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Social class and crime
Learning outcomes:
All to be able to describe the relationship between social class and crime.
Most will be able to explain the patterns relating to social class and crime.
Some will be able to criticise the accuracy of crime statistics on working class
and crime.
Which man
might the judge
be more
likely to
convict? Why?
Connector


5 Mins
Official crime statistics (OCS) show that most people
who break the law are of working class
background.
Think, pair and share...
If OCS are true, why
do working class
people break the law
more than middle class
people?
Are OCS true? Do
middle class people
commit as many crimes
as the working class,
but get away with
their crimes?
Task 1



15 Mins
Work in pairs.
Read the handout you are given and sum it up into
your worksheet.
You will have to explain what you find out to the
class.
Task 2
10 Mins

Class presentations.

Everyone else, take notes into your worksheet.
Working class
Material deprivation
 Working class people tend to live in poverty so they turn to crime in order to ‘make
ends meet’, e.g. people may shoplift food or children’s clothing for their family.
Moreover, working class people desire material goods (a good car, designer
clothes), but have fewer opportunities to achieve them through legitimate so they do
not earn enough to be able to afford the goods they desire. This may lead to crime
such as drug dealing as means of obtaining the goods they want.
Anomie
 Anomie is a feeling of lack of belonging, frustration and anger at society. Working
class people are more likely to experience anomie. They have few opportunities to
find employment which has a negative effect on their life chances. This can lead
them to feel frustrated and angry at their situation and as if they don’t belong in
the society. They therefore turn to crime out of frustration (anomie).
Working class values and subcultures
 Working class values may promote anti-social attitudes and behaviour. This can lead
to crime. Moreover, working class people are more likely to join subcultures which, in
turn, can lead them into crime such as drug taking.
Middle class
Police stereotyping

This theory claims that it is not true that working class people commit more offences, but that
police have a stereotypical view of a “typical criminal” and that working class young males fit
that stereotype. Moreover, the criminal justice system tends to focus more on the types of
crimes committed by the working class such as robbery and burglary rather than on types of
crimes committed by the middle class such as fraud. As a result, working class people tend to
end up in prison which makes it seem as if they are more criminal.
White collar crime

White collar crime is crime committed by individuals in high status positions during the course
of their work for their own benefit. It Includes theft from the workplace, but also more complex
crimes such as embezzlement and fraud. Companies prefer to deal with these crimes internally
in order to safeguard their reputation. Therefore, penalties for such offences tend to be fines,
rather than imprisonment.
Corporate crime

Corporate crime is crime committed by a company for its own interest, often with the
knowledge and approval of those running the company. It includes offences such as breaches
of health and safety laws and hacking into the rival companies’ computer systems to obtain
confidential information. Corporate crimes tend to go undetected and unreported thus giving
the impression that middle classes do not break the law. Moreover, companies prefer to deal
with these crimes internally in order to safeguard their reputation.
Task 3

20 Mins
Work in pairs to plan this essay using the 4 step
method:
Discuss how far Sociologists would agree that
working class people are more likely to commit
crimes than other sections of society.
(12 marks)
Step 1

Discuss how far Sociologists would agree that
working class people are more likely to commit
crimes than other sections of society.
(12 marks)
Step 2


Discuss how far Sociologists would agree that
working class people are more likely to commit
crimes than other sections of society.
(12 marks)
Are working class people more criminal that middle
class?
Step 3
Yes, working class people are
more criminal
No, working class people are NOT
more criminal
Step 4
Yes, working class people are
more criminal



Material deprivation
Anomie
Working class values
and subcultures
No, working class people are NOT
more criminal



Police stereotyping
White collar crime
Corporate crime
Learning journey
Difference between
crime and deviance,
legal and illegal deviance
Media
representations of
crime
Official crime
statistics –
detecting, reporting
and recording of
crime, the dark
figure of crime
Social control (informal
and formal)
Explaining crime –
labelling theory and
subcultural theory
How do Sociologists
study crime: victim and
self-reporting studies?
Who breaks
the law? –
age,
ethnicity
and gender
Explaining crime –
Functionalist theory
and Marxist theory
Victims of crime,
government solutions to
crime, social problems of
youth crime and racism
Who breaks
the law? –
social class and
locality
Explaining crime –
biological vs. sociological
theories: peer group
pressure, opportunity,
socialisation
Revision and
end of Topic
exam question