social class and crime

• trends in social class and crime:

  prison statistics:

  prison populations are made up more from the working clas than from the middle class or the upper class
• trends in social class and crime

  types of crime:

  working class:

  • street crimes - theft, assault and shoplifting
• trends in social class and crime

  types:

  middle class:

  • white collar crime
  • corporate crime
  • cyber crime
• white collar crime

  when a person uses their job or company to

  commit crime for personal gain. For

  example embezzlement, fraud and

  insider trading.
• corporate crime

  crimes committed by a company to increase profits and company

  standing. These include crimes such as health and safety violations and

  paying below minimum wage.
• explanations for trends in social class and crime

  • selective law enforcement
  • selective law creation
  • labelling and stereotypes
• explanations for trends in social class and crime

  Selective law enforcement

  • police force and criminal justice system treat the working class and the middle class differently
  • middle class = slap on the wrist - have made a mistake
  • working class = arrested for same crime
  • corporate crimes = not investigated or prosecuted by the criminal justice system
• explanations for trends in social class and crime

  Selective law creation

  • those who create the law are often of the middle and upper classes - they can manipulate the law into benefitting their own needs and will know ways to manipulate the law for their benefit
• explanations for trends in social class and crime

  labelling and stereotypes

  • working class are labelled as being more criminogenic and therefore the criminal justice sees them as making conscious choices to commit crime
  • middle class seen as making a mistake or unintentionally committing crime
• explanations for white collar and corporate crime

  • strain theory
  • control theory
  • criminogenic capitalism
  • labelling theory
  • rational choice/opportunity
  • edgework/masculinity
• explanations for white collar and corporate crime

  strain theory

  • REINER - explains working class crime by using Merton Strain theory
  • middle class crime and white collar crime - no limit to success financial or material so even those who appear successful can feel strain
• explanations for white collar and corporate crime

  control theory

  • MURRAY - underclass is responsible for the majority of street crime
  • HIRSCHI - the underclass are more likely to lack impulse control and bonds to the community which prevents them from committing crime
• explanations for white collar and corporate crime

  criminogenic capitalism

  • GORDON - capitalism not only encourages the working class to be criminal by creating a culture of envy and hostility - commit utilitarian crime to survive in a capitalist system and commit non-utilitarian crime to vent frustration at being oppressed
  • middle class crime = can be explained as capitalism encourages those who are rich to enrich themselves further
• explanations for white collar and corporate crime

  labelling theory

  • BECKER - working class unfairly tattered by the criminal justice system - less likely to negotiate the system to their advantage
  • police tend to patrol working class areas more so working class crime statistics are higher than middle class
• explanations for white-collar and corporate crime

  rational choice / opportunity

  • middle class have more opportunities to commit white collar crime and corporate crime
  • they hold the positions within the company which gives them the access required to commit this type of crime
• explanations for white collar and corporate crime

  Edgework / masculinity

  • MESSERSCHMIDT - middle class men who engage in white collar crime may do so to show off their masculinity
  • KATZ - engaging in white-collar crime can also link to the idea of edgework and the feeling of excitement and adrenaline the acts may give
• explanations for white collar and corporate crime AO3

  • doesn't explain why only some people commit crimes and not all people or companies use crime to resolve problems
  • difficult to gain accurate statistics on corporates and white collar crime - are not always reported to the police and often resolved in house