Social Class and Crime

Question 1

Define white collar crime

Answer 1

• Sometimes white collar and corporate crime are referred to as economic crime. - Sutherland coined the term white collar crime to describe crimes committed by middle class individuals who commit crime in their jobs.
• However, this doesn’t distinguish between different types of white collar crime.
  1) Occupational crime:
  Committed by employees for their own personal gain, often at the expense of the company they work for.
  2) Corporate crime/organisational crime:
  Committed by employees for the benefit of the company/organisation they work for.

Question 2

Why do the working class commit more crime according to functionalists theories?

Answer 2

Mertons Strain theory:
- Working class individuals are more likely to face strain.

Question 3

Why do the working class commit more crime according to subcultural theorists?

Answer 3

Cohens, status frustration:
- Working class boys suffer from strain and anomie due to their failure in education —> low status—> status frustration.

Question 4

Why do the working class commit more crime according to left realism?

Answer 4

Lea and Young, relative deprivation and marginalisation:
1.) Relative deprivation

Question 5

Why do the working class commit more crime according to right realism?

Answer 5

Murray, Poor socialisation:
- Growing reliance on welfare payments, resulting in an increase in lone parents.

Question 6

Why do the working class commit more crime according to interactionists?

Answer 6

Cicourel, Selective law enforcement:
- Police stereotypes, working class fit the stereotypes of who looks like a criminal
- More likely to be arrested.

Question 7

Why do the working class commit more crime according to Marxist theories?

Answer 7

Gordon:
- Crime amongst the working class is a rational response to capitalism because it causes poverty, social exclusion and exclusion, so the w/c turn to crime.

Question 8

What is white collar and corporate crime sometimes referred to as?

Answer 8

• White collar crime is sometimes referred to as economic crime.

Question 9

Who coined the term white collar crime and what was it coined for?

Answer 9

• Sutherland coined the term white collar crime to describe crimes committed by middle
  class individuals who commit crime in their jobs.
• However, this doesn’t distinguish between different types of white collar crime.

Question 10

What is occupational crime?

Answer 10

Occupational crime is crime committed by employees for their own personal gain, often at the expense of the company
they work for.

Question 11

What is corporate crime/organisational crime?

Answer 11

Corporate crime/organisational crime is crime committed by employees for the benefit of the company/organisation they work for.

Question 12

Why does white collar crime being hidden and hard to detect result in it being underrepresented?

Answer 12

HIDDEN AND HARD TO DETECT
- Croall points out that as many of these are in the workplace, individuals seem to simply be doing their jobs.
- White collar crimes are often
concealed by institutional protection and are rarely reported by the institution to
protect its reputation.
- Suspected individuals may be simply sacked.

Question 13

Why does white collar crime having no individual victims result in it being underrepresented?

Answer 13

NO INDIVIDUAL VICTIMS
- There is less obvious personal harm and victims appear impersonal, e.g. a company, the government.
- Clarke points out these are often complaintless crimes as there is no individual victim to report it, e.g. horsemeat scandal in supermarket burgers in 2013. - Many people were unaware they had been a victim until the crime was reported in the media.

Question 14

Why does white collar crime might have benefits to both parties involved result in it being underrepresented?

Answer 14

MAY BENEFIT BOTH PARTIES INVOLVED
- Both parties may try to conceal the offence.

Question 15

Why does white collar crime being hard to investigate result in it being underrepresented?

Answer 15

HARD TO INVESTIGATE
- Investigation often requires a lot of skill and expert knowledge
which many police forces may lack.

Question 16

Why does delabelling result in white collar crime being underrepresented?

Answer 16

DELABELLING
- Many corporate crimes lead to fines or enforcement notices rather than police action.
- This is often due to the efforts of high-priced lawyers.

Question 17

Why does a better chance of being found not guilty lead to white collar crime being underrepresented?

