Social Class and Crime

White Collar Crime

• When a person uses their job or company to commit a crime for personal gain.

• Examples:

  • Embezzlement

  • Fraud

  • Insider trading

Corporate Crimes

• Crimes committed by a company to increase profits and the company's standing.

• Examples:

  • Health and safety violations

  • Paying below minimum wage

Street Crimes (aka Blue Collar Crime)

• Examples:

  • Theft

  • Assault

  • Vandalism

  • Shoplifting

Trends in Social Class and Crime

• Prison Statistics:

  • Prison populations are disproportionately made up of individuals from the working class compared to the middle or upper classes.

• Types of Crime:

  • Working Class:

    • Street crimes (theft, assault, shoplifting)

  • Middle Class:

    • Mostly white-collar crime, corporate crime, and cybercrime

Explanations for Trends in Social Class and Crime

• Selective Law Enforcement:

  • The police force and criminal justice system treat the working class and the middle class differently.

  • Middle-class offenders are seen as having made a mistake and may receive a "slap on the wrist."

  • Working-class offenders are more likely to be arrested for the same crime.

  • Many corporate crimes are not investigated or prosecuted by the criminal justice system.

• Selective Law Creation:

  • Those who create laws are often from the middle and upper classes.

  • They can manipulate the law to their own needs and know ways to manipulate the law for their own benefit.

Labelling and Stereotypes

• The working class is often labelled as more criminogenic.

• The criminal justice system sees working-class individuals as making conscious choices to commit a crime.

• Middle-class individuals are seen as making a mistake or unintentionally committing a crime.

Explanations for White Collar and Corporate Crime

• Strain Theory:

  • Reiner:

    • Explains working-class crime using Merton’s strain theory.

    • Explains middle-class crime and white-collar crime by suggesting there is no limit to financial or material success, so even those who appear successful can feel strain.

• Control Theory:

  • Murray:

    • The underclass is responsible for the majority of street crime.

  • Hirschi:

    • The underclass is more likely to lack impulse control and bonds to the community, which prevents them from committing crimes.

• Criminogenic Capitalism:

  • Gordon:

    • Capitalism encourages the working class to be criminal by creating a culture of envy and hostility.

    • They commit utilitarian crime to survive in a capitalist system and commit non-utilitarian crime to vent frustration at being oppressed.

    • Middle-class crime can be explained as capitalism encourages those who are rich to enrich themselves further.

• Labelling Theory:

  • Becker:

    • The working class is unfairly targeted by the Criminal Justice System.

    • They are less likely to be able to negotiate the system to their advantage.

    • The police tend to patrol working-class areas more, resulting in higher crime statistics for the working class than the middle class.

• Rational Choice/Opportunity:

  • The middle class has more opportunities to commit white-collar crime and corporate crime.

  • They hold positions within companies that give them access required to commit this type of crime.

• Edgework/Masculinity:

  • Messerschmidt:

    • Middle-class men who engage in white-collar crime may do so to show off their masculinity.

  • Katz:

    • Engaging in white-collar crime can also be linked to the idea of edgework and the feeling of excitement and adrenaline that the acts may give.

Evaluation

• Doesn’t explain why only some people commit crimes and not all people or companies use crime to resolve problems.

• Additionally, it is difficult to gain accurate statistics on corporate and white-collar crime as these are not always reported to the police and often resolved in-house or through an ombudsman.