Social class and crime Patterns / statistics Explanations – is it to do with culture, material deprivation, or the definition of criminality? Case studies – bad fellas / violent night!

Social class and crime- the figures In Glasgow 60% of prisoners came from the most deprived council estates. A 2007 study found that 43% of prisoners had no ed.qualifications and 60% had been claiming benefits. Another study found that 67% of prisoners were unemployed prior to going in prison compared with 5% of the population s whole. Problems with the above = only includes those that have been convicted and imprisoned – some crimes of the middle4 class are less likely to result in imprisonment e.g. fraud could be a large fine. Also – corporate and wh.collar cirmes – people often senior so can hide = not in crime stats / prisons. Self report studies – Only one recent study of this kind 2003-2006. findings = ‘social class of the family, based on occupation of the chief-wage earner was not significantly associated with the likelihood of offending and drug abuse.’ = not social class but ind. Circumstances as more important. Main suggestions was that it was down to levels of social control for criminality and social class for being labelled as a criminal by the CJS. Problems = mainly used a sample of 10-25 year olds. Lower working class / working class Social class and crime- the figures No big deal Ditton and Mars found that in a range of services (from bakers to tourist workers)minor theft was regarded as a legitimate part of the job ‘perk’ or ‘fiddle’. Clarke – employers often turned a blind eye to ‘fiddling’ and accounted for it in pay structure (paying certain bands less as a result) Functionalist writers have linked this type of crime to the type of profession – claiming that those with a great degree of trust placed on them are less likely to commit occupational crime. Big and bad Levi (2007) fraudulent health and unemployment benefit claims total £3 billion and frauds within the NHS are est. at £6 billion. Counter to the functionalist argument Nelken (2002) found considerable evidence of fraudulent claims made by doctors and dentists against insurance companies in the USA (and to a smaller extent in GB) About 25% of all retail loss in Britain is accounted for through theft by employees (according to a 1999 study). Levi (1987) found that 75% of all frauds on financial institutions were by there own employees. White collar crime Types – Bribery Corruption Examples – Medical professionals falsifying prescriptions / patient records Occupational Crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his / her occupation

Cultural explanations Material deprivation explanations The definition of criminality- explanations

Describing Map

Describing Map

Outline three reasons why some ethnic minority groups may be more likely than others to commit crime. (6) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Outline three reasons why white collar crimes are commited. (6) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outline three reasons why the working classes commit crimes (6) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Outline three reasons why females may be less likely to commit crime. (6) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------