This document discusses how age, gender, social class, and race/ethnicity relate to crime. It notes that crime increases in early adolescence, peaks in young adulthood, and declines with age. Lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be arrested for violent and property crimes. Aboriginal people are overrepresented in prison populations in Canada, making up 25% of inmates but only 4% of the general population. Explanations for overrepresentation include immigration, discrimination, and a focus on crimes committed by low-income groups.

1. CRIME
DEVIATION from FORMAL social norms and is
subject to FORMAL penalties
HOW ARE AGE, GENDER, SOCIAL CLASS AND
RACE/ETHNICITY RELATEDTO CRIME?

2. ■ WHAT DOTHESETWO SETSOF IMAGES SHOWYOUABOUTTHE CHANGINGVIEWS ON CRIME
OVERTIME?

3. TYPES OF CRIMES

4. LIKELY OFFENDERS
What do you think is the most significant
factor associated with crimes/deviance?

5. AGE
■ Start to increase in early
adolescence, peak in
young adulthood, decline
with age
■ Separate justice systems
■ In what province do you
think youth commit the
MOST crime?

6. GENDER
■ Correlates consistently with crime
■ Who commits the most crimes?
■ What is the most common type of crime?

7. Social Class*
(most debated among social scientists)
■ ASSUMPTION: sociological theorists make the assumption that crime is economically
motivated; poverty leads to criminal behavior
■ Evidence is not entirely clear
WHAT DOES RESEARCH INDICATE?
 LOWER SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND = MORE LIKELYTO BEARRESTED FOR VIOLENT AND
PROPERTY CRIMES
 CRIMES COMMITTED BY LOWER CLASS = MORE MEDIA ATTENTION

8. DO A LITTLE RESEARCH!
FOR ONE OFTHE FOLLOWING CRIMINAL CASES,
IDENTIFY:
 WHOWERETHEVICTIMS?
 WHATTYPE OF CRIMEWAS COMMITTED?
 WHATWERETHE SENTENCES?
ENRON SCANDAL BERNIE MADOFF PONZI
SCHEME
SUBPRIME MORTGAGE
CRISIS

9. WHITE COLLAR CRIME
■ More likely to be committed by upper class
■ VERY little research (interesting huh?)
■ Until recently, not even reported! (so can’t correlate social class with
crime yet)
CONCLUSIONS- DO DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE
COMMIT MORE CRIMES?
Minimal research into class and crime shows that
economically, educationally, and socially
disadvantaged people are OVER REPRESENTED in
arrest and prison stats

10. RACE AND ETHNICITY

11. Over-representation of FNMI inmates
(what reasons are offered?)

12. CURRENT CANADIAN STATS
■ Close to 25% of all inmates are Aboriginal  make up only 4% of the general population
■ Inmate population growth  almost exclusively Aboriginal and visible minority groups
■ EXPLANATIONS???
• IMMIGRATION
• DISCRIMINATION
• FOCUS ON CRIME COMMITTED BY
LOW-INCOME GROUPS = OVER-
REPRESENTATION

13. TORONTO: RACE AND CARDING