4.3.2

Social Class & Crime

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Explaining the Differences in Social Class and Crime

The working class are more likely to be included in the official crime statistics. The reasons for this include the following.

Official statistics:

Official statistics:

  • Official statistics:
    • These aren’t always accurate due to the dark figure of crime, i.e. crimes that are unreported or under-recorded.
    • Those crimes that are included in the OS are the ones that are easily identifiable.
Anomie theory

Anomie theory

  • Anomie theory - Merton:
    • Anomie is when societal norms break down.
    • According to Merton, this occurs when people have goals that they can’t achieve due to a lack of means.
    • This results in them trying to find other ways to do so which might be seen as deviant or be classed as criminal.
Interactionism

Interactionism

  • Interactionism- labelling:
    • Usually people at the lower strata of the stratification system tend to be labelled as deviant and criminals as they commit easily traceable crimes such as theft.
    • The middle class commit crimes as well but because they are not easily detected they tend to go under the radar.
    • The working class are more likely to be labelled as criminals. When they live up to the label it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Subculture

Subculture

  • Subculture:
    • Working-class youths experience status frustration because they can’t achieve the shared goals of society leading them to create subcultures with norms and values which might be deviant.
    • Joining a subculture gives them the chance to gain status.

Explaining the Differences in Social Class and Crime

Sociologists argue that there is a link between the class someone comes from and the likelihood of them committing a crime.

Social class socialisation

Social class socialisation

  • Social class socialisation:
    • Working class children tend to lack the cultural capital that middle class parents offer to their children.
    • Working class children might either suffer from cultural deprivation, or lack of role models or they might have delinquent role models.
Social class socialisation cont.

Social class socialisation cont.

  • The social class can also affect the income of the family which might lead to material deprivation.
  • Lastly, social class can have an impact on educational attainment of children; where the working class do not do as well as middle-class counterparts.
Status frustration- Cohen

Status frustration- Cohen

  • Status frustration- Cohen:
    • People who are stuck at the lower layers of the social classes tend to experience status frustration because they lack the opportunities to achieve society’s shared goals.
    • This leads them to develop new values which are applicable to a delinquent subculture.
Cohen cont.

Cohen cont.

  • White collar crime is crime committed by middle class people when they are at work.
  • White collar crime has various forms:
    • Corporate: carried out by directors.
    • Professional: carried out instead of another source of income, as a profession.
    • Computer: carried out by using a computer.
    • Occupational: carried out at work.
Jump to other topics
1

The Sociological Approach

1.1

Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?1.1.2Culture & Socialisation
1.2

Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism1.2.2Marxism 21.2.3Functionalism1.2.4Feminism
1.3

The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach
2

Families

2.1

Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family2.1.2Marxist Views on Family2.1.3Feminist Views on Family
2.2

Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?2.2.2Nuclear Family2.2.3Families in a Global Context2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms
2.3

Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles
2.4

Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline2.4.2Domestic Abuse2.4.3Symmetrical Family
2.5

Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families2.5.2Marxist Views of Families2.5.3Feminist Views of Families2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families
2.6

Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate2.6.2Consequences of Divorce2.6.3Functionalist Views2.6.4Marxist Views2.6.5Feminist Views2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce
3

Education

3.1

Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives3.1.3Types of School3.1.4Alternative Education3.1.5State & Private Schools
3.2

Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes3.2.2External Processes
3.3

Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success3.3.2Social Class & Education3.3.3Social Class & External Factors3.3.4Gender & Education3.3.5Ethnicity & Education3.3.6Parental Choice3.3.7History of UK Education Policy3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education
4

Crime & Deviance

4.1

The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime
4.2

Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control4.2.2Formal Social Control4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime
4.3

Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime4.3.2Social Class & Crime4.3.3Gender & Crime4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime4.3.5Age & Crime4.3.6Criminal Responsibility4.3.7The Prison System4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime
4.4

Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5

Social Stratification

5.1

Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?5.1.2Functionalism5.1.3Socio-Economic Class5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 25.1.5Life Chances5.1.6The Affluent Worker5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion
5.2

Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty5.2.3Explanations of Poverty5.2.4Impact of Globalisation5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue
5.3

Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber5.3.2Sociological Perspectives5.3.3Power Relationships5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority
6

Sociological Research Methods

6.1

Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design6.1.2The Scientific Method6.1.3Other Considerations6.1.4Primary Sources6.1.5Secondary Sources6.1.6Surveys6.1.7Sampling6.1.8Questionnaires6.1.9Interviews6.1.10Observation6.1.11Statistics6.1.12Case Studies6.1.13Longitudinal Studies6.1.14Ethnography6.1.15Experiments6.1.16Small Scale Research6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

Practice questions on Social Class & Crime

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  1. 1
    What might working-class youths experience if they can’t achieve the shared goals of society?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Who argued that anomie occurs when people have goals that they can’t achieve due to a lack of means?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Social class socialisation:Fill in the list
  4. 4
    What type of white collar crime is carried out instead of another source of income, (as a profession)?Multiple choice
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Explanations of Crime

Gender & Crime