Class, Power and Crime Flashcards
Why are functionalist, strain and subcultural theories called ‘problem takers’?
They take for granted that the official statistics are broadly accurate and that working‐class crime is the problem that needs to be explained.
Identify three ways in which capitalism can be said to be criminogenic.
It produces poverty, so the poor turn to crime to meet their basic needs; advertising fuels the
desire for goods that people cannot afford; capitalism encourages success at all costs among
capitalists; it produces alienation among workers, which may be expressed in violent or antisocial
behaviour.
How does the study of East Africa by Chambliss support the Marxist view of crime?
By showing how the law was used to coerce the population into working on the British colonists’
plantations.
Identify two ways in which crime and they law perform an ideological function for capitalism.
Blame is attached to working‐class criminals and so divides the working class; some laws (e.g.
health and safety) appear to benefit the working class, giving capitalism a ‘caring face’;
occasionally prosecuting capitalists makes it seem as if there is not one law for the rich and one
for the poor.
Explain the difference between deterministic and voluntaristic views of behaviour.
A deterministic view of behaviour suggests that crime is caused by external factors, such as
subcultures or poverty. A voluntaristic view of behaviour sees the criminal as having free will and
their crime is therefore the result of choice.
Explain why critical criminology has been accused of being too idealistic to be useful in tackling crime.
Because it romanticises working‐class crime as revolutionary, ignores the victims and does not suggest useful ways to tackle crime.
What is meant by the ‘correctionalist bias’ in some theories of crime?
The assumption made by some theories that the purpose of the sociological study of crime is to
find ways of correcting criminal or deviant behaviour.
What is Sutherland’s definition of White Collar crime?
Crime committed by persons of respectability and high social status in the course of their
occupations.
Explain the difference between Occupational crime and White Collar crime.
Occupational refers to crime committed by employees simply for their own personal gain, often
against the organisation for which they work. Corporate crime is committed by employees for
their organisation in pursuit of its goals.
Name three types of Corporate crime.
Financial crimes: crimes against consumers; crimes against employees, crimes against the
environment; state corporate crime.
Identify three reasons for the invisibility of Corporate crime.
Limited coverage given by the media; lack of political will; such crimes are often complex; delabelling
and under‐reporting.
