Social class and crime
- Created by: Heather_gulliver
- Created on: 21-05-21 08:53
View mindmap
- Social Class and crime
- Types of crime
- Working class
- street crime
- theft
- Assault
- Shop lifting
- Middle Class
- white collar crime
- Cyber Crime
- Corporate crime
- Working class
- Edgework: Katz
- suggests that engaging in White collar crime can also links to the edgework and adrenaline aspect
- Messerchmidt - middle class men who engage in white collar crime may do so to show their masculinity
- Trends:
- prison population is made up more of working class than middle class
- Rational choice
- the middle class have more opportunity to commit white collar crime
- the middle class are more likely to have the better jobs which allows the access to higher crime which has more benefit than petty crimes
- Labelling theory:
- Becker - the working class are unfairly treated by the criminal justice system
- the working classes are less likely to be able to have someone represent themselves and are unable to negotiate by themselves
- labelling theories reject that official statistics are a useful resource to explain which class commits more crime
- labelling theorists focus on how and why the working class people come to be labelled as criminal
- they emphasize that the stereotype of "typical criminal" and the powers are the reason for these labels
- Becker - the working class are unfairly treated by the criminal justice system
- control theory: Murray
- the underclass is responsible for the majority of street crime
- Hirschi - the underclass are more likely to lack impulse control and bonds which prevent crime
- Bond theory: 1.Belief 2.Attachment 3.commitment 4.involvement
- Criminogenic Capitalism
- Gordon
- Capitalism not only encourages the working class to commit crime by creating a culture of envy and hostility.
- they commit utilitarian crime to survive the society and commit non-utilitarian crime to show their frustration with the society
- poverty means crime is the only way W/C can survive
- Capitalism not only encourages the working class to commit crime by creating a culture of envy and hostility.
- Gordon
- Strain theory (Merton):
- Reiner explains working class crime by using Merton's strain theory
- he also explains middle class crime as he says that there is no limit to financial or material success so even those who are successful can feel strain
- Reiner explains working class crime by using Merton's strain theory
- Subcultural theories
- Cohen sees W/C youths as culturally deprived and haven't been socialized into M/C mainstream culture
- due to this, they feel at the bottom of the status hierarchy
- this rises the W/C feeling of status frustration which can lead to committing crimes
- as a result, they might join delinquent subcultures to express their status frustration
- this rises the W/C feeling of status frustration which can lead to committing crimes
- due to this, they feel at the bottom of the status hierarchy
- Cloward and Ohlin: Illegitimate opportunity structures
- those W/C who fail due to lack of opportunity
- They identify in a criminal subculture that offers criminal careers
- those W/C who fail due to lack of opportunity
- Cohen sees W/C youths as culturally deprived and haven't been socialized into M/C mainstream culture
- Types of crime
Comments
No comments have yet been made