SOCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CRIME

 

 Need to be able to apply theories to explain the rise in rates of 'recorded crime'.
SOCIAL CLASS AND CRIME

 Anomic Theory

 Merton used Durkheims concept of anomie, saying that people committed crimes when they'd failed to achieve goals within society's standards with legitimate means, and the working class had less means.

 Subcultural Theories

 A different set of values are identified within a subculture. The culture may be a rebellion against middle-class-values (A. Cohen) or an exaggerated form of mainstream working class values (w. miler).

 Interactionist theory

 Working class are labelled more readily.

 Marxist theories

 Ruling class define crime, and enforcement works against the workers.

GENDER AND CRIME

  •  Why less females? Two possibilities:
    •   Women commit less crimes.
    •   Women less likely to be caught.
    •   ?? less likely to be labelled ?? Previous theories can be applied:

 

    •   Merton's theory would suggest women are more criminal, as have less opportunities, but they may have less goals.
    •  Subculture theories have linked masculinity and devience. Miller wrote of the imortace of toughness, as did the j. Williams study of racist skinheads.
    •   Heidensohn's social control theory is specifically concerned with low female crime. She said that women have more control generally in their lives, and a if they break a law they are doubly breaking femininity laws.

ETHNICITY AND CRIME 

  •  Why more ethnic crime? Possibilities:
    •  Commit more crime.
    •  More likely to be arrested and processed.
    •  Ethnic people are also overrepresented within groups more likely to commit crimes eg. working class.
    • Their societies often have higher proportions of young people, which may account for some of it.

 The New Criminology (NC) versus New Left Realism (NLR)

  •  NC accuses public, media, police and government of ethnic labeling.
  •  S. Hall and P. Gilroy (seperately) blamed racism and class.
  •  Gilroy saw crime as resistance and colonial past still exists on streets and encourages confrontation.
  •  NLR challenged NC view that unequal policing caused higher ethnic crime rate, pointing out that public report crimes, not just the result of policing.
  •  NLR does accept policing can be biased, and also in some cities types of crime are divided racially, i.e. street robbery is black and burglary white.

Extra Information
Critical assessment of crime statistics is central to evaluate theories of crime.

Looking at offenders and victims viewpoints can be useful when answering ethnic and gender questions.
 

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