Social Class

Question 1

Newburn (2007) -

Answer 1

sociology of crime and deviance tended to focus on the crimes of the powerless than the powerful.

Question 2

Sutherland (1949)

Answer 2

sought to show crime was not just a working class phenomenon , but was widespread through all sections of society

Question 3

what is the difference between white-collar and cooperate crime?

Answer 3

white collar crime is individuals who abuse their work positions for personal gain.

cooperate crime (defined by Slapper and Tombs, 1999) as offences committed by large companies , benefitting the company as opposed to the individual.

Question 4

What were the 6 types of crime Slapper and Tombs identified?

Answer 4

1.paper work and non-compliance
2.green crime
3.manufacturing offences
4.labour law violations
5.unfair trade practices
6.financial offences.

Question 5

explain reasons why white collar/cooperate crime is underrepresented in official statistics.

Answer 5

hard to detect - Clarke (1990) said these offences are relatively invisible.

often without individual victims- Croall (2007) less ‘blood on the streets’

lack of awareness- Croall (2007) - victims may not realise they’ve been defrauded/mislead

better chance of being found not guilty due to middle class background

Question 6

how does strain theory and relative deprivation explain white collar/cooperate crime?

Answer 6

despite legitimate opportunities not actually being blocked , they experience a sense of relative deprivation and want more than they can achieve through legitimate means - fueled further by greed and power.

Question 7

how do marxists explanations explain white collar/cooperate crime?

Answer 7

Box (1983) argued cooperate crime is driven by criminogenic capitalism.

Need to maintain profits in increasingly global market, if it can’t be achieved legally, it will be done so through illegal means.

e.g company Enron

Question 8

how can the seduction of crime and ‘edgework’ explain white collar/cooperate crime?

Answer 8

Katz (1988) argued crime can be a seductive and pleasurable experience.
Nelken (2012) cited evidence showing that young men enjoy high risk situations.

Question 9

how can the labelling theory explain white collar/cooperate crime?

Answer 9

those who partake in the crime are more likely to escape the labelling as ‘criminal’- often similar to usual business practices

Croall (2007)- cooperate crime not seen to have aim of direct harm , so seen as less criminal.