realist theories Flashcards
right realists - crime is the product of 3 factors
biological differneces
inadequet socialisation
individuals rational choice to offend
right realism - the causes of crime - biological differences
Wilson and Herrnstein - put forward a biosocial theory of criminal behaviour
crime is casued by a combination of biological and social factors
biological differences between people make some innately strongly predisposed to commit crime than others
and low intelligence
right realism - the causes of crime - socialisation
while biology increases the chance of offending, effective socialisation decreases it
learning self-control
the best agency of socialisation is the nuclear family
Murray - crime is increasing due to the growing underclass who fail to socialise their children properly.
underclass is growing due to welfare dependency and has increased lone parent families
lone mothers are ineffective at socialising boys. they lack male role models so turn to delinquent role models in street gangs
right realism - the causes of crime - socialisation AO3
there is no evidence that young people raised in lone-parent families are more likely to commit crime
right realism - the causes of crime - rational choice theory
individuals have free will
the decision to commit a crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences
if the rewards outweigh the costs = more likely to offend
the perceived costs of crime is low, which is why the crime rate has increased
right realism - the causes of crime - Ao3 - ignores wider…
it ignores wider structural causes such as poverty
right realism - the causes of crime - rational choice theory AO3
it overstates the offenders rationality and how far they make cost-benefit calculations before committing a crime
doesn’t explain violent crime
right realism - the causes of crime - biological differences AO3
it overemphasises biological factors
Lilly et al - IQ differences account for less than 3% of differences in offending
right relaism - tackling crime - zero tolerance
any sign of criminal activity must be dealt with immediately
police should focus on controlling the streets so that law-abiding citizens feel safe
it achieved huge reductions of crime after it was introduced in New York
right relaism - tackling crime - zero tolerance AO2
example of zero tolerance policing
‘clean car program’
was put in place in the subway where cars were taken out of service immediately if there was graffiti and returned clean. As a result, graffiti was largely removed
right realism - tackling crime - zero-tolerance Ao3 - myth
zero tolerance policy’s success in New York was a myth peddled by politicians and police keen to take the credit for falling crime
but the crime rate in NY had already been falling 9 years before zero tolerance
right realism - tackling crime - zero-tolerance Ao3 - free rein
it gives police free rein to discriminate against minorities, youth, the homeless and others
how do left realists criticise marxists
they concentrate on crimes of the powerful so they neglect WC crime and its effects
how do left realists criticise Neo-marxists
romanticise WC criminals as straling from the rich as an act of political resistance against capitlaism
how do left realists criticise labelling theorists
see WC criminals as victims of discriminatory labelling by social control agents.
LR - this approach neglects the real victims - WC people
left realism - aetiological crisis
there was a real increase in crime and this lead to an aetiological crisis - a crisis in explanation
for example, labelling theorists deny the increase in crime is real and instead its due to increased reporting and social construction
LR argue the increase is real and to great to be explained in this way
left realism - 3 causes of crime
relative depriavtion
subculture
marginalisation
left realism causes of crime - relative deprivation
refer to how deprived someone feels in relation to others - can lead to crime when someone resents others for unfairly having more than them
people are now more aware of relative deprivation due to the media
RD alone doesn’t lead to crime -it’s the combination of RD and individualism.
it causes crime by encouraging the pursuit of self-interest at the expense of others
it undermines the values of mutual support and selflessness = a spiral of anti-social behaviour
left realism causes of crime - subculture
a subculture is a group’s collective solution to the problem of RD
different groups produce different subcultural solutions
some may turn to crime to close the deprivation gap while others may find religion as a spiritual comfort
but some subcultures still conform to the materialism
AO2: there are neighbourhoods in the USA that are fully immersed in the American dream. but opportunities to achieve these goals legitimately are blocked.
left realism causes of crime - marginalisation
marginalised groups lack clear goals and organisations to represent their interest
workers have goals so have no need to resort to violence to achieve
but unemployed youth have no one to represent them so feel resentment and frustration
being powerless to use political means to improve their position they express their frustration through criminal means
left realism - late modernity
Young
we are now living in the stage of late modern society where instability makes crime worse
deindustrialisation has increased this and unemployment, especially for minority ethnic groups. has destabilised families and increased the exclusion of those at the bottom
greater inequality between rich and poor encourages individualism and RD
There is a contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion as a source of RD:
- media-saturated society promotes materialism
RD is widespread - there’s a resentment at the undeservedly high rewards some get
so crime is found throughout the structure, not just the bottom
reactions to crime are changing - more intolerant of crime
AO2: the crime survey found that __% thought crime had risen not fallen in the past 10 years
the crime survey found that 81% thought crime had risen not fallen in the past 10 years
Ao2: rising antisocial behaviour rate
crime surveys show a high level of public concern about anti-social behaviour
governments have aimed to control this by ASBOs (anti-social behaviour orders)
has features such as:
subjective definition: anti-social behaviour has no objective definition. its in the eye of the beholder
left realism - tackling crime - policing problems
Kinsey, Lea and Young argue there are a number of flaws:
- clear up rate is low
- police rely on a flow of info from the public (90% of crimes known to the police are reported by the public)
but public confidence in the police is decreasing
- without this, police resort to military policing - stopping and searching large numbers of people or using surveillance technology
left realism - tackling crime - improving policing
key to police success lies in improving relationships with the community. Kinsey, Lea and Young recommend that:
- the public have more say
- police should spend more time investigating crime
left realism - tackling the social causes of crime
LR see the problem of crime as rooted in social inequalities
Young suggests:
- improving lesisure facilities for the young
- raising the livig standards of poorer fmailies
left realism - tackling crime - Ao3 - marxist
marxists criticise relaism fo rignoring the ‘real’ causes of crime that lie in the wider capitlaist system and of ignoring crimes of powerful groups
left realism - tackling crime - Ao3 - Jones
argues LR fails to explain why some peple who are experience RD turn to crime while others do not
left realism and social policy
LR approaches have been put into practise by new labour governments
the police now employ civilians (community police officer) to do routine tasks, thus freeing police officers to investigate crime
simialrities between left and right realism
see crime as a real problem
theres a real increase in crime rate
differences between left and right realism
RR = neo-conservatives
LR = reformist socialists
RR = blame individual self control for crime
LR = blame structural inequalities
