ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the presence of four major structural sources of social inequality in the Australian context. These include social class, gender, ethnicity and aboriginality. It explores class-based inequalities and the implications of these inequalities for the involvement of young people in the criminal justice system. The chapter describes the relationship between social inequality and crime from a slightly different perspective and illustrates that the rapid growth of cities has given rise to a new form of social inequality emerging from increasing social polarization. Consequences of this growing social polarization of the population include decreases in self-esteem, as well as increases in personal estrangement, delinquent or criminal behaviour, and a range of other social pathologies. The chapter deals with a discussion of the possible effects of social class and socio-economic status on delinquent and criminal behaviour. The final measure of socio-economic standing was based on household possessions, and was, in essence, a proxy measure of wealth.
