social class and crime

Question 1

what 4 ways do official statistics show the WC as more likely to offend than MC

Answer 1

1. functionalism sees crime as the product of inadequate socialisation into a shared culture
2. strain theory argues that the class structure denies WC people opportunity to achieve by legitimate means
3. subcultural theory
4. labelling theory

Question 2

what is working class crime

Answer 2

capitalism is based on the exploitation of the WC for profit so poverty may mean crime is the only way some can survive, crime may be the only way of getting consumer goods encouraged by capitalist advertising and alienation may cause frustration / aggression leading to non utilitarian crime

Question 3

what does ruling class crime do

Answer 3

it encourages capitalists to commit corporate crimes

Question 4

what do marxists believe about capitalism

Answer 4

it’s criminogenic

Question 5

what is the state and law making

Answer 5

CHAMBLISS states that laws protect private property are a cornerstone of the capitalist economy. SNIDER argues that capitalist states are reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businesses or threaten their profitability

Question 6

what is selective enforcement

Answer 6

marxists believe that although all classes commit crime, when it comes to application of the law by the justice system, there is SE. while groups like WC and ethnic minorities are criminalised, the police and court tend to ignore the crimes of the powerful

Question 7

ideological functions

Answer 7

PEARCE theorises that laws give capitalism a ‘caring’ face and creates a false consciousness among workers, because the state enforces the law selectively so crime appears to be a largely WC phenomenon which divides WC due to how it encourages workers to blame criminals in their midst for their problems rather than capitalism

Question 8

neo marxism view on crime

Answer 8

taylor et al criticise marxists for economic determinism and see crime as meaningful choices from the person, they argue that crime often has a political motive and how criminals are not puppets whose behaviour is shaped by capitalism

Question 9

in what 5 ways do you understand crime in society from the “fully social theory of deviance”

Answer 9

1. the wider origins of the deviant act - unequal distribution of wealth and power in capitalist society
2. immediate origins of the deviant acts - the context in which they individual decides to commit the act
3. the act itself - its meaning for the person
4. immediate origins of social reaction - the reactions of those around the deviant act
5. the wider origins of social reaction - who has the power to define actions as deviant and to label others, and why some acts are threatened more harshly than others
6. the effects of labelling - what effects does the deviant act have on future actions

Question 9

what sociologist talks about white collar and corporate crime

Answer 9

leighton

Question 9

what does leighton say about crime

Answer 9

argues that crime committed by MC is less likely to be treated as an offence and there’s a much higher rate of prosecution for typical ‘street crimes’ that WC commit

Question 10

what does box say about crime

Answer 10

argues that if a company cannot achieve its goal of maximising profit by legal means, it may employ illegal ones instead

Question 10

what are the 5 explanations of invisibility of corporate crime

Answer 10

1. the media - gives very limited coverage, reinforcing the stereotype that crime is a WC phenomenon
2. lack of political will to tackle corporate crime - politicians rhetoric of being ‘tough on crime’ only applies to ‘street crime’
3. crimes are complex - law enforcers are often understaffed , under resourced and have a lack of technical expertise
4. delabelling - at the level of laws and legal regulations, corporate crime is consistently filtered out from the process of criminalisation
5. underreported - individuals may be unaware they’ve been victimised