NCJ Number
75823
Journal
American Sociological Review Volume: 46 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1981) Pages: 36-57
Date Published
1981
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Four studies by Tittle, Hindelang, Elliott and Ageton, and Braithwaite, which discredit the relationship between social class and criminality, are evaluated against a comprehensive review of studies of the class-crime relationship.
Abstract
Data tables present the results of studies of the class-crime correlation for several cities and countries; they are based on official records of crime separately for social class and social class of the area in which the offender lives, and separately for juvenile and adult crime. Table Five reviews studies on the relationship between self-reported juvenile crime and class, while Table Six provides a summary of findings on the relationship between self-reported juvenile crime and the social class of the area in which respondents live. Results show that class is one of the very few correlates of criminality which can be taken, on balance, as persuasively supported by a large body of empirical evidence. Self-report studies, however, fail to provide consistent support for a class-crime relationship. Yet even here more studies show significant class differences than would be expected on the basis of chance. Studies of official records consistently show notable class differences in criminality. While there is a considerable literature which has failed to demonstrate widespread class biases in official records, there is neglected evidence which suggests that self-reports exaggerate the proportion of delinquency committed by the middle class. It is concluded that the sociological study of crime does not need to shift away from class-based theories; however, class-based theories are required which explain why certain crimes are perpetrated disproportionately by the powerless, while other forms of crime are almost exclusively the prerogative of the powerful. Six tables and 210 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)