11. Social Class and Crime Flashcards
What are some characteristics of the prison population?
-Little or no academic qualifications
-High levels of illiteracy
-High levels of unemployment
-High levels of homelessness
-Likely to have been brought up in care
What is a clear indicative of class bias?
That crimes of the more well off are likely to go undetected, unreported and unrecorded in official statisitcs.
What happens the higher up you are in the social class hierarchy?
-Less likely your crimes will be detected
-Less likely to end in arrest
-Less likely to be prosecuted and found guilty
-Less likely to be given a prison sentence
Who do the police target?
-Those who look stereotypically like a ‘typical criminal’ e.g young, male, lower class, black
-Those who are engaged in street crime in public places, rather than crimes of the rich
-People of all classes do commit crime but WC crime is far more visible and easier to convict
What did Croall identify about W/C areas?
Areas with a high concentration of w/C homes are subject to more intense policing
Which suspects are usually targeted?
The ‘usual suspects’ from lower classes are targetted
What happens when lower classes are taken to court?
The lower classes are more likely to be sent to prison as they are seen as more likely to reoffend.
What did Croall argue inprisonment is influenced by (3)?
-Parental status
-Area in which convicted person lives in
-Unemployment
What did Sutherland call crimes of the middle class?
White-collar crime
What is occupational crime?
Crime committed by the middle class who abuse their work position for personal gain
What is Corporate crime?
Crime committed by large companies which directly benefits the company resulting in increased profits.
Why are white collar crimes underrepresented in official stats?
-Hard to detect; lack of awareness
-Often without individual victims
-Hard to investigate
-Rarely prosecuted
-Less likely to be found guilty if prosecuted
