Realist theories

Question 1

what do realists say about crime

Answer 1

Crime is not just a soc9al construction

Question 2

how do realists argue that crime is not just a social construction

Answer 2

have a significant use in the crime rate

Concerned about the widespread fear of crime and impact of crime on its victims

other theries fail to offer realistic solutions to crime whereas realist offer practical ways to reduce crime

Question 3

what is the general outlook of right realists

Answer 3

such as new right

adopt a ‘get tough’’ approach

Question 4

what his the general outlook of left realists

Answer 4

socialist

favour different approaches/policies on how to reduce crime

Question 5

What causes crime according to High Realists

Answer 5

rational choice theory

broken windows there

the underclass

Question 6

How should we prevent crime according to right realist?

Answer 6

Situational Crime Prevention

Environmental Crime Prevention

Question 7

What is Rational Choice theory

Answer 7

individuals choose to commit crime

most individuals are rational actors

if the risk of committing a crime is low or the risk of getting caught is not severe they ar emore likely to commit the crime

They are rational as they weigh up the risk and rewards of committing crime

Question 8

What is the method of preventing rational choice theory

Answer 8

Cohen and Felson - ‘Routine Activities theory’

Question 9

What is Routine Activities theory

Answer 9

Cohen and Felson

social control mechanisms, a high risk of getting caught and a low reward minimise crime

Crime requires three things
1. Individuals who were motivated to offend
2. The availability of opportunities and targets
3. the lack of cable gaurdians such as police or security

Question 10

Evaluation of Rational choice Theory

Answer 10

it does not exp. ain crimes of emotion/crimes of passion

status may come from the fact that you are prepared to take the risk

Question 11

What is Broken windows theory

Answer 11

by James Q Wilson and George Kelling

the most influential writing on crime

leaving broken windows in some neighbourhoods ()undue noise, littering, begging, vandalism)

With a lack of formal (police) and informal (community) social control, the situation area deteriorates

Question 12

Evaluation of Broken Windows theory

Answer 12

there is mild evidence of whether high levels of social disorder leads to high levels of social criminality

the concepts of both social disorder and crime are hard to define and measure, thus its hard to test the theory

Question 13

What is the Underclass?

Answer 13

Charles Murray - decline in family structure creates underclass

attributes the growth of crime to the growth of the underclass

Underclass - defined by deviant behaviour and fail to socialise their children properly.

children grow up and fail to understand the difference between right and wrong

Question 14

Evalaution of the Underclass

Answer 14

marxists may argue that there are deeper structural causes to the underclass, for example industry innovation causing long term unemployment

there is too great of a focus on the crimes of the underclass, and fail to notice on the crimes of the ei
lite

Question 15

what is situational crime prevention

Answer 15

focus on the specific point at which victims and criminals come together

making offending more difficult, not making punishment harder

based off rational choice theory - Felson and Clarke

Question 16

What are the types of Situational Crime Prevention

Answer 16

Routine activities theory Felson and Cohen
Target Hardening
Defensible Space - Oscar Newman

real-life example of situational crime prevention: Port Authority Bus Terminal New York - eliminated dark spaces etc

Question 17

evaluation of situational crimee prevention

Answer 17

crime displacement just moves crime on to other areas

impractical for rural areas h dispersed population

ignores the underlying causes of crime

Question 18

What is Environmental Crime Prevention

Answer 18

Involve changing the broader area in which crime occurs through increasing formal and informal social control measures to clamp down on anti-social

rely more heavily on pricing

example: Zero Tolerance Policing

Question 19

What is Zero tolerance policing

Answer 19

involves strictly enforcing law and penalties for minor offences to prevent further crime

specific example used in New York in the 1980s and 90s’clean car programme’ and asa resultt of ZT usage crime was reduced in New York by 50% form 1993-96

Liverpool in 2005 violent crime fell by 38%

Question 20

Evalaution of Environmental crime Prevention

Answer 20

Zero Tolerance policing may lead to further crime in the long run with criminal records and criminal careers after minor offences

more power to the police may cause greater stereotyping and a police state

Question 21

What is Left Realism

Answer 21

Developed in 1980s and 1990s

sees society as unequal and capitalist

reform rather than revolutionary socialists

need explanations of crime that will lead to practical strategies reducing it now rather than waiting for revolution

Question 22

What is Aetiological crisis

Answer 22

• Young (2011) suggests that the perceived increase in crime rates during the 1950s led to a crisis in explanation for theories of crime. Critical criminology and labelling theory tend to deny that the increase was real, viewing it as a social construction rather than a true reflection of crime rates.

Question 23

How do Left Realists understand crime?

Answer 23

Matthews 1993 - crime can only be understood from the interactions between two elements: the state, the offender, informal social control and the victim

Question 24

what causes crime according to left realists?

Answer 24

Leo and Young (1984) identify 3 related causes of crime: relative deprivation, sub-culture and marginalisation

Question 25

what is relative deprivation

Answer 25

crime has roots in deprivation, but deprivation is not directly responsible for crime

individualism and relative deprivation leads to crime

individualism is the concern with oneself and rights

Question 26

What is the subculture cause of crime?

Answer 26

linked to criminal subculture work by Merton

sub-culture is a group collective solution to a problem or relative deprivation

different groups create different sub-cultural solutions

primal sub-cultures often subscribe to the values of society but resort to crime as the legitimate means are blocked

Question 27

what is marginalisation

Answer 27

these groups lack clear goals and organisation to represent their interests

being powerless to use political means to improve position means they express frustration through crime

Question 29

what is the left realist explanation to falling crime rates

Answer 29

Aetiological crisis

crime rates have fallen, but since crime is a social construction it is still a problem

61% of people believe crime rates have risen CSEW 2014

Question 30

How does left realism explain rising anti-social behaviour rate

Answer 30

since the 1990s governments have been trying to control the wider range of behaviour with ASBOs and IPnAs

they have several key features

blurring the boundaries of crime
subjective definition
flexibility

crime rate is going down but replaced iwht a ‘new crime wave’

Question 31

How do left realists tackle cerium

Answer 31

Kindly, Lea ajnd Young (1986) due police clean up rates are too low to be considered effective in deterring crime, police do not spend enough time investigating crime

military policing - the police rely on the public for information,. Police losing public support especially in inner cities and with ethnic minorities

swamping and stop and search tactics - alienates communities

policing must be accountable for local communities and and deal with local issues, communities should be involved in policing policy

called “multi-agency approach’

Question 32

evaluation of left realism

Answer 32

fails to explain the causes of street crime

neglects corporate crimes

idealistic, society could have less crime in this way but is that any more realistic Thant he approach of traditional marxists