Left Realism Flashcards
What is the left realist perspective of crime?
They accept the reality of crime, but don’t view it as a revolutionary activity of the oppressed.
They attempt to translate radical ideals into realistic policy towards crime, and has been influential with the Labour Party.
They recognise that crime is a real problem that exists in all societies, not just capitalist ones.
Lea & Young
Three Causes of Crime
Relative Deprivation+Marginalisation = Subcultures
Relative Deprivation:
-working class feel relatively deprived when compared with the life chances and opportunities of the middle class
-individualism weakens the informal social controls usually exercised by the family and community
-the frustrations from this disparity between expectations and reality of lifestyle leads to feelings of relative deprivation
Marginalisation:
-white and black working class youth often feel alienated by education, unemployment, low wages and targeted by the police through stop and search
Subcultures:
-some young working class and black people who experience feelings of relative deprivation and marginalisation develop deviant subcultures
Stuart Hall
Ethnic Minorities, Poverty & Relative Deprivation
(neo-marxist)
Suggested the reality for many young working class white and black males is a choice of unemployment, training schemes or ‘white man’s shit work’.
They feel denied the ‘glittering prizes’ offered to others, this can develop into strategies which can involve deviant and criminal behaviour.
Jock Young
Vertigo of Late Modernity
Crime in contemporary society is not simply a ‘rational choice’, it is a result of anger fuelled by economic insecurity deprivation.
Jock Young
Social Bullimia
The simultaneous inclusion and exclusion of disadvantaged groups.
Cultural inclusion (wanting to achieve goals) -> Economic exclusion (can’t achieve deprivation)
Jock Young & Roger Matthews
Square of Crime
State - agent of formal social control, the state decide laws, influence of the police
Society - informal social control, the influence public and media attitudes and reaction defines criminal acts, fear of stigmatisation from peer groups, family is a powerful deterrent of crime
Victim - they decide whether a crime has taken place against them
Offender - why do people offend, what motivates them and what makes them want to commit crime
Robert Miles
Institutional Racism
Institutional racism is covert and hidden, it is built into the structure of the institution
Carmichael & Hamilton
Institutional Racism
Institutional racism is a means of subordinating a group and maintaining control over them
David Wellman
Institutional Racism
Racism is concerned with protecting an advantaged position in society
Simon Holdway
Canteen Culture
Describes the informal attitudes of lower ranking police officers
These attitudes include racism, which is demonstrated through the informal conversations of police officers
Phillips & Bowling
Genetic Surveillance
Due to high levels of arrests, there’s a higher proportion of DNA on national databases for black ethnic groups
Black ethnic groups become easier to identify when they commit crime
Left Realism & Policing
Breakdown of policing by consent
Public/some communities lose confidence in the police
People are uncooperative with police (breakdown in community policing)
Police use stop and search and military policing due to lack of support
Stop and search alienate and marginalise the public
Lean & Young
Reducing Crime Through Policing
Crime can only be reduced with the assistance of local communities
Stopping military style policing, particularly black communities, has alienated members of the local community
Lea & Young
Structural Causes of Crime
The unequal nature of capitalist society undermines social cohesion and produces a culture of envy, frustration and hostility
Crime can only be reduced by improving people’s opportunities to achieve a decent standard of living
To reduce crime, inequality needs to be reduced; creating jobs for all and improving housing and environment in inner cities and council estates
Jock Young
*argues postmodern society has made crime worse in 4 ways:
- Greater uncertainty and instability in most aspects of life
- People’s desire for immediate and personal pleasure
- Less consensus about moral values
- A breakdown of informal social controls e.g family, education
