Realist theories of crime

Question 1

How does Right realism view crime?

Answer 1

• A real and growing problem that destroys communities, undermines social cohesion and threatens society’s work ethic

Question 2

What was the main policy adopted by right realist Q.Wilson?

Answer 2

‘Zero tolerance’ of street crime and disorder

Question 3

What did right realists see as the best way of controlling crime?

Answer 3

Control and punishment rather than rehabilitating offenders or tackling causes of crime such as poverty

Question 4

Who do right realists criticise and why?

Answer 4

• Regard theories such as labelling and critical criminology as too sympathetic to the criminals and hostile to the forces of law
• Less concerned with understanding crime and more concerned with providing realistic solutions

Question 5

For right realists what 3 factors are the product of crime?

Answer 5

1. Individual biological differences
2. Inadequate socialisation
3. Individuals rational choice to offend (rational choice theory)

Question 6

How did Wilson and Herrnstein use their biosocial theory to explain criminal behaviour?

Answer 6

• Biological differences between individuals make some people innately more strongly predisposed to commit crime
• Low intelligence can also be argued as biologically determined

Question 7

What did the right realist Murray say on how socialisation and the underclass affect criminal behaviour?

Answer 7

• Claims that crime is increasing due because of a growing underclass who fails to adequately socialise their kids
• The underclass is growing due to welfare dependency, he calls it the ‘generous revolution’
• Lone mothers are ineffective socialisation agents, especially to boys who require paternal discipline

Question 8

What do rational choice theorists such as Clarke say?

Answer 8

• Argue that the decision to commit crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences
• The perceived rewards of crime outweighs the costs making offenders more likely to offend

Question 9

How do Felson develop on the rational choice theory with his routine activity theory?

Answer 9

• He argues for a crime to occur their must be a motivated offender, a suitable target and the absence of a ‘capable guardian’

Question 10

What are 2 criticisms of right realism?

Answer 10

1. It overstates offenders rationalist and how far they make cost-benefit calculations
2. Ignores wider structural causes

Question 11

What was the Broken Windows article by Wilson and Kelling’s about?

Answer 11

Minor instances (e.g, graffiti or vandalism) of social and physical disorder in urban spaces can contribute to an atmosphere of lawlessness that encourages more serious crimes
- Therefore they advocate a ‘zero tolerance’ policy and to deal with any deterioration immediately

Question 12

How can ‘zero tolerance’ be argued as an urban myth?

Answer 12

• Can be argued that its ‘success’ in NYC was a myth peddled by politicians and police keen to take the credit for falling crime
• Re labelled minor deviants acts that previously fallen outside their ‘net’ to worthy of punishment

Question 13

How does Left realism view crime?

Answer 13

They believe we need explanations of crime that will lead to practical strategies for reducing it

Question 14

How does left realists accuse Marxists, Neo-Marxists and Labelling theorists as not taking crime seriously?

Answer 14

Marxists - have concentrated crimes of the powerful neglecting WC crimes and its effects
Neo-Marxists - romanticise WC criminals (most of the time WC criminals victimise other WC people not the rich)
Labelling theorists - sees WC as the victims of discriminatory labelling but neglects the real victims

Question 15

What was the aetiological crisis?

Answer 15

• A crisis in explaining crime rates increasing, critical criminologists and labelling theorists deny the increase was real but a social construction
• Left realists argue that the increase was too great to explain

Question 16

What was the 3 causes of crime suggested by Lea and Young?

Answer 16

1. Relative deprivation
2. Subculture
3. Marginalisation

Question 17

How is relative deprivation a cause of crime?

Answer 17

• Poverty was rife in the 1930s yet crime rates were low but since living standards has risen so has crime rates
• ‘How deprived someone feel in relation to others’ which is argued as the paradox of today’s society which is due to the media and advertising

Question 18

How does Young argue that relative deprivation alone does not necessarily lead to crime?

Answer 18

• ‘The lethal combination is relative deprivation and individualism’
• Individualism is the concern with the self and one’s own individual rather than those of the group by encouraging the pursuit of self-interest at the expense of others

Question 19

How can subcultures be used to describe criminal behaviour?

Answer 19

• Referring back to Merton, Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin the concept of blocked opportunities leads to a subculture as a groups reaction to the failure of achieving mainstream goals
  -Different groups may produce different subcultural solutions to the problem and turn to crime to close the ‘deprivation gap’

Question 20

What is ‘theodicy of disprivilege’ by Weber?

Answer 20

Religion offering spiritual comfort within the earthly poverty

Question 21

How does Young use marginalisation to explain crime?

Answer 21

• Marginalised groups lack both clear goals and organisations to represent their interests
• Young argues unemployed youth have no organisations to represent them, too powerless to use political means to improve their position so express their frustration through criminal behaviour

Question 22

How does Young argue that we live in a late modern society?

Answer 22

• We are now living in the stage of instability, insecurity and exclusion making the problem of crime worse
• This is contrasted with the 1950/60s which is described as the ‘golden age’ of stability, security, social inclusion and a fairly comprehensive welfare state

Question 23

Why has insecurity and exclusion increased since the 1970s?

Answer 23

• Deindustrialisation and the loss of unskilled jobs have increased unemployment which has destabilised family and community life

Question 24

What does Young say on the growing contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion as a source of relative deprivation?

Answer 24

1. Media-saturated late modern society promotes cultural inclusion as even the poor has access to the media’s materialistic and consumeristic cultural messages
2. There is a greater emphasis on leisure and immediate gratification
3. Despite the ideology of meritocracy the poor are denied opportunities of cultural goals

Question 25

What are 3 reasons for the rising ‘anti-social behaviour rate’?

Answer 25

1. Blurring the boundaries of crime - ‘incivilities’ becoming a crime thus ‘manufacturing more crime’
2. Subjective definition - antisocial behaviour has no objective definition
3. Flexibility - the net has been widening to generate an almost endless number of infringements

Question 26

What main way does Lea and Young identify as a way of tackling crime through policing and control?

Answer 26

The public must become more involved in determining the police’s priorities and style of policing

Question 27

Why has military policing been used as a style of crime?

Answer 27

• The police are losing public support as a result the flow of information dries up and police therefore rely on military policing (random stop and search)
• This alienates communities and results in a vicious cycle

Question 28

Why does left realists believe we should tackle the structural causes of crime?

Answer 28

• Causes of crime lie in the unequal structure of society so we must deal with inequality of opportunity and the unfairness of rewards aswell as tackling discrimination

Question 29

How has left realists had an impact of government policy?

Answer 29

• They have strong similarities to New Labour governments stance of being ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’
• New Labour firmer approach to policing hate crimes and sexual assaults echoed left realists concerns to protect vulnerable groups