Sociology Crime: Class, Power And Crime And Realist Theorys Flashcards
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Criminogenic capitalism WC
Marxists
-poverty may mean crime is the only way WC can survive
-alienation may lead to distraction and aggression leading to non-utilitarian crimes like violence
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Criminogenic define
By it’s very nature it causes crime
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Criminogenic capitalism MC
Marxists
-‘dog eat dog’ among competition while profit motives encourages greed
-win at any cost
-leading to white collar crimes like tax evasion
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Laws
Marxists
-laws are passed that appear to benefit the WC like safety laws
Pearce-argues such laws benefit ruling class too by keeping workers fit for work
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Critique of Marxists
-not all capitalist society’s have high crime rates like Japan has a homicide rate a fifth of the US
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Neo-Marxism-Critical criminology
Taylor
-disagrees with Marxism as it’s too deterministic e.g out of econmic necessity
-he states a more voluntaristic view
-see it as a meaningful action e.g to distribute wealth
-they’re trying to change society
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Critique of Critical criminology
-romanticises working class criminals as ‘Robin Hoods’ fighting capitalism by redistributing wealth
-but criminals mostly pray on the poor
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Occupational crime
Committed by employees simply for personal gain
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Corporate crime
Committed by employees for their business in pursuit of its goals
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Abuse of trust
-high status professionals occupy positions of trust and respectability
-e.g KPMG admitted in the USA to criminal wrongdoing and paid 456million for its role in tax fraud
Sociology crime: class,power and crime
Types of corporate crime
-financial crimes
-crimes against employees
-crimes against the environment
Sociology crime: explanations of corporate crime
Stain theory
Box
-if a company cannot achieve its goals of maximising profit by legal means it will break the law
Sociology crime: explanations of corporate crime
Differential association
Sutherland
-sees crime as behaviour learned from others
-the more we associate with people with criminal attitudes the more likely we are to deviate
-thus if a company’s culture justifies committing crimes to achieve goals employees will be socialised into crime
Sociology crime: explanations of corporate crime
Labelling theory
Nelken
-calls de-labelling when business and professionals have the power to avoid labelling for example they can afford expensive lawyers
Sociology crime: explanations of corporate crime
Marxist
Box
-‘mystification’ wide spread ideology that corporate crime is less harmful then working class crime
-capitalisms control over the state means it’s able to avoid laws that conflict with interest’s
Sociology crime: Realist theory’s
Right realism
-see crime as a real problem that destroys communities
-influential in UK and USA
-‘zero tolerance’
-Best way to reduce crime through control and punishment
Sociology crime: Right Realism
The Causes of Crime
Biological reasons
Wilson
-crime is caused by biological and social factors
-e.g traits such as aggressiveness and risk taking out some people at higher risk of offending
Murray agrees it’s due to low intelligence
Sociology crime: Right Realism
The Causes of Crime
Socialisation
Murray
-‘underclass’ people do not socialise their children properly
-walfare state has created dependency culture and decline in marriage and increase In lone parents
-lone parents can’t socialise children properly lack of discipline
Sociology crime: Right Realism
The causes of crime
Rational choice theory
Clarke
-argue the decision to commit crime is choice based on rational calculation of consequences
-if the rewards of crime out weight the costs then will be likely to offend
-argued the costs are low and therefore crime has increased
Sociology crime: Right Realism
Criticisms of right realism
-rational choice theory may explain utilitarian crime but not explain impulsive or violent crime
Lilly- IQ differences account for less then 3% of differences in offending
Sociology crime: Right Realism
Tackling crime
-seek practical measures to make crime less attractive
-advocate ‘zero tolerance’ policy
-controlling the streets so that law-abiding citizens feel safe
-huge reductions in crime after being introduced in New York
Sociology crime: Right Realism
Critique of zero tolerance
-preoccupied with petty street crime and ignore corporate crime which can be more costly and harmful
-gives police a chance to discriminate against minorities or youths
Sociology crime: left Realism
Genral
-like Marxists see society as unequal
-but reformists rather then revolutionists
-belive we need to find the explanations of crime that they can reduce it
Sociology crime: left Realism
Taking crime seriously
-taking crime seriously also involves recognising who is most affected by crime
-stats show disadvantaged groups have a greater risk of becoming victims
Sociology crime: left Realism
The causes of crime
Relative deprivation
Young
-how deprived someone feels in relation to others
-leads to crime to obtain what people feel they’re entitled to
-people are generally better off but due to media and advertisements rise everyone’s expectations for material possessions
Sociology crime: left Realism
The causes of crime
Relative deprivation
However
Young
-not just relative deprivation but on its own doesn’t lead to crime
-individualism is concern with the self rather then a group
-causes crime by encouraging the pursuit of self interests at the expense other
Sociology crime: left Realism
The causes of crime
Subculture
Young
-criminal subcultures still subscribe to the values and goals of mainstream society such as materialism
-USA ghettos are ‘immersed in the American dream: a culture hooked on Gucci and Nikes’
-can’t achieve these goals legitimately so resort to crime
Sociology crime: left Realism
The causes of crime
Late modernity, exclusion and crime
Young
-more insecurity and unemployment which has destabilised the family
-this has made inequality rich and poor with the widespread free market values encouraging individualisation increases relative deprivation
Sociology crime: left Realism
Tackling crime
Policing and control
Young
-they argue that the public must become more involved in determining the polices priorities
-the police depend on the public to provide them with information about crimes (90%)
-but the police are losing public support among ethic minority’s
Sociology crime: left Realism
And government policy
-influenced policy’s with new Labour in 1997-2010 of being ‘tough on crime, tough on causes of crime’
-firmer approach to policing hate crimes, sexual assaults and domestic violence
Sociology crime: left Realism
The causes of crime
Critiques
-interactionists belive left realists rely on quantative data meaning they cannot explain the offender motives
