• Weaknesses of Cicourel - Canteen culture


  Right realists explain the relationship between being W/C and being on the receiving end of the CJS due to these groups committing more crimes that are less likely to receive police attention.

  W/C youths 'choose' to commit crime and are 'not' victims of a system that treats groups unfairly.
• Moral panics about the Working class

  Moral panic - exaggerated reporting of an event, individual or group that leads to public concern.

  Left realists argue that moral panics can be a real threat, as marginalised groups may pose a risk due to deviant subcultures.

  Interactionists argue that the media labels certain groups as 'folk devils' leading to public perception of them as a risk and causing moral panics.
• Strengths of Moral panics about the Working class

  Hall - young W/C black males and 'mugging' - he demonstrated how the media could be sued by the state to divert attention away from economic problems by labelling young W/C black males as criminal.

  The deviants are labelled as folk devils who present a threat to society and are often demonised by the media, the public and the CJS.
• Weaknesses of Moral panics about the Working class

  Moral panics may be outdated due to

  -More complex diverse and liberal society, making it less judgemental

  -Political backlash against scapegoating certain groups

  -Boundaries between moral and immoral behaviour have become blurred

  -Many issues that once caused moral panics no longer have the same impact

  Moral panics may have simply evolved eg. the threat of terrorist attacks is bigger than the class threat now.
• Victims of crime caused by deprivation and poverty

  Victimisation and socioeconomic status;

  -The poorest sections of the W/C are also most likely to be victims of crime.

  Highest rates of victimisation among - the unemployed, the long-term sick. low-income individuals, areas of high deprivation.

  Victimisation Rates - in 2017/18 the 20% poorest households faced 2x the risk of burglary vehicle-related thefts, vandalism and other household crimes compared to the 20% most affluent households.

  May be because higher-income individuals take steps to avoid victimisation, eg. private security, poorer households are 3x more likely to feel unsafe in their local neighbourhoods.
• Strengths of Victims of crime caused by deprivation and poverty

  Left realists argue that as W/C individuals are more likely to live in areas where marginalisation and relative deprivation are high deviant subcultures emerge that place individuals living in these areas at higher risk of becoming a crime victim.

  Official statistics support the view that crimes against the person/property 'are higher' in areas of deprivation.
• Weaknesses of Victims of crime caused by deprivation and poverty

  Left realists acknowledge that statistics on crime showing higher rates of offending amongst the poorer communities are likely to be social facts.

  This is because they accept that poverty relative deprivation and marginalisation lead to higher levels of crime against the person/property.