CRIM1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: White-Collar Crime, Group Conflict, Social Inequality
CRIM1000: Conflict Theories
• Here we look at soiets espose ad aig puishet ethods/etet fo
different social groups
• What is a crime?
➢ Societal consensus on what is wrong and what should be formally punished
➢ Socially constructed
➢ Varies across place
➢ Crime behaviour can vary state-to-state in Australia (e.g. abortion in VIC is legal up to
24 weeks, but is completely illegal in QLD for both the women and the doctors
(penalty up to 14years jail time).
• Consensus vs conflict
➢ They ask different questions
❖ Coflit: ho gets to deide hats a ie?
❖ Impact of methods used to control, reduce etc. crime?
❖ Why are similar harms treated differently in law?
❖ Why are some drugs criminalised?
❖ Why is some sexual behaviour criminalised, not others?
❖ Same as above for violent behaviours
❖ Why are there more laws defining street activities as criminal than
elite activities? (White collar crime)
❖ Why can some groups more easily evade criminalisation/criminal
process than others?
❖ How is it that legal ideals of due poess ad eualit ed up
producing social, political and economic inequalities?
❖ Whereas consensus would ask what are the causes of crime, why do
people get involved in crime etc.
• Examples of consensus and conflict theories:
➢ Consensus:
❖ Merton
❖ Shaw and McKay
❖ Hirschi
❖ Individual level theories
➢ Conflict:
❖ Becker
❖ Turk
❖ Spitzer
➢ Different views on expert knowledge
❖ Consensus, particularly positivists: informed by scientific knowledge;
neutral, no perspective.
❖ Conflict: assumes all knowledge, including scientific knowledge, has a
perspective (has its own agenda). Conflict criminologists want to
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Document Summary
Societal consensus on what is wrong and what should be formally punished. Crime behaviour can vary state-to-state in australia (e. g. abortion in vic is legal up to. 24 weeks, but is completely illegal in qld for both the women and the doctors (penalty up to 14years jail time): consensus vs conflict. Why are there more laws defining street activities as criminal than elite activities? (white collar crime) Whereas consensus would ask what are the causes of crime, why do people get involved in crime etc: examples of consensus and conflict theories: Consensus, particularly positivists: informed by scientific knowledge; neutral, no perspective. Conflict: assumes all knowledge, including scientific knowledge, has a perspective (has its own agenda). Upholds current system: 2 categories: conflict theories, functional conflict theories (conflict = source of checks and balances; leads to social change, power conflict theories (crime = result of disagreement over definition of law, group conflict and crime (vold)
