Class Analysis and the Crime Problem

This chapter proceeds from the premise that one of the key missmg elements of contemporary critical criminology is class analysis. Class is at the core of criminality, marginalisation and criminalisation under the conditions of contemporary global capitalism. Present day social inequalities and social oppressions are manifestations of deep class divisions and class conflicts, now being played out on a world scale. Yet, very few critical criminologists actually utilise class analysis in their work. Indeed, many do not even refer to classes at all, except in elliptical ways, for example through reference to categories such as the socially disadvantaged, the poor or the excluded. Class has tended to be embedded implicitly within critical work, in ways that assume what in fact often needs to be explained. Alternatively, class analysis has tended to be marginalised in the light of other strategic emphases (for example, analysis of gender) and conceptual emphases (for example, analysis of risk).