THEORIES OF CRIME - SOCIAL CLASS Flashcards
(29 cards)
what sociologists talk about social class and crime?
marxists
what type of crime do marxists focus on?
white collar crime
what 4 things do we have to rememeber for white collar crime?
definition and types of WCC
what marxists argue about them
findings of Goldthorpe and White
risk and white collar crime
what is white collar crime?
also known as corporate crime and are crimes committed by the powerful, rarely goes unpunished and is less visible
who found the two types of WCC?
Croall
what types of WCC are there?
- occupational - done by people during their jobs
- corporate - carried out by businesses to increase profits
- state crime- war/genocide
what 2 marxists argue something about white collar crime?
Box
Tombs
what does Box argue about WCC?
crime is defined by focusing on WC e.g. theft is shoplifting not fraud
Box argues that WC crime causes..
more harm to society, but it is ingored
what does Tombs argue about WC crime?
scale of unlawful workplace deaths outweigh number of homicides, therefore many ppl died in workplace have been ignored
what were the findings of Goldstraw and White when studying WC criminals?
don’t see themselves as criminals through semi-structured int
due to the fact they don’t harm anyone
who found that WC criminals don’t see themselves as criminals?
Goldstraw and White
what did the offences range from in Goldstraw and White’s study?
£18m to £100m
how is risk related to WC crime?
gamble or risk of money adds to the appeal of WCC
who studied risk and WCC?
Friedrichs
Friedrichs states that big businesses…
make decisions based on cost and benefit e.g. lack of health and safety
Friedrich says it is highly immoral…
to weigh profit to life, but is seen as a central role in big businesses
how can the Marxist view and WCC be criticised?
Realists - ordinary ppl frightened of street crime, marxists over-emph WCC, rather accept the fact most crim are WC
what 2 explanations are there of WCC?
- differential association
2. personality-based approaches
what is differential association?
how frequently someone is exposed to deviant acts leads them on deviant act
how did Sutherland link differential association to WWC?
increasing businesses resort to crim practices, therefore it is no longer deviant and WCC is seen as appropriate
what are personality based approaches?
traits linked to success can also be like to criminality
what is an example of a personality trait that can lead to crime?
successful ppl are ambitious
means that they can be dishonest and be prepared to read on others to get to the top
what is there a lack of in WCC?
personal morality
