Crime and social class Flashcards
1
Q
Social class and crime
A
- Newburn (2007) - sociological studies of crime focus on the crimes of the powerless - official statistics show that most offenders are WC
- Sutherland (1983) - fought to show that crime was not just a WC phenomenon and was widespread throughout society, introducing the ideas of corporate and white-collar crime, suggesting that many affluent offenders remain undetected, unreported or unrecorded
2
Q
WC crime: crimes in the streets
A
- predominantly working-class young males (both black and white) living in WC communities who appear to be the main offenders of crimes
3
Q
Reasons why official statistics show that most crime is committed by the WC
A
- strain theory and anomie means that the WC are more likely to turn to crime to achieve social goals
- poverty and social deprivation are most common in the WC
- WC more likely to be dealt with formally (arrested, prosecuted) for minor offences than MC, who may be dealt with by family or school
- WC people commit more detectable offences
- white-collar and corporate crimes remain undetected or are dealt with outside the CJS
- labelling, stereotyping and prejudice means the police more more likely to heavily police and harshly treat the WC
- status frustration is felt more by lower WC youth and there may ne a culture of risk-taking and excitement aggravated by boring work or lack of work
- marginality and social exclusion means the WC have reduced bonds integrating them into mainstream society
4
Q
Theoretical explanations for WC crime
A
- Strain and anomie (Merton) - block opportunities lead to innovation to achieve success
- Subcultural theories (Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin, Miller) - status frustration, focal concerns, peer group status and delinquent subcultures
- Control theory (Hirschi) - lack of integration and social bonds
- Marxist/neomarxist theories (Gordon, Chambliss, Box, Snider, Pearce, Gilroy, Taylor, Watson and Young, Hall) - criminogenic capitalism, crime as response to inequality, oppression and deprivation, selective law enforcement, distraction from crimes of the powerful
- Labelling theory (Becker, Cicourel, Lemert) - WC offenders more likely to be labelled negatively
- Left realism (Lea and Young, Young) - relative deprivation, marginalisation and subcultures combined, media-saturated bulimic society, social exclusion, lack of opportunities
- Right realism/rational choice and opportunity/New Right (Murray, Cornish and Clarke) - poor socialisation, workshy welfare dependent underclass and lack of opportunity make crime a rational choice
- Postmodernism (Lea, Henry and Milovanovic, Katz, Lyng) - crime committed for pleasure, edgework in boring lives due to social exclusion
5
Q
Evaluation for theoretical explanations of WC crime
A
- don’t give a reason why all those in the same circumstances (WC) do not turn to crime (most don’t)
- widespread evidence of crime committed by members of other social classes which may be undetected or unrecorded, so the suggestion that most criminals are WC may be exaggerated
6
Q
White collar and corporate crime
A
- Timmer and Eitzen (1989) described white collar and corporate crimes as ‘crimes in the suites’ in contrast to more familiar and visible ‘crimes in the streets’
- Pearce (1976) called these ‘crimes of the powerful’
- often the amounts of money involved are so colossal and the potential harm is so serious that they dwarf the everyday crimes committed by WC offenders
7
Q
Croall (2007) - distinction between white-collar crime and corporate crime (can be used interchangeably or described as ‘economic crime’)
A
- white-collar crime - sometimes called occupational crime - committed by MC individuals who abuse their work positions for personal gain at the expense of employers, clients or the government
- corporate crime - sometimes called organisational crime - defined by Slapper and Tombs (1999) as offences committed by large companies, or individuals acting on behalf of them, which directly benefit the company rather than individuals through increased profit or survival of the organisation
8
Q
Examples of white-collar crime
A
- bribery, corruption, fraud, embezzlement, professional misconduct etc
- Croall (2007) - points out crimes committed by doctors against the NHS who falsify records and prescriptions to claim money - 1 doctor made over £700,000 over 5 years through writing fake prescriptions
- Lord Conrad Black, former owner of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, was jailed for 6.5 years in the US in 2007 for defrauding shareholders of his company for private gain
- in 2012, a City trader in London was jailed for 7 years after gambling money in unauthorised off-the-book deals which cost the bank UBS more than £1.5 billion
- Donald Trump convicted this year of paying hush money and committing 33 other crimes during his presidential campaign in 2016, including falsifying business record
9
Q
Examples of corporate crime - 6 types identified by Slapper and Tombs - type 1
A
- paperwork and non-compliance - correct permits or licenses are not obtained, or failure to comply with health and safety or legal regulations eg Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in 1987 when a channel ferry capsized because rules about closing doors were not complied with or in 2015 Volkswagon illegally fitted 11 million cars with a device aimed at cheating emissions tests
10
Q
Examples of corporate crime - 6 types identified by Slapper and Tombs - type 2
A
- Environmental (or ‘green’) crimes - pollution, illegal dumping of substances etc eg Shell currently facing charges for pollution, oil spills, gas flaring and more in Nigeria in human rights courts
11
Q
Examples of corporate crime - 6 types identified by Slapper and Tombs - type 3
A
- Manufacturing offences - incorrect labelling or misrepresentation, producing unsafe goods etc eg inadequate testing of morning-sickness drug thalidomide in late 50s and early 60s led to thousands of birth defects and the 2013 horse meat scandal in beef products across Europe (Tesco, Waitrose, Burger King and catering suppliers to schools and more)
12
Q
Examples of corporate crime - 6 types identified by Slapper and Tombs - type 4
A
- labour law violations - neglect of health and safety, failure to pay legal wages, industrial diseases etc - eg P and O ferries have recently been discovered to have paid some workers less than half the UK minimum wage
13
Q
Examples of corporate crime - 6 types identified by Slapper and Tombs - type 5
A
- Unfair trade practices - false advertising, price fixing and other anti-competitive practices eg in 2011 UK supermarkets and dairy companies were fined £50 million for fixing the price of milk and cheese
14
Q
Examples of corporate crime - 6 types identified by Slapper and Tombs - type 6
A
- Financial offences - eg tax evasion, concealment of losses and debts eg in 2012 Amazon and Starbucks both came under fire in the UK for failing to pay their fair share of taxes
15
Q
Reasons for the underrepresentation of white-collar and corporate crime
A
- Clarke (1990) points out that these offences are relatively invisible as offenders appear to be doing their normal jobs
- crimes may be covered up, never discovered or only discovered once the damage has been done
- Croall (2007) points out that they have less obvious personal harm and victims are not individual people so these crimes are ‘complaintless’
- may benefit both parties involved eg in bribery and corruption
- hard to investigate - may require insider or technical knowledge
- Croall (2007) - victims may be unaware that they are being misled or defrauded (eg in horse meat scandal 2013) or blame themselves for being gullible
- they may not be prosecuted or are dealt with by other agencies (Office of Fair Trading, Environment Agency etc) rather than the CJS
- offenders have a higher chance of being found not guilty (eg due to labels, stereotypes, education etc)
