Realism and crime Flashcards
Right realists explanations of the cause of crime
-Biological theory
Wilson and hernstein:
-people are more more prone to crime from inheritance
Eg:inheriting personality and behaviour disorders
-Gender link:Men have higher levels of testosterone
-Low intelligence makes u more likely as not aware of consequences
Critics argue it doesn’t have an explanation for crimes motivated by material factors
Right realists explanations of the causes of crime
-control theory
Hirschi:
-Institutions no longer have social control eg-families,education and religion
-families today may not live as a close together so bonds are broken-aren’t bothered about shaming the family
-due to securlisation, religion has less control over peoples lives
-Justice system has weakened so people don’t fear crime
-People with high controls over their life are less likely to commit crime because they have too much to lose vice versa for people with low controls in their life
Critics argue it doesn’t explain why people with high controls in their life still commit white collar crime
Right realists views in why people commit crime
-rational choice theory
Clarke:
-people deliberately commit crime after making a rational choice,
-cost-benefit analysis (weighing up the costs and rewards)
-if rewards way out way the risks they are more likely to commit crime
-if offender can easily achieve goal they are more likely to do the crime
-Criminals don’t act randomly they look for a suitable target in which they are more likely to achieve their goals EXAMPLE:pick-pockets observe people in public place and look for suitable victims
Felson-routine theory(rationalising on whether to commit crime)
1)motivation:offender must be driven to offend, can’t make mistakes to get caught
2)target:accessible victim/target
3)absence of capable guardian:no authoritative figures around E.G-police officers/witness
evaluation:
-wrongly assumes all crimes are pre planned+rational.Ignores spontaneous crimes committed E.G-Under influence of drugs/alchohol
-helps us understand crimes which achieve material goals but fails to explain non utilitarian crimes
Right realists views on why people commit crime -underclass theory
Murray:
-growing underclass which is the route of society’s problems
Underclass:welfare state dependent group,beneath respectful w/c
-single mothers+illegitimate children
-welfare state provides perverse incentives->rewards irresponsible behaviour E.G-getting pregnant ->more likely to behave deviantly as have no responsibilities
-poor socialising->children grow up to be deviant+disrespectful
-lack of father figure causes deviant subcultures->engage in deviant behaviour
Evaluation
-Murray makes inaccurate claims about those who have access to state welfare, majority are in paid employment+not involved in crime
-fails to consider some on benefits may commit crime for practical reasons E.G-poverty,survival means
-theory can’t be used to explain m/c crime such as tax invasion which cost society more
Right realists solutions to reducing crime
reduce likelihood of being a target
Wilson+Kelling
Broken window theory
-run down area attracts criminals E.G-boarded up house attracts criminals as a base for crimes
1)environmental crime prevention:community works together to care for appearance of area E.G-Streets kept clear of litter etc ->gives impression that people look out for each other in community less attractive for criminals
Evaluation
-a lot of crimes occur in well kept areas as offenders view this as a sign of wealth, so area is a target
-just because an area looks nice doesn’t keep people from committing crime
2)situational crime prevention-Felson
-people need to make themselves harder to target(designing out crime)
-people should ensure their properties have CCTV,decent locks etc
-harder it is to access a property, it’s less likely a offender will target it,similar approach can be taken in local area E.G-neighbourhood watch schemes
Evaluation:
-doesn’t reduce crime,simply displaces it->look for another target e.g poorer area
Right realists solutions to crime
tackling perpetrators harshly
Wilson and Kelling:
zero tolerance theory:
-selective law enforcement staff punishing criminals harshly, even for monitor incidents
-shows they mean business->reduce serious crimes
-prison sentences should be harsher for more serious crimes ->longer sentence
evaluation:
-zero tolerance policy can do more harm than good ->creates hostile relationships between police and certain communities
-little evidence suggests tougher punishments will reduce crime E.G-USA
Left realists explanations for crime
Relative deprivation
Lea+Young
blame social inequality
-people who are more individualistic are more likely to act upon feelings of deprivation->don’t care what people think
evaluation:
+theory identifies link between growing culture of envy+rise in crime committed for material reasons
-over predicts the amount of crime which should be occurring,a lot of people experience relative deprivation but most don’t respond with crime
left realist
subcultural theory
subculture:group of people who’s norms and values are different to main stream society
-people feel strain:prevented from achieving goals
1)conformist subculture:participating in religious organisations
-offers theodicy of disprivilege:religious explanation for suffering+promise reward in afterlife
2)devient subculture:use innovation to achieve material success
3)retreatist subculture:given up on achieving goals instead engage in withdrawn behaviours E.G-drug taking
evaluation:
-fails to tell us why people choose deviant subcultures whilst others choose conformist etc
-fails to explain individualised crime or crimes not related to strain such as non untilitarian crime or violent crime
Left realists
-marginalisation theory
-Young unemployed are socially excluded+devalued
-regarded as workshy and unintelligent
-leads to status frustration (see others being respected+irritated that they are disrespected
-crime is used as an outlet for frustration
EXAMPLES:vandalism, hate crime, rioting, non utilitarian crime
Evaluation
-only really focuses on crimes committed out of frustration, ignores a range of other offences eg materialistic
-fails to explain why m/c people may break the law
-concept of marginalisation cannot be objectively measured in the first place
Left realist
-impact of late modernity+social exclusion
Young :
-number of changes which have impacted negatively on w/c communities
EXAMPLE:deindustrialisation led to decimation of w/c communities as factories closed so unemployment rates increased
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