AC 2.3 - left & right realism

Question 1

Left realism

Answer 1

• Labour
• Society is flawed

Question 2

Left realist perspective on crime

Answer 2

• left realism originated in the UK with theorists such as Lea & Young
• it has influenced criminologists in Australia, Canada

Question 3

Right realism

Answer 3

• Conservative
• Nothing is wrong with society we are to blame

Question 4

Lea and Young (1984)

Answer 4

• crime is the result of people’s sense of deprivation and marginalisation
  
  1. poor social conditions (low wages) lead to sense of relative deprivation
  2. deprivation creates a sense of marginalisation
  3. Individuals commit crime and form subcultures

Question 5

Elaboration : Young (1999)

Answer 5

Suggested that marginalised individuals may have turned to religon rather than crime. In order to cope with their sense of alienation. So crime and religon is a coping mechanism

Marginalised individuals will commit crime to close the gap between themselves and the rest of the world

Question 6

Runicman (1996)

Answer 6

A group experiences relative deprivation when it feels deprived in comparison to other similar groups or when its expectations aren’t met.

Deprivation will only lead to crime where it is experienced as relative deprivation (commit crime to feel no longer deprived)

Question 7

Young (1986)

Answer 7

Harsher policing, sentences and more prisons aren’t satisfactory solutions to rising crime (Right realists = prison reduce crime)

Question 8

Better Policies : Young (1986)

Answer 8

• tackle socio-economic inequalities
• impose community-based sentences
• avoid military-style policing (e.g= excessive stop & search , surveillance

Question 9

Lea & Young (1986) : analysis of problems of policing

Answer 9

They analysed the problems caused by policing :
- Lacking information that is necessary to solve crime & the support of local communities , police resort to military policing
- E.g = stopping & searching large numbers of people / using surveillance technology
- causes unrest & more crime

Question 10

Key assumptions : Right realism ( causes of crime)

Answer 10

• most offenders are rational actors (make choices / choose to commit crime)

Crime rate will increase if:
- there’s little risk of getting caught
- if caught , the risk of punishment is negligible
- rewards of crime are high ( e.g = material gain or social status

• The decision to commit crime is a rational choice based on cost-benefit analysis

Question 11

Charles Murray (1990) - Right realism

Answer 11

• poorly controlled welfare benefit-dependant and crimogenic underclass has emerged
• Dependance on benefits has erased work ethic and helped to create this criminal underclass.
• Single mothers are ineffective agents of socialisation ( teaching right from wrong)
  
  • for boys = mothers are poorly controlled and they lack male role models and authoritative figures in their life

Question 12

Marsland (1988) & Wilson (1975) - Right realism

Answer 12

• crime is the result of a breakdown in the moral fabric of society.
• fuelled in part by a lack of faith in traditional agencies of social control ( school and police amongst communities)

Question 13

Routine Activities Theory : Cohen & Felson (1979) - Right realism

Answer 13

• Poor social controls mean that some crime is routine
• Lack of opportunity or risk of getting caught prevent crime
• Offenders are assumed to act rationally
• so in the presence of capable guardians (police) & with no suitable targets , they are likely to be deterred

Question 14

Elaboration = Cohen & Felson (1979) - Right realism

Answer 14

Argued that for a crime to occur , there must be :
- a motivated offender
- a suitable target
- absence of ‘capable guardians’ (police , neighbours etc)

Question 15

Broken Windows theory : Wilson & Kelling (1982)

Answer 15

As more crime is committed , social controls deteriorate (leads to more crime)

1. over time community civility is lost & people become afraid
2. fear of crime contributes to a breakdown in social controls
3. Policies should contribute to an atmosphere of order and lawfulness
4. maintenance & policing of urban environment contributes to social order ( preventing criminal damage , prostitution etc)

Question 16

Policy solutions to crime : Cornish & Clarke (1986)

Answer 16

• Lenient sentences = soft social controls that don’t deter offenders
• should have harsher punishments

1. situational crime prevention (burglar alarms)
2. zero tolerance policing (New York 1994)
3. more surveillance (CCTV) - reduces suitable targets or become capable guardian

Question 17

Zero tolerance (Policy solutions)

Answer 17

• Zero tolerance involves visible policing and investigation of every offence
  
  • in order to restore community and prevent more serious offending
  • right realists claim that this will deter offending and reduce the likelihood of more serious crime
• London riots 2011

Question 18

Surveillance (Policy solutions)

Answer 18

Use of CCTV can help deter offending as well as identify and it is relatively cheap , available and easy to set up

Question 19

Harsher sentences (Policy solutions)

Answer 19

Rather than sentences designed to rehabilitate offenders harsher sentences will deter others from committing crime

E.G = harsher sentences in 2011 riots