overall evaluation Flashcards
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✓ Left realists have had more influence on government policy than most theorists of crime. E.g. New Labour’s anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) to try & protect vulnerable groups from crime & low level disorder. (Policies such as these have been criticised by Young as continuing to ignore the underlying causes of crime that produce relative deprivation & exclusion in the first place.)
✓ Left realism has succeeded in drawing attention to the reality of street crime & its effects, especially on victims from deprived groups.
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Marxists argue that it fails to explain corporate crime, which is much more harmful even if less conspicuous.
Interactionists argue that, because left realists rely on quantitative data from victim surveys, they cannot explain offender’s motives. Instead, we need qualitative data to reveal their meanings.
Their use of subcultural theory means left realists mistakenly assume that value consensus exists & that crime only occurs when this breaks down.
