22 - social lass and crime

Offender and Victim

Offender is the person who committed the crime, Victim is the individual harmed by the crime.

Strain

Refers to the strain theory developed by Merton. Suggesting that crimes occur when people have strain (no job).

Status

The position in which someone holds within society.

Rational choice

Theory that suggests people commit crimes after weighing the costs and benefits.

Criminogenic capitalism

The idea that capitalism leads to crime.

Transgressive

A type of behaviour where individuals go against social norms.

Cultural hegemony

A concept by Gramsci saying the ruling class dominate society and they maintain power by turning the working class against each other.

Legitimate political resistance

Forms of protest that challenge laws and policies but are legal.

Selective law enforcement

The idea that laws are applied unequally, targeting marginalized groups.

Corporate crime

Crimes committed by businesses or people within a business e.g. tax evasion.

Labelling

A theory by Becker that suggests crime and deviance are socially constructed. And once an individual is labelled as deviant they will become deviant.

Negotiation

How law enforcement and individuals interact, affecting whether someone is criminalized.

Did a study of the prison population and found that 74% of people in prison were unemployed or in low level jobs.

Reiner

Researched in Glasgow and found that 60% of people in prison grew up on council estates.

Houchin

Said that if an individuals ‘means’ are blocked they will experience ‘strain’.

Merton

Says that deviance occurs when people struggle to gain status.

Cohen

Says that if the benefit of the crime outweighs the downside then people are more likely to commit the crime.

Clarke

Says that people who are unemployed are more likely to risk the little they have by doing crime.

Hirschi

Said punks set out to deliberately shock people in society by adapting their style.

Hebdige

Spoke about ‘selective law enforcement’ and says that the working class are labelled as criminal to benefit the ruling class.

Gordon