Class and Crime Flashcards
What did Pearce and Tombs introduce? (4)
There are different types of corporate crime which are: Financial offences, Manufacturing offences, Labour law violations and Environmental offences.
What are financial offences?
These are offences like tax evasion etc. E.G: tax fraud.
What are Manufacturing offences?
These involve offences like incorrect lavelling or false advertising. E.G: Labelling horse meat as beef.
What are labour law violations?
Offences that neglect health and safety regulations etc. E.G: Nike pay people cheaply, Holocaust
What are environmental offences?
These involve damage to the environment includinf pollution to the land or water.
E.G: BP Oil spill in Mexico.
Why are white collar crimes more harmful to society? (3)
Pearce + Tombs: corporate crime has enormous costs.
Carrabine: high status professionals have opportunities to abuse their trust like Lucy Letby.
Sutherland: makes crimes of the poferful a greater threat because it promotes distrust of basic social institutions.
Why are crimes of the powerful invisible? (4)
Hidden from view - takes place in the workplace.
Difficult to detect and investigate - involves knowledge that police forces lack.
Often victimless - impersonal, like a company or public at large.
Less media coverage - when it is covered, sanitised language is used.
What are explanations for corporate crime? (3)
Strain theory
Differential theory
Labelling theory
What is the strain theory and who argued this? (2)
Merton.
M/C are able to legitimately achieve social goals but they may have relative deprivation.
They want more of what other successful people have so they turn to corporate crimes.
What is the differential theory and who argued this? (1)
Sutherland.
If people associate themselved with others who commonly support illegal activities they are more likely to commit crime themselves.
What is the labelling theory and who argues this? (2)
Nelken: these offences are more likely yo escape labelling as ‘criminal’ because they are often similar to normal business practices.
Croall: corporate crime is not accompanied by a direct intent to cause harm like breaches of health and safety are not intended to kill or injure.
What are limitations of the explanations used? (2)
Very deterministic and assumes that all corporations commit crimes.
Doesn’t account for crimes that aren’t done for money, like Lucy Letby.
