Question

Why is street crime and delinquency viewed differently fromn other forms of deviance? Why is street crime viewed as being so much worse than corporate crime and elite deviance? How does the conflict perspective view corporate crime and elite deviance as compared to street crime and delinquency?

Answer 1

Note* This question is answered based on the milieu and statistics of crime in the United States. The reasoning, cultural connotations, and statistics in other nations may vary. Also, this is a derivative response, as the question does not ask for applications of specific psychological theories (other than conflict theory) or the use of any particular book. However, the nature of the response is a secondary qualitative analysis.

• General Information:

• In the United States itself, according to the FBI, the loss incurred from street crimes is $15 billion, while white-collar crimes are $1 trillion.
• Street crimes may consist of robbery, larceny, grand theft auto etc. While white-collar crimes consist of embezzlement, stock manipulation etc.
• Street crimes tend to have a direct cause and effect, whereas white-collar crimes can have a rippling effect on several companies, institutions and individuals.

(Question 1) Why is street crime and delinquency viewed differently from other forms of deviance?

(Answer 1) The way we view things depends mostly on the way we are told about it. In this case, it depends on the way it is reported to us. News reports are usually the latest happenings in the world or our specific location. Because of the need for the report to be fresh, reporters are usually on their feet and on the lookout for news regularly.

When there is an incident like a street robbery, it is a crime of a direct cause and effect. This makes it easier for a reporter to spot and analyze. The reporter will not have to dig too deep to cover the story well. On the other hand, a white-collar crime is usually of an indirect nature. If one were to study the recent stock market crash, it can be seen that there were many big companies and banks involved. It had a chain of greedy stock brokers and a myriad of victims. In order to even get a whiff of a situation like that, it would take a reporter who is good at economics and business operations. Once such a reporter could even sense an issue like that, it would take months of “digging” and research to fully get to the bottom of the situation. Once a report like that is ready to be broadcast, it could already be out in the open and be too late to report.

When an audience absorbs information like that form the media it affects their perceptions of the crime. On one side, is a simple robbery where the victim was probably robbed of $1000 and on the other hand is an economic quagmire that has not only dented the US but the entire world of trillions of dollars.

It is not just an unfair bias that is at play, but also the fact that it becomes easy to absorb the details of a simpler crime than a white-collar one. Therefore street-crime is viewed differently from white-collar crime because they are reported at a different rate and understood differently.

(Question 2) Why is street crime viewed as being so much worse than corporate crime and elite deviance?

(Answer 2) If one takes the example of a robbery, for instance, there is a thief, whose name the reporter has probably disclosed. There is a reason for the crime, perhaps poverty. There is a victim who probably talks to the reporter. Even if the crime was not reported and it was a friend in this situation, it is easier to evoke emotions due to the personalized nature of the situation. Whereas a white-collar crime would be about how company a reported false numbers to its shareholders to increase the stock price. The damage incurred by the victim of the robbery would probably be nothing much compared to the shareholders. If the victims are real people, the crime becomes more relatable. This makes us as “absorbers of information” evoke more emotion. We feel pity for the victim and we are sad for the dilemma the hungry robber is facing. This is one of the reasons why street-crime if reported in a fair and unbiased manner, is viewed differently than a corporate crime.

(Question 3) How does the conflict perspective view corporate crime and elite deviance as compared to street crime and delinquency?

(Answer 3) Definition: Conflict theory is a theory propounded by Karl Marx that claims society is in a state of perpetual conflict due to competition for limited resources. It holds that social order is maintained by domination and power, rather than consensus and conformity.

If one were to view the conflict theory as something that is ingrained in all situations, then the perspective on crime is also affected.

According to conflict theory:

1. The elite are the lawmakers of the society and hence, punitive measures tend to be harsher on the lower classes of society as compared to the upper class.
2. The elite stays dominant through the exploitation of the lower classes.
3. The society’s struggle for power and limited resources has led to a great divide amongst the elite and the lower classes.

Such conditions lead to a penchant in the mind of the viewer depending on which class of society they are from or which class the individual tends to sympathize with.

If you need any specific input on the answer, leave a comment below.