Crime And Deviance: Realist Theories Of Crime

Question 1

Left realism criticising other theories

Answer 1

They criticize Marxist + Neo-Marxist approaches for:
• romanticizing w/c criminals as ‘robin hood’ characters fighting against social inequality
• Blaming selective law enforcement / capitalism / labelling for the reasons why w/c commit crime
• Failing to take victimization seriously, and the fact that most victims were the poor and deprived
• Having no practical policies to reduce crime

Question 2

LR argue particular groups are at risk of being a victim

Answer 2

It is not the rich who are the usual targets of muggers or thieves, but the poor, minority ethnic groups and inner-city residents

Lea and Young (1984)
• E.g. in some of the poorer areas of London, the chances of being mugged are 4x the average for the city as a whole
• In the USA, black men and women are more likely to be murdered than to die in a road accident

Question 3

Key LR beliefs

Answer 3

They feel that structural inequality in society is largely to blame for crime occurring

For crime to be reduced, there needs to be greater social equality and a stronger sense of community

They believe we need to focus on the causes of crime

Question 4

LR causes of crime

Answer 4

Lea and Young (1984) identify three causes of crime:

1. Relative deprivation
2. Marginalisation
3. Subculture

Question 5

LR causes of crime: relative deprivation

Answer 5

How deprived someone feels in relation to others, or compared with their own expectations

This can lead to crime when people feel resentment that others unfairly have more than them and resort to crime to obtain what they feel they are entitled to

Although people are better off, they are now more aware of relative deprivation due to the media, which raises everyone’s expectations for material possessions. Those who cannot afford them may resort to crime instead

Causes utilitarian and non utilitarian crime

Question 6

LR causes of crime: subculture

Answer 6

Similar to the views of Merton, Cloward and Ohlin and Cohen

For Left Realists, a subculture is a group response to relative deprivation

AO2:
Pryce - 2 subcultures emerged amongst the African-Caribbean community as a result of poverty:
Delinquency and Rastafarian (more religious)

For left realists, criminal subcultures still subscribe to the values and goals of society such as materialism and consumerism
= but due to blocked opportunities they turn to crime to achieve these goals

Question 7

LR causes of crime: Marginalisation

Answer 7

Marginalised groups lack both clear goals and organisations to represent their interests

Unemployed youths are marginalised. They have no organisation to represent them and no clear goals, just a sense of resentment and frustration.

Being powerless, they express their frustration through criminal means such as violence

Question 8

LR: What does Young say has caused social exclusion and crime

Answer 8

Late modernity

Golden age (1950s-60s):
Stability - full employment
Security - comprehensive welfare state
Social inclusion - low divorce rates
(Leads to strong collective conscience and sense of community)

Society today:
Stability - increased unemployment
Security - weakened welfare state
Social inclusion - high divorce rates
(Dog eat dog, consumerist, individualism and weak collective conscience)

Question 9

LR - cultural inclusion and economic exclusion

Answer 9

1. Media-saturated society promotes cultural inclusion: even the poor have access to the media’s materialistic messages
2. Greater emphasis on immediate gratification and leads to higher expectations of life. Growing individualism
3. Despite the ideology of meritocracy, the poor are systematically excluded from opportunities to gain the cultural things

This is similar to Merton’s idea of anomie - that society creates crime by setting cultural goals, while denying people the opportunity to achieve them by legitimate means.

Question 10

LR: what society are we living in

Answer 10

Young: bulimic society

People want the latest products - culture of consumption

When they can’t afford to - they feel deprived

This results in a bulimic society - draws people in culturally and expels them economically though insecure employment

AO2:
Lewis et al - looters were living in a bulimic society during the 2011 riots - no choice but to loot to get the things they couldn’t afford

Question 11

What is relative deprivation downwards

Answer 11

where the M/C (who ‘work hard’) resent the W/C who they see as irresponsible, and living off the state (political correctness)

Can lead to hate crimes / more crimes from the upper class

Less of a public consensus on right and wrong – boundary blurred

Question 12

Evaluation of left realism

Answer 12

Strengths:
Draws on a range of theories, such as Marxism and the importance of social inequalities, Merton’s concept of strain and anomie, Cohen’s ideas of status frustration, subcultural theories, labelling and growing individualism and consumerism in a late modern society. It produces a fuller explanation for crime than the other theories

Has impacted social policies – especially Labour govts between 1997-2010

Weaknesses:
Interactionalists argue that, because left realists rely on quantitative data from victim surveys, they cannot explain offenders’ motives. Instead, we need qualitative methods to reveal their meanings.

Postmodernists: deterministic - relative deprivation cannot fully explain crime because not all those who experience it commit crime. The theory over-predicts the amount of crime.

Marxists argue that it fails to explain corporate crime, which is much more harmful even if less visible

Postmodernists: their use of subcultural theory means that left realists assume that value consensus exists and that crime only occurs when this breaks down

Question 13

LR solutions to crime

Answer 13

Improve policing and control

Tackling structural causes

Question 14

LR solutions to crime - policing and control

Answer 14

Kinsey, Lea and Young - police spend little time investigating crime. They depend on the public to give them information. However with the police losing support, the flow of information dries up and the police have to rely on military policing. This alienate communities who see the police as victimising local youth

Left realists argue that policing must be made more accountable to local communities. Need to improve their relationship with local communities by spending time investigating crime and involving the public in policing policies.

