e the criminal system altogether or at least avoid conviction at the trial stage. In other words, labelling theory supports this study's notion that high socioeconomic status criminals are unlikely to be convicted except when their crime is sufficiently serious that their money, legal resources, and influence cannot save them.
It can be noted that there is some empirical work supporting labelling theory. In this regard, a study conducted by Smith (1982) is pertinent here.
Specifically, Smith looked at the decisions police make to arrest or not arrest suspected individuals in order to determine whether the data supported labelling theory's notion that social interaction with official agents can determine whether one is or is not identified as a criminal. In this regard, the study utilized labelling theory to explain police arrest decisions in a sample of 1,305 police-suspect encounters occurring in the jurisdictions of twenty-four police agencies.
Supporting labelling theory were the study's most significant findings which showe
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