Social Class and Crime Flashcards
Give 6 reasons why there may be a divide in social class and crime
- Crime statistics - 41% in prison are from the lower working class
- WC face relative deprivation
- Marginalisation - Social exclusion
- Subcultures - A reaction to marginalisation and deprivation
- Middle class appear less criminal
- Statistics are false and can’t be trusted
Define relative deprivation
When individuals don’t receive the perceived needs of society (e.g. designer clothes) so turn to crime to get them
Give an example of why the WC dominate prison (crime statistics) and conflicting evidence
- They’re targeted by authorities so are more likely to be found committing a crime
- Government and authorities argue that it’s due to the WC being more deviant
Give an example of relative deprivation and conflicting evidence
Theft - Stolen clothes, games etc.
Deterministic - Not all WC steal
Give an example of subcultures and conflicting evidence
Criminal subcultures. Can be linked to status frustration because they commit crime to prove themselves
Subcultures only make up a small percentage of crime in the UK
Give an example of middle class crime and conflicting evidence
Usually corporate crime
Crime figures. There’s been an increase in white collar crime so more is being caught yet WC still make up 41% of prison populations
Give an example of how crime statistics are false and conflicting evidence
Dark figure of crime (marxists - statistics are manufactured by the government/police)
-Positivists - Disagree with interpretivists because they provide a macro view
