The middle classes do crime as much as anyone – is it fraud, or only wronged consumers hitting back? an academic report queries.
Nearly two-thirds of consumers regularly commit a range of offences against business, government and their employers according to a new report published recently by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King’s College London.
The report, Law-abiding majority? The everyday crimes of the middle classes is based on research which found that 61 per cent of people had committed one of various offences including:
paying cash in hand to avoid taxation; keeping money when given too much change; wrongly using and swapping identity cards for their own gain, and cheating in second-hand sales.
Based on a survey of 1,807 people in England and Wales aged between 25 and 65, the research by criminologists Prof Susanne Karstedt and Dr Stephen Farrall at Keele University found that:
– a third (34 per cent) paid cash in hand to avoid taxation
– just under a third (32 per cent) kept money when ‘over-changed’
– around one in five (18 per cent) had taken something from work
– one in ten (11 per cent) avoided paying their TV licence
– one in ten (11 per cent) wrongly used identity cards for their own gain
– just under one in ten (8 per cent) did not disclose faulty goods in second hand sales
– seven per cent padded an insurance claim
– six per cent asked a friend in bureaucracy to ‘bend the rules’; and
– five per cent claimed for refunds they knew they weren’t entitled to.
Of those who admitted to an offence nearly two thirds (62 per cent) committed up to three and 10 per cent admitted nine or more offences. The research also examined levels of victimization amongst the sample and found that eight out of ten (82 per cent) felt they had been victims of crimes or shady practices such as being sold poor quality pre-packed food, having items added to bills, being sold holiday packages that did not deliver and being cheated in second-hand sales.
Average citizens?
According to the research both offenders and victims are mostly ‘average citizens’ with high level offenders/victims coming from the middle classes and the ‘respectable’.
The report concludes that: "The ‘law-abiding majority’ which politicians like to address, is a chimera. The law-abiding majority not only do not abide by the law, they also do not believe in the value of laws and rules, shrugging them off in pursuit of their interests and desires. They even regard law-abidingness as a disadvantage."
What prof says
Prof Susanne Karstedt, says: "Contempt for the law is as widespread in the centre of society as it is assumed to be rampant at the margins and amongst specific marginal groups. Anti-social behaviour by the few is mirrored by anti-civil behaviour by the many. Neither greed nor need can explain why respectable citizens cheat on insurance claims or in second hand sales, and do not hesitate to discuss their exploits with friends in pubs."
Dr Stephen Farrall adds: ‘What we find in our research is a strong tendency amongst consumers to ‘hit back’ when they feel treated unfairly by big and small business, even by illegal means. More important however, are selfish attitudes: these are responsible for consumers exploiting illegal opportunities whenever these offer themselves. It is the values and the behaviour of those at the centre of society that are indicative of the moral state of our society, perhaps much more so than violent and other street crimes."
The director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, Richard Garside, said: "Politicians from across the political spectrum regularly claim that most crime is committed by a hard core of offenders, largely drawn from low income groups. This research demonstrates that volume crime is far more widespread, with the middle class being responsible for a wide range of illegal activities. The reasons for this are complex, and relate to the fundamental social changes in British society over the past 30 years."
About The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King’s College London
It’s an independent charity about crime and criminal justice. Law-abiding majority? The everyday crimes of the middle classes by Professor Susanne Karstedt and Dr Stephen Farrall is published as part of the Crime and Society project, policy development project of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.
You can download the eight-page report at the CCJS website:
