Crime And Deviance: Realist Theories Of Crime Flashcards
Left realism criticising other theories
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
LR argue particular groups are at risk of being a victim
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
Key LR beliefs
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
LR causes of crime
Lea and Young (1984) identify three causes of crime:
- Relative deprivation
- Marginalisation
- Subculture
LR causes of crime: relative deprivation
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
LR causes of crime: subculture
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
LR causes of crime: Marginalisation
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
LR: What does Young say has caused social exclusion and crime
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)
LR - cultural inclusion and economic exclusion
- Media-saturated society promotes cultural inclusion: even the poor have access to the media’s materialistic messages
- Greater emphasis on immediate gratification and leads to higher expectations of life. Growing individualism
- 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.
LR: what society are we living in
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
What is relative deprivation downwards
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
Evaluation of left realism
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
LR solutions to crime
Improve policing and control
Tackling structural causes
LR solutions to crime - policing and control
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.
LR solutions to crime - tackling the structural causes
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
Who followed RR stance of C+D
Thatcher
Ronald Reagan
Right Realism – key features
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
3 causes of crime according to RR
The rational choice theory
Biological differences
Socialisation and the underclass
RR causes of crime - rational choice theory
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
RR causes of crime - biological differences
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
RR causes of crime - socialisation and the underclass
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
RR solutions to crime
Target hardening (making a car more difficult to break into)
Surveillance
Neighbourhood watch schemes
Broken window thesis
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
Evaluation of RR
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.
