Crime and poverty: A sociological approach
There are many schools of thought that deal with crime
causation. Sociological theories of crime focus on the
social dimension of criminality, trying to analyse the
sociological reasons that push individuals to commit
crime e.g. poverty, shaming, social deprivation, fear etc.
Sociology, in general is “the study of social organisation
and institutions and of collective behaviour and
interaction, including the individual’s relationship to the
group
As early as 1893, criminologists such as Durkheim
asserted that social deprivation and the division of labour
in society puts disadvantaged groups in need, often
leaving them with no other option but to resort to crime[3].
Very close to this analysis is the approach of Radical
Criminology. This uses Marx’s ideas of capitalist society
and social classes claiming that “much proletarian
offending could be redefined as a form of redistributive
class justice or as a sign of the possessive individualism
which resided in the core values of capitalist society” [4].
Radical Criminology went a step further by arguing that
individuals from working classes who resort to crime are
in reality victims of a false consciousness that turns
proletarian against proletarian. The ultimate goal is to
preserve unequal class relations, masking the real nature
of crime and repression in capitalist society[5].
Irrespective of whether we adopt the sociological
explanation of the Traditional or Radical Criminology,
there is still a paradox that both theories seem to
overlook. If crime is closely related to class, social
deprivation and poverty – regardless of whether this is a
There are many schools of thought that deal with crime
causation. Sociological theories of crime focus on the
social dimension of criminality, trying to analyse the
sociological reasons that push individuals to commit
crime e.g. poverty, shaming, social deprivation, fear etc.
Sociology, in general is “the study of social organisation
and institutions and of collective behaviour and
interaction, including the individual’s relationship to the
group
As early as 1893, criminologists such as Durkheim
asserted that social deprivation and the division of labour
in society puts disadvantaged groups in need, often
leaving them with no other option but to resort to crime[3].
Very close to this analysis is the approach of Radical
Criminology. This uses Marx’s ideas of capitalist society
and social classes claiming that “much proletarian
offending could be redefined as a form of redistributive
class justice or as a sign of the possessive individualism
which resided in the core values of capitalist society” [4].
Radical Criminology went a step further by arguing that
individuals from working classes who resort to crime are
in reality victims of a false consciousness that turns
proletarian against proletarian. The ultimate goal is to
preserve unequal class relations, masking the real nature
of crime and repression in capitalist society[5].
Irrespective of whether we adopt the sociological
explanation of the Traditional or Radical Criminology,
there is still a paradox that both theories seem to
overlook. If crime is closely related to class, social
deprivation and poverty – regardless of whether this is a
