3.2 social class and crime

Question 1

What background are most criminals from?

Answer 1

• WC backgrounds
• there are more WC people in prison than any other social class

Question 2

What does Newburn argue about social class and crime?

Answer 2

• tends to focus on the crimes of the powerless, rather than the crimes of the powerful
• official statistics show that WC people are main offenders, particularly the lower class (underclass)

Question 3

What does Sutherland argue?

Answer 3

• crime is not just a WC phenomenon, but widespread throughout all sections of society
• introduced ideas of white-collar crime and corporate crime to describe offences committed by the more affluent in society

Question 4

What is an example opf white collar crime?

Answer 4

• 1992, Nick Leeson began making unauthorised trades, which initially made large profits for Barings Bank
• but he used the bank’s money to make bets on the market in an attempt to recoup his trading losses

Question 5

What are the 6 types of corporate crime the Slapper and Tombs identify?

Answer 5

1. paperwork and non-compliance
2. environmental/green crimes
3. manufacturing offences
4. labour law violations
5. unfair trade practices
6. financial offences

Question 6

What is meant by paperwork and non-compliance corporate crime?

Answer 6

• offecnces such as where correct permits/licences aren’t obtained

Question 7

What is an example of paperwork and non-compliance corporate crime?

Answer 7

The Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in 1987 - a cross-channel ferry capsized in a calm sea; 193 people died as the rules for closing the bow doors hadn’t been given

Question 8

What is meant by environmental/green corporate crimes?

Answer 8

• damage to the environment either deliberately or through negligence

Question 9

What is meant by manufacturing corporate crime?

Answer 9

• offences such as the incorrect labelling/misrepresentation of products and false advertising, producing unsafe articles, and producing counterfeit goods

Question 10

What is meant by labour law violation corporate crime?

Answer 10

• neglect of health and safety regulations, failing to pay legally required minimum wages, and causing/concealing industrial diseases

Question 11

What is meant by unfair trade practicem corporate crime?

Answer 11

• false advertising and anti-competitive practices, such as price fixing and illegally obtaining information on rival businesses

Question 12

What is meant by financial offence corporate crime?

Answer 12

• tax evasion and concealment of losses and debts

Question 13

What is an example of an corporate crime with financial offence?

Answer 13

• in 2012, global companies like Amazon and Starbucks came under attack in the Uk for failing to pay their fair share of taxes, through using various illegal offshore financial centres where taxes were lower than in the UK

Question 14

How do Clarke and Croall explain the under-representation of white collar and corporate crime?

Answer 14

• these offences are relatively invisible, as they take place in the workplace
• corporate coverups mean some offences may never actually be discovered

Question 15

What are some other reasons why white collar and corporate crimes are under-represented?

Answer 15

• they are often without personal/individual victims; the victims appear impersonal as there is less obvious harm
• they are hard to investigate; the investigation requires a lot of skill and expert knowledge, which local; and even national police forces may lack, and this makes the extent and duration of offending hard to discover
• often there is a lack of awareness that a crime has been committed and therefore it is not reported