Left wing explanations and solutions

Question 1

What are the key left realist theories?

Answer 1

• focus on social inequalities
• subcultures create a collective identity
• provide a critique on the criminal justice system

Question 2

What are Lea and Young (1993) 3 key theories on crime?

Answer 2

Marginalisation:
- Groups face social exclusion and limited access to resources and opportunities creating feelings of isolation, alienation, frustration pushing individuals towards criminal subcultures
Relative deprivation:
- It emerges through comparing one’s social and economic status to others making them feel deprived creating resentment causing them to engage in deviant activities to achieve desired goals
Subcultures:
- They reflect the experiences and values of marginalised groups providing support, solidarity and a sense of belonging that express values that clash with the dominant societal norms

Question 3

Connections from Lea and Young’s theory

Answer 3

• Marginalisation leads to relative deprivation, which can motivate individuals to join subcultures or engage in crime
• Subcultures are formed due to marginalisation that may have different norms and values from the dominant ones that may increase the risk of deviance
• Adressing marginalissation and relative deprivation can help to prevent the formation of subcultures associated with crime

Question 4

What is Braithwaite’s (1989) theory on shaming?

Answer 4

There are two types of shaming available in the criminal justice system. Disintegrative shaming is defined as negatively labeling someone in an exclusive way creating obstacles by confinement to socially acceptable norms. Re-integrative shaming avoids stigmatising through making the criminal aware of their negative impact on the victim and their community

Question 5

Strengths of left realist theories

Answer 5

• Sheds light on systematic factors that contribute to crime such as social inequalities
• Challenges victim blaming as it acknowledges the impact of social forces on individuals and their choices
• Recognises various motivations for crime
• Solutions tackle the root cause of crime

Question 6

Weaknesses of left realist theories

Answer 6

• Neglect of individual agency
• Quantifying and isolating the influence of specific social factors on crime can make an evaluation of solutions difficult
• Romanticisation of subcultures
• Clear and directly actionable solutions aren’t always addressed

Question 7

Addressing social inequalities as a solution

Answer 7

• Investing in programs that create fairer access to education, employment and housing to reduce relative deprivation
• Challenging systematic inequalities based on race, ethnicity, gender and other factors creating a more equitable society reducing motivations for crime

Question 8

Community - based interventions as a solution

Answer 8

• Youth centers, job training and mental health services foster positive social change and empowers individuals to make positive choices
• Encouraging collective relationships between police and communities to create trust

Question 9

Transformative justice as a solution

Answer 9

• Focus on rehabilitation and restorative justice
• Victim - offender mediation: facilitate dialogues between victims and offenders to promote accountability and potential reconciliation

Question 10

Weaknesses of left realist solutions

Answer 10

• Implementing large scale social reforms can be expensive and requires complex political efforts
• Neglect individual choices and personal accountability
• The long - term impact of certain interventions can be challenging to measure the requires ongoing evaluation and adjustments

Question 11

What does Gilroy (1982) argue about left realist community policing?

Answer 11

It is simplistic and it under - estimates the deliberate racists strategies which he argues underpins the policing of some communities