Left realists also argue that a multi-agency approach is needed. Involve agencies like local councils as well as voluntary organisations, as well as the public.

Question 15

LR solutions to crime - tackling the structural causes

Answer 15

Causes of crime lie in the unequal structure of society and major structural changes are needed if they want to reduce levels of offending

We must become more tolerant of diversity and cease stereotyping whole groups of people as criminal

Question 16

Who followed RR stance of C+D

Answer 16

Thatcher
Ronald Reagan

Question 17

Right Realism – key features

Answer 17

Crime and deviance undermines social cohesion and our value consensus - social order is CRUCIAL

Main theorist: James Q. Wilson

Shift away from the causes of crime but instead to focus on practical crime control measures

Not worried about rehabilitating the criminals, but control and punishment

Criticise labelling theorists + Marxists + Neo-Marxists = too sympathetic to the criminal

They want realistic solutions

Question 18

3 causes of crime according to RR

Answer 18

The rational choice theory

Biological differences

Socialisation and the underclass

Question 19

RR causes of crime - rational choice theory

Answer 19

Clarke

Individuals have free will. The decision to commit crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences.

If the perceived rewards of crime outweigh the perceived costs of crime, then people will be more likely to offend.

Right realists argue that currently the perceived costs of crime are low and this is why the crime rate has increased

Felson’s routine activity theory - for a crime to occur, there must be a motivated offender, a suitable target and the absence of a ‘capable guardian’ = explains why most victims of violence are young males = always in the wrong place

Question 20

RR causes of crime - biological differences

Answer 20

Wilson and Herrnstein - crime is caused by a combination of biological and social factors

Biological differences between individuals make some people innately more strongly inclined to commit crime than others = aggressive, risk takers, low impulse control

Similarly, Herrnstein and Murray argue that the main cause of crime is low intelligence, which they also see as biologically determined.

Despite this, they still believe that people possess free will – they choose whether to commit crimes

Question 21

RR causes of crime - socialisation and the underclass

Answer 21

Charles Murray - crime rate is increasing because of a growing underclass that is defined by their deviant behaviour and those who fail to socialise their children properly

Lone mothers are ineffective socialisation agents especially for boys. Absent fathers means that boys lack male role models = turn to crime to gain status rather than supporting their families properly

Murray argues that crime is increasing as a result of welfare dependency, as individuals become dependent on the state which leads to a decline in marriage and growth of lone parent families

3 features of underclass:
1. Crime
2. Illegitimacy
3. Economic inactivity

Question 22

RR solutions to crime

Answer 22

Target hardening (making a car more difficult to break into)

Surveillance

Neighbourhood watch schemes

Question 23

Broken window thesis

Answer 23

James Q Wilson

Unless ‘incivilities’ (litter, graffiti, noise levels, etc.) are kept minimal, then wider anti-social behaviour and more serious crimes will follow.

He advocates that the police adopt a policy of ‘zero-tolerance’ for even minor crimes (as tried by the Mayor of New York)

By tackling these minor signs of neglect people will be less likely to commit crime in that area

Question 24

Evaluation of RR

Answer 24

Strengths:
Like Left Realism, it had a significant impact on social policy = situational crime prevention strategies are being used – e.g. ring devices on front doors / ASBOs

Weaknesses:
Marxism - Right realism ignores wider structural causes such as poverty / capitalism!

It overstates offenders’ rationality and how far they make cost-benefit calculations before committing a crime. While it may explain some utilitarian crime, it may not explain much violent crime.

Rational choice contradicts biological differences (combines determinism with voluntarism)

Only considers petty street crime and ignores corporate crime, which may be more costly and harmful

Advocating a zero tolerance policy gives police free rein to discriminate against ethnic minority youth, the homeless etc.

Question 25

What do RR blame for crime

Answer 25

Individuals and lack of self control

Question 26

What do LR blame for crime

Answer 26

Structural inequalities and lack of opportunity

Question 27

30 mark essay plan on the contribution of Realist approaches to our understanding of crime and deviance

Answer 27

P1: left realist causes (relative deprivation)
AO3: PM - determinative

P2: left realist solutions (tackling inequality + improving policing)
AO3: RR - these policies are unrealistic

P3: right realist causes (rational choice and socialisation)
AO3: Mx - fail to acknowledge that capitalism is criminogenic

P4: right realist solutions (broken windows + zero tolerance)
AO3: LR - these policies are too short term and are solutions rather than prevention. Fail to acknowledge structural inequalities in causing crime

P5 – Realist view (both see stats as real and that w/c do commit crime. w/c are also usually the victims)
AO3: Conflict theorists + Labelling theorists: stats are a social
construction due to R/C / moral entrepreneurs deciding
what is and isn’t a crime