Question

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Are there any types of everyday behaviors that you can think of that might be useful or functional in the lower classes, but would not serve that same purpose for those of higher socio-economic standing? What about interactions with peers, teachers, and other authorities?

Were Cloward and Ohlin correct about the presence of an illegal opportunity structure and its greater availability to the lower classes? Given today’s criminological treatment of white-collar crime, is there different access to white-collar crime opportunities by class?

How have changes in society views toward certain types of crimes changed the amount of negative labeling that is associated with them? Provide examples.

Discuss some of the laws that appear to be differentially enforced by the criminal justice system today. Why do you think this occurs?

Discuss ways in which reinforcement or reinforcement schedules are used in everyday life. How do we use conditioning in the criminal justice system today? What factors seem to determine if the reinforcement is effective?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) The lower classes of society tend to have fewer social and economic resources that make it tougher for them to acquire better positions at places of employment, education etc. Therefore, the allotment of a “quota” system for minority groups at such institutions might be helpful for the lower classes but not too beneficial for the higher classes.

An opportunity structure is generally present when people of that particular group are in need of reparation of past misconduct by typically a government body. Opportunity structures might become illegal if they are applied even after a set amount of value in reparations has been paid. For instance, a person might demand money from another who owes him a hundred dollars. After the amount is paid, the person can no longer demand money. Such a stage has not yet been reached in terms of minority reparations.

White collar crimes would involve swindling through seedy business tactics. These activities would generally take place in a large organisation that the upper class might have an involvement with. A member of the lower class might work at a labour organisation, a small or medium local business etc. Such individuals are less likely to have access to the working of corporations that might be involved in white collar criminal activity.

In the past few decades, terrorism or harming without valid cause has been linked to brown or middle-eastern individuals. Opening fire at innocent victims is equally an act of terrorism as when it is used by a minority group. However, news reports that eventually affects public perception have led people to associate terrorist activities with non-white people. For example, Islamophobia is a product of such bias in reporting and criminal association.

“Bail” is an essential topic with differently enforced laws. Bail fines for even venial crimes are generally too high for the lower classes to afford. Since this is the case, prisons tend to be filled with people from the lower classes who cannot afford to pay for their freedom from incarceration. This is how a law that is generally enforced on society without consideration of financial disparity between the classes are differently enforced.

When a minority commits a crime, their group might be kept from working in higher places because of the stigma that the crimes of their people have engendered. However, if a person of Caucasian descent might commit a school shooting, white-collar crime with losses of millions etc, they are generally not stigmatised or kept from higher places of office. Each time a member of the majority groups of society commit crimes they are still promoted to higher places. On the other hand, a minority does not have that right after a member of their race has committed a crime; it becomes a kind of fixed reinforcement.

Consumption of recreational drugs might be a matter that all races would have to deal with. However, the criminalisation from the possession of drugs like marijuana has become synonymous with minority communities. Criminal justice and arrest patterns of the past decades have led minority groups to be conditioned to expect arrests when in the possession of drugs. The same treatment does not always apply to majority groups. The people have eventually become conditioned to these glaring patterns observed in the criminal justice system. The fact that Caucasian conservatives are mostly against the legalisation of marijuana, is an indicator of how this reinforcement is effective.