The distinction between blue collar and white-collar crime is another clear example of the over-incarceration of people of lower socioeconomic status and the under-incarceration of people of higher socioeconomic status. Blue collar crime is the collective term used to describe crimes typically committed by lower class workers and tend to be of a more violent nature. This contrasts with white-collar crime, which is the collective that refers to those crimes committed that are financially motivated, non-violent, and often committed by workers of a higher class. These white-collar criminals are also usually part of some larger group, company or corporation that is highly motivated by wanting to make a quick, easy profit. The criminal justice system tends to benefit white-collar criminals, in that they have advantages when it comes to how their crime is handled, and there is unequal penalization between the two social groups. …show more content…
Over ten times the amount of welfare fraud cases was found over tax evasion cases, and the punishments for welfare fraud were significantly harsher than the punishments for tax evasion cases (Marriott, 2017). These findings are surprising, because tax evasion is a much more important social issue to society and the public, but what tax evasion cases do get put through court are not as severe. This can be due to the fact that these white-collar criminals, as they come from a wealthier background, have access to better resources such as legal representation (Marriott, 2017). It can also be a result of the police and the criminal justice system are more interested in prosecuting blue-collar crime as they are portrayed by society and the media as being significantly more important and requiring more attention, when both these crimes should be tried equally regardless of socioeconomic