Answer 17

BETTER CHANCE OF BEING FOUND NOT GUILTY
- Most juries see criminals as working class, whilst defendants are often of the same background as judges and magistrates.
- They may appear more honest and respectable to juries and more likely to have their crimes
seen as temporary lapses in judgement.

Question 18

Why does the media lead to white collar crime being underrepresented?

Answer 18

THE MEDIA
- Limited reporting on corporate crime and describe it in non-criminal language,
e.g. embezzlement becomes ‘accounting irregularities’.

Question 19

Why does a lack of political will lead to white collar crime being underrepresented?

Answer 19

LACK OF POLITICAL WILL
- Politicians tend to focus on street crime. E.g. the Home Office has a crime survey for ‘everyday’ crime but does not have one for corporate crime.

Question 20

What are the 8 reasons for white collar crime being underrepresented?

Answer 20

1.) Hidden and hard to detect
2.) No individual victims
3.) May benefit both parties concerned
4.) Hard to investigate
5.) Delabelling
6.) Better chance of being found not guilty
7.) The media
8.) Lack of political will

Question 21

Why is corporate crime committed according to strain theory?

Answer 21

• Box argues that if a company cannot achieve its goal of maximising profit by legal means, it may employ illegal ones instead.
• Therefore, when business conditions become tougher, a
  company may use this form of innovation to maintain profits.

Question 22

Why is corporate crime committed according to differential association?

Answer 22

• Sutherland sees crime as learned from others.
• The more we associate with people with criminal attitudes, the more likely we are to be criminal.
• Therefore if a company’s workplace culture justifies committing crimes to achieve corporate goals, employees will be socialised into this criminality.
• The culture of business may also favour competitive, aggressive personality types who are willing to commit crime to achieve success.

Question 22

Why is corporate crime committed according to techniques of neutralisation?

Answer 22

• Matza argues individuals will be more likely to commit deviance if they can justify their behaviour.
• Therefore, corporate crime may occur because individuals may say they were just doing as they were told, that victims should have read the small print, or that everyone is doing it.
• Learning these techniques can be an important part of socialisation into a deviant corporate culture and therefore links with differential association.

Question 23

Why is corporate crime committed according to labelling theory?

Answer 23

• Croall notes corporate crime is often not intended to cause harm, even if it does, and therefore is seen as less criminal.
• Nelken points out that powerful individuals/corporations employ accountants and lawyers to
  redefine their crimes as non-criminal.
• This is known as de-labelling or non-labelling. This can be done by reducing the seriousness of charges, for example.
• By avoiding the attachment of the label criminal, it may encourage further crimes by reducing the risk associated with offending.
• In addition, law enforcement is reluctant, or unable (due to lack of resources for example), to
  investigate these crimes.

Question 24

Why is corporate crime committed according to the seduction of crime and edgework?

Answer 24

• Nelken looks at the world of high finance which shows a subculture in which thrill seeking, edgework and making hard choices in high risk situations is as important as the money itself.

Question 25

Why is corporate crime committed according to marxism?

Answer 25

• Corporate crime is inevitable in a capitalist society as the goal of capitalism is to maximise
  profits.
• Box argues capitalism has created a mystification, which is the idea that corporate crime is
  less widespread or harmful than working class crime.
• Capitalism controls the state which means it is able to avoid making or enforcing laws that
  conflict with its interests, e.g. tax avoidance loopholes.
• While some corporate crime is prosecuted, the majority is not.
• Pearce argues this maintains
  the illusion that not much corporate crime occurs.
• Box argues corporations are criminogenic because if they find legitimate opportunities for profit are blocked, they will resort to illegal techniques.
• Corporations comply with the law only if they see it enforced strictly.
• This means in developing countries there are high amounts of corporate crime, e.g. selling unsafe products.

Question 26

What are the criticisms of explanations for corporate crime?

Answer 26

• Doesn’t explain crime in non-profit making organisations, e.g. the police.
• Law abiding may be more profitable than law breaking, e.g. pharmaceutical companies that
  complied with regulations were able to access lucrative markets in developing countries.