Patterns of Criminal & Deviant Behaviour: Social Class (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Flashcards
Exam code: C200
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Which social class is over-represented in the prison population?
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Cards in this collection (17)
Which social class is over-represented in the prison population?
Working-class people are over-represented in the prison population, which shows a link between social class and crime.
What did Trust for London (2026) find about crime in deprived neighbourhoods?
Trust for London (2026) found that the most income-deprived neighbourhoods in London had around 32% more recorded crime than the least deprived in 2025.
True or False?
Households in the least deprived areas are more likely to be victims of burglary.
False.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (2026) shows that households in the most deprived areas are more likely to be victims of burglary (1.6% vs 1.1%).
Merton argued that everyone in the USA strives for the same goal of success, known as the American ________.
Merton argued that everyone in the USA strives for the same goal of success, known as the American Dream.
How does Merton explain working-class crime?
Merton, a functionalist, argued that working-class people face barriers to legitimate success, which creates strain, or anomie, so some turn to crime as an alternative route to success.
Define status frustration.
Status frustration is the feeling of failure and resentment that Albert Cohen (1955) argued working-class boys experience when they fail to meet middle-class expectations at school.
How do boys gain status in delinquent subcultures, according to Cohen?
Cohen argued that boys in delinquent subcultures gain status by breaking rules or committing crimes.
Which groups do agencies of social control tend to target?
The police, courts and prisons tend to target the working class, ethnic minorities and young people, which maintains the illusion that crime is mainly a working-class problem.
Define differential enforcement of the law.
Differential enforcement of the law is when the criminal justice system applies laws differently depending on social class, so it polices and punishes working-class crime more harshly.
Define white-collar crime.
White-collar crime is non-violent crime that people in professional or high-status jobs commit, usually at work for personal or corporate gain.
True or False?
White-collar crime is usually easy to detect because it has a clear victim.
False.
White-collar crime is often invisible, because it has no obvious victim, organisations may handle it internally and victims may not realise a crime has taken place.
Define corporate crime.
Corporate crime is crime that companies or their directors commit to increase profits or gain an advantage in the market.
Which type of corporate crime did the Horsemeat Scandal (2013) involve?
The Horsemeat Scandal involved selling mislabelled goods, as food producers sold horsemeat as beef.
True or False?
Tax avoidance and tax evasion are both illegal.
False.
Tax evasion, hiding income to avoid paying tax, is illegal, but tax avoidance is legal, although widely criticised.
Why do corporate offenders often escape punishment?
Corporate offenders often escape punishment because governments rarely prioritise corporate crime, large firms can afford skilled lawyers and offenders who are caught often pay fines rather than go to prison.
Why do official statistics underestimate crime by the powerful?
Official statistics underestimate crime by the powerful because corporate crime is complex and hard to detect, victims may be unaware or powerless and companies prefer to protect their reputation rather than report wrongdoing.
Why do critics call Merton's and Cohen's theories too deterministic?
Critics argue that these theories assume all working-class people under pressure will turn to crime, but many do not.
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