C&D- CLASS & CRIME Flashcards
Why do police expectations of hooliganism and delinquency not fit with upper-class examples?
Police expectations of hooliganism and delinquency are often associated with working-class individuals, which doesn’t align with upper-class behavior.
Why are middle-class individuals treated differently by the police?
Middle-class individuals are not typically labeled as ‘troublemakers,’ and police tend to deal with them differently based on how they are dressed, their body language, etc.
What does selective enforcement of the law mean?
It refers to the different treatment that middle and upper-class delinquents receive from the police, as they are less likely to be charged or arrested.
How do middle and upper-class individuals manipulate the criminal justice system?
They use their cultural capital to deal with the police in a conciliatory manner, such as apologizing or offering to pay for damages, making justice more negotiable.
Why are crimes committed in the course of a person’s occupation hard to detect?
These crimes are often hidden, such as when patients die due to illness, making them difficult to identify as criminal acts.
Why don’t employers prosecute their employees for fraud?
Employers avoid prosecuting employees for fraud to prevent negative publicity or loss of public confidence.
Explanations for Working-Class Crime
How does Merton’s Functionalist strain theory explain working-class crime?
Merton argues that the working class faces barriers in achieving success through legitimate means, leading them to turn to crime to achieve societal goals.
How does Cohen’s Functionalist subcultural theory explain working-class crime?
Cohen suggests that working-class individuals suffer from status frustration, which leads them to join subcultures that may engage in criminal behavior.
How do Cloward & Ohlin explain working-class subcultures and crime?
Cloward & Ohlin argue that subcultures form in working-class neighborhoods where legitimate opportunities are scarce, which leads to criminal behavior as a means of success
What is Murray’s explanation of crime in the underclass?
Murray argues that the underclass is unable to socialize their children properly, leading to delinquency and criminal behavior.
How does traditional Marxism explain working-class crime?
Marxists argue that the working class breaks the law due to exploitation and frustration, committing both utilitarian and non-utilitarian crimes.
What is the New Criminology view on working-class crime?
Taylor, Walton, and Young argue that the working class chooses to break the law as a pro-revolutionary action against the ruling class.
How do Lea and Young explain working-class crime in Left Realism?
Lea and Young argue that relative deprivation and marginalization push working-class individuals to join subcultures, leading to criminal behavior.
How does Interactionism explain working-class crime?
Interactionism suggests that the working class is more likely to be labeled as criminal due to police stereotyping, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy and secondary deviance.
Why aren’t middle-class crimes typically labeled as criminal?
Middle-class individuals are less likely to be labeled as criminal, so the self-fulfilling prophecy (SFP) of criminality does not occur for them.
Explanations for Middle-Class Crime
How does Traditional Marxism explain middle-class crime?
Marxists argue that competition for profit in capitalism leads the ruling class to use corporate crime (CC) to maximize profits.
How does Box combine Marxism and Merton’s strain theory to explain corporate crime?
Box suggests that corporations may resort to criminal acts when their legitimate opportunities for profit are blocked, innovating to achieve profit goals illegally.
What does Clinard and Yeager’s study show about corporate crime?
Clinard and Yeager’s study shows that when profits fall, law violations by large companies increase, showing a willingness to innovate to achieve profit goals.
What are some criticisms of Marxism and Box’s theories on business crime?
Nelken argues that the need to maintain goodwill with other companies prevents corporations from committing crimes, and Marxists over-predict crime in capitalist states.
How does Left Realism explain middle-class crime?
Young suggests that relative deprivation is spreading to the middle class in late modernity, leading to crime, such as hate crimes.
How does Differential Association (Sutherland) explain middle-class crime?
Sutherland argues that crime is learned through social interactions, particularly in workplaces where individuals may be socialized into criminal behavior.
How do Sykes and Matza explain deviant behavior in middle-class crime?
Sykes and Matza argue that individuals justify their deviance through techniques of neutralization, such as saying they were just following orders or victim blaming.
What is de-labelling in relation to white-collar crime (WCC)?
De-labelling refers to the process where middle-class crimes are not treated as criminal offenses, allowing perpetrators to avoid prosecution and maintain their reputations.
White-Collar Crime (WCC) and Corporate Crime (CC)- What does Sutherland say about white-collar crime?
Sutherland defines white-collar crime as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation.
