Explaining Corporate Crime - Functionalism

Question 1

How can strain theory can used to explain corporate crime?

Answer 1

Businesses want the cultural goal (profit) but may have to turn to illegitimate means (crime) to achieve it

Question 2

What is differential association?

Answer 2

A culture of criminal behaviour exists within an organisation and is learned from others

Question 3

How can labelling theory be used to explain corporate crime?

Answer 3

Corporate crimes may be ‘de-labelled’ as crimes

Question 4

What is de-labelling?

Answer 4

Where businesses and professionals have the power to avoid criminal labels

Question 5

Why might corporate crimes be de-labelled?

Answer 5

May be de-labelled because white-collar criminals don’t match police stereotypes so cases go undetected and therefore aren’t caught or labelled

Question 6

Why does corporate crimes being re-defined as non-criminal reinforce the view that crime is a WC phenomenon?

Answer 6

Because the MC weren’t labelled and treated as criminals like the WC are when they commit crime

Question 7

Why are corporate crimes unpunished?

Answer 7

Not defined as a crime in the media - accident rather than crime

Under-reporting - many victims may not be aware they are the victims of a crime

Many corporate crimes are very complex to unravel

Can be very difficult to pinpoint exactly who is to blame

Class bias in the criminal justice system