Social Distribution of Social Class Flashcards
What is trends of social class and crime?
- Prison population is made up from the working class who tend to commit blue collar crime
The higher up the social class hierarchy they are = - Less likely to be detected
- Less likely to be arrested
- Less likely to be prosecuted
- Less likely to be found guilty or receive a prison sentence
Are statistics accurate?
- Statistics on social class and crime may not be valid as police do not directly collect data of the social class of offenders
- However certain information can form data regarding class such as postcodes
What is blue collar crime?
- Crimes committed by people from a lower social class which involve immediate personal gain
What are example crimes of blue collar crime?
Theft, burglary, assault, shoplifting, vandalism
What is white collar crime?
- Croall argued white collar/occupational crime is when individuals abuse their work positions for personal gain at the expense of their employee
What are examples of white collar crime?
- Bribery
- Misconduct
- Fraud
- Embezzlement
What are contemporary examples of white collar crime?
- MP’s Expenses Scandal 2009
- Nicholas Levene Ponzi Scam
What is corporate crime?
- Slapper and Tombs argued that corporate/organisational crime is committed by large corporations or an individual on behalf of a company to benefit the company. This is an illegal act or omission that is a result of a decision or negligence
What are contemporary examples of corporate crime?
- Grenfell Disaster
- BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster 2010
- Volkswagen Clean Emissions Scandal 2016
What is examples of corporate crime?
- Slapper and Tombs found 5 different types of corporate crime =
1. State corporate
2. Financial
3. Crimes against environment
4. Crimes against employees
5. Crimes against consumers
What are types of corporate crime?
- Financial Crimes = Tax evasion, bribery, money laundering
- Crimes against consumers = False labelling and selling unfit goods
- Crimes against employees = Discrimination, neglect of health and safety
- Crimes against the environment = Illegal pollution, toxic waste dumping
- State corporate crimes = Harm committed when government cooperate to pursue their gaols
How is the Grenfell Disaster an example of corporate crime?
- In June 2017, 72 people were killed and many injured due to the gross negligence of the government corporations yet no one has been prosecuted
What are theories that explain why working class people are more likely to be involved in crime?
- Selective law enforcement and making
- Merton’s Strain Theory
- Labelling
- Subcultural
What are the reasons why working class people are more likely to be involved in crime?
- Invisibility of White Collar and Corporate Crime
- Social Deprivation Theory
What does Croall argue about the invisibility of white collar and corporate crime?
- Croall highlights how white collar crime is committed by the wealthy and powerful and therefore less visible, under policed and underreported compare do crimes associated with working class
- This creates a public perception that crime is predominantly working class phenomenon
What are reasons why white collar and corporate crime is invisible?
- Clarke and Croall argue that it is hidden from view and hard to detect it is occurring
- Croall argues that they are victimless crimes
- Crimes may benefit both parties involved
- It is hard to investigate
- Lack of awareness from the victims
- Not guilty verdicts
How does the invisibility explain working class crime?
- Societal focus on WC crime reinforces stereotypes leads to over-policing of deprived communities. They are more visible and likely to result in arrest
- However white collar crime is overlooked and treated leniently which affects the perception of working class criminalisation
What is the social deprivation theory?
- This theory links crime to the structural disadvantages of poverty, unemployment, inadequate housing and lack of education
- It argues that these conditions foster environments where crime becomes a rational response to limited opportunities
How does the social deprivation theory explain working class crime?
- These structural disadvantages means that they do not have many legal avenues to turn to to improve their circumstances therefore leads to an increasing in working class crime. Social deprivation increases the likelihood and creates an environment where social norms are weakened
What is an evaluation of the social deprivation theory?
- There is an insufficient explanation as it does not explain why people in the same circumstances do different things
- Theories exaggerate working class crime however it is based on invalid statistics to begin with
What are theories to explain white collar and corporate crime?
- Rational Choice
- Merton’s Strain Theory
- Criminogenic Capitalism
- Hegemonic Masculinity
- Hirschi’s control theory
What are the two theories to explain white collar and corporate crime?
- Opportunity
- Edgework
What is the opportunity theory?
- Focuses on the availability of opportunities as a key determinant of crime
- Argues individuals require motivation and access to the means of committing a crime
What are structural opportunities and what role do they play?
- Structural opportunities play a critical role in enabling white collar and corporate crime
- They have access to resources such as financial systems or market opportunities
- They also have a low risk of detection due to insufficient oversight or regulation
- They are able to exploit holes in the law or weak enforcement mechanisms
- Cultural normalisation means that these issues encourage deviance as it is normalised for how businesses act
Who proposes and what is the Edgework theory?
- Latz and Lyng proposed the Edgework theory which emphasized the role of risk taking and pursuit of excitement
- Individuals engaging in criminal behaviour do so to boundary push, thrill seek and mastery of dangerous situations
- This theory shifts the focus from material gain to the emotional experiences associated with crime
What are certain examples of the edgework theory?
- Emotional thrills = High stakes decisions and a sense of control
- Boundary Pushing = Test the limits of legality and ‘flirt’ with breaking the law
- Masculinity = Assert dominance through ideas of control and success
- Rationalised risk = Justify their actions by seeing the potential rewards as worth the danger of being caught
What is an evaluation of these theories to explain state and corporate crime?
- It explains the over-representation of WC crimes in official statistics
- Does not give reasons why not all individuals turn to corporate crime
- Marxist explanations fail to explain why corporate crimes are found in communist communities
