Social class and crime

Question 1

right realists view on working-class crime

Answer 1

Murray- the working class fail to socalise their children properly a welfare deprendancy 
broken window theory of deprived areas leading to crime

Question 2

evaluation of right realist view

Answer 2

ignores the financial aspect of crime and that’s based on an unfair stigma that single parents fail to adequately discipline and socialize children and raise them in delinquent areas.

similarly, it ignored the issues of corporate crimes. middle-class citizens according to their theory would be adequately socialized so why do they commit crimes?

Question 3

left realist view of WC crime

Answer 3

take crime stats seriously
lea and young- relative deprivation want more especially influence of media to feel they are entitled to material goods so turn to crime. similar to strain theory
HOWEVER, it is a lethal mix of individualism and rel dep which leads to crime as people act more selfishly feel less connected the society they are in to commit crimes to it

Question 4

evaluations of the left realist view of crime

Answer 4

not everyone conforms to the same value consensus that leads to this deprivation. not everyone who feels deprived will commit a crime. It’s not as deterministic as left realists make out

Question 5

Marxist view of working-class crime

Answer 5

Davis-  selective law enforcement
as crime is criminogenic it forces the wc to commit crimes due to the inequality of capitalism. in turn, the WC are imprisoned to neutralise the threat. to the capitalist system whereas the ruling class doesn't threaten the system.

chambliss saints and roughnecks

Question 6

evaluation of Marxist view of wc crime

Answer 6

Bernie Madoff- ran the largest. Ponzi scheme in history worth around $64.8 was found guilty and imprisoned

neo Marxists- the crime of WC is voluntary and its for apolitical purpose

Question 7

labeling theory view on working-class crime

Answer 7

cicourel- tipifications
police hold pre-conceived notions and bias’ of what they think ‘ a typical criminal’ with a lot of class-based stereotypes based on how people dress and usually police more deprived areas more heavily. therefore they target more WC people in the middle class. There is a high proportion of black families in poverty with 50% single parents and 90% headed by mothers

black men 6 times more likely to be stopped and searches

leads to secondary devienace and a master status of WC

Question 8

criticism of labeling

Answer 8

right realists would argue that these sterotypes are based off of truth rather than the leabelcoming first the high rates of crime from the WC came first leading to factually backed up stereotypes of criminals

Question 9

functionalism view on WC crime

Answer 9

mertons strain theory. WC cant achieve society’s goals by legitimate means so have to find illegal means to get them
ex Camden new jersey’s poorest city in the US. due to loss of means (manufacturing industry and shipyard) therefore they have the highest crime rate per capita mostly drug dealing to achieve goals (innovation)

cohen builds on: this status frustration to explain why the WC commit non utilitarian crime. join subultures and challenge mainstream values to gain status.

Question 10

Examples of rulling class crime being ignored

Answer 10

C. Bard case
fitted faulty heart catheters killing 2 injuring 7
3 men were found guilty but not one spent 1 night in jail

Question 11

how many people prior to imprisonment were unemployed (reiner)

Answer 11

74%

Question 12

what % of children in youth detention centers were from middle class back grounds (haggell and newburn )

Answer 12

8%

Question 13

what is hirschi’s control theory? (form of right realism)

Answer 13

argued that most people are rational in actions. most people don’t commit crime because they have 4 controls on their lives

• attarchemnet
• commitment
• involvement
• belief

ex having a good career would mak it less likely someone would commit a crime. therfoer wc are more likely to commit crime

Question 14

example of union carbide

Answer 14

bhopal disater skilled nearly 250,000 people after a toxic explosion of pesticides

company moved to india due to more relaxed health adn saftey laws s well as cheaper labour

compensated 47 million and took until 2010 to imprison 7 who were only incarerated for 2 years

Question 15

example of kpmg

Answer 15

admitted to criminal wrongdoing paid 465 fine forits role in tax fraud schemes and avioded criminal prosecution

Question 16

types of corporate crimes:

Answer 16

• financial like tax evasion
• crimes against consumers
• crimes against employees
• crimes against envrioments
• state corpoerate crimes

Question 17

why are corporate crimes invidisble

Answer 17

the media doenst cover it reinforcing that crime is a working class phenomenia
if coroprate crimes is reported on it has sanitised language 

delabelling criminal cases given fines not jail

under-reporting due to unidentificable indivuals at fault

Question 18

strain theory explanation of corporate crime

Answer 18

box used mertions strain theory to apply to corporate crime
arguing if a company cannot achieve its goal of maximisng rpmfot by legal means they many employ illegal ones to get profits back up

Question 19

differential associastion explaniation og corpoate crimes

Answer 19

sutherland sees crime as being a reaction to someoens social surroundings

therefore if a business’s culture legitimises commiiting crimes. to achieve its goals its employees are more likely to join in

this may to donw to the fact that employees can get away with breaking the law by balming the command on top officials

Question 20

labelling view on white collar crime

Answer 20

as cicourel aruges the middle classes can get away with crimes due to being able to negotaite thier way out of the crime

nelken argues that white collar crime can be delabbled by being able to afford expensive lawyers who can win them a case and then de-label them as criminasl which other poorer business cannot do

Question 21

marxist view on white collar crime

Answer 21

criminogenic capitalism: capitalism creates comeptition between businesses leading htem to commit crimes to beat competetors

box also argues that capitalism mystifies crime ie. makes white collar crimes to be less widespead and harmfull than woring class crime

Question 22

criticsm of stains’ explaination

Answer 22

nelken argues that this overpreprest how muc business crime happens. and it alludes to the idea that all businesses would commit crime if there were no cosneqeunces, however this is worn gmany companiesdont commit criems due to wanting to keep their reputation of their business

Question 23

criticsm of the marxist view of white collar crime

Answer 23

doesnt explain white collar crime that doesnt give peopel money such as criems of the police or the civil service