realist approaches to crime Flashcards
popular puntiveness
public vote for harsher punishment
clarke - rational choice theory
argues that the decision to commit crime is a choice based on rational calculation of the likely consequences
criticisms of the rational choice theory
- may create an innovator
- doesn’t explain the poverty factor of crime
- costly
- overcrowded prisons
- starts a deviant career
what argument undermines these criticisms?
every government in the last 40 years has gone for a right realist approach, even new labour in 1997 and labour in 2024
wilson & herrnstein - biological differences
- crime is caused by a combination of biological and social factors
- some people are more strongly predisposed to commit crime than others
- main cause of crime is low intelligence
how does Lilly et al criticise wilson and herrnstein?
IQ differences account for less than 3% of offending
Murray - socialisation & the underclass
- argues that crime rate is increasing because of a growing underclass who are defined by there deviant bahviour and fail to socialise their children properly
who does murray argue are ineffective socialisation agents?
Lone mothers, speficially for boys
what is the effect of inadequate socialisation?
this lack of paternal discipline and approriate male role model results in them turning to delinquent role models and gain status through crime
zero tolerance policy
police should patrol the streets and take a ‘short, sharp, shock’ approach and carry out stop and searches on suspicious characters
target hardening
increase use of CCTV, locks, secruity
what is the criticism of zero tolerance?
crime will just move elsewhere - displacement
what are the 3 areas that cause crime according to lea and young?
relative deprivation, political marginalisation and subcultural support
how does relative deprivation lead to crime?
when people resent others unfairly for having more they resort to crime to obtain what they feel obligied to
how has the media affected relative deprivation?
People are more aware of relative deprivation due to the media and avertising, which raises everyones expectations for material possession
how does subcultures cause crime?
criminal subcultures subscribe to the values and goals of mainstream society but opportunities to achieve these goals legimately are blocked, so resort to street crime instead.
how does marginalisation lead to crime?
unemployed youth are marginalised, they express their frustration through criminal means
perry pre school project 1962
A study where they invested lots of money into a pre school and compared the pre-school group to a control group over 50 years
what were the outcomes of the perry pre school project?
The children all went to university, achieved high paying jobs, by this point the control group already has a crime rate of 50%
What does the perry pre school project show?
It shows that if the government invested enough funding into schools from a young age, we’d have more equal life opportunties and more successful future set up
why would no government implent the perry pre school project?
- Because a government is only in for 4/5 years so they won’t see the benefits of it
- the public don’t like it as it’s seen as a soft approach
military policing
swamping an area and conducting random stop and searches
what do left realists think needs to be changed in policing to prevent crime?
police need to improve their relationship with local communities by spending more time investigating crime, changing their priorities and involving the public in policing policy
what do left realists believe needs to be changed structurally to stop crime?
deal with inequality of opportunity, unfairness of rewards, tackle discrimination, provide decent jobs and imrpove housing
