Crime and Violence: Influence of Socioeconomic Status

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There are many theories about why crime and violence exist in society. Sociologist have many perspectives on crime. While some believe that crime is caused by biological factors like race and ethnicity. Most people believe that crime is caused by a person’s socioeconomic status or their income. Socioeconomic status influence visibility which determines who is labeled as a criminal. Of the many theories about crime, one that sticks out is the conflict theory of crime. The conflict theory of crime basically states that people’s socioeconomic status leads to criminal activity (Kornblum and Julian 2012). For instance, it’s the situation of the haves (the people who have money for the things that they want) and have not (the people who want what the haves have). According to Kornblum and Julian, as disadvantaged individuals are labelled as criminals they begin to rebel against societies view of them. Over time they begin to embrace society’s view of them as criminals and they continue with their criminal behavior. As a result, lower socioeconomic status who don’t have (have not) result t...

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