Realist Theories Of Crime

Question 1

What are the 3 factors that right realists believe crime is the product of ?

Answer 1

-biological differences
-inadequate socialisation
-rational choice theory

Question 2

Biological differences - what is the biosocial theory put forward by Wilson and Herrnstein?

Answer 2

Wilson and herrnstein put forward a biosocial theory of criminal behaviour . In their view , crime is caused by a combination of biological and social factors.
Biological differences between individuals make some people more strongly predisposed to commit crimes compared to others . For example . Personality traits such as aggressiveness , risk taking and low impulse control put some people at greater risk of offending

Question 3

Biological differences - what do Herrnstein and Murray argue is the main cause of crime ?

Answer 3

Herrnstein and Murray argue that the main cause of crime is low intelligence , which they see as biologically determined

Question 4

Inadequate socialisation - what do right realists believe is the best agency of socialisation and what does it do to help crime ?

Answer 4

For right realists , they best agency of social control is the nuclear family , as effective socialisation involves learning self control and internalising values of right and wrong

Question 5

Inadequate socialisation - why does right realist Murray believe the crime rate is growing and what is this a result of especially in the USA And Uk ?

Answer 5

Right realists Murray argues that the crime rate is increasing because of a growing underclass who are defined by their deviant behaviour and fail to socialiser their children properly
According to Murray the underclass is growing in both the USA and Uk as a result of welfare dependency

Question 6

Inadequate socialisation - why does right realist Murray argue that the welfare being generous leads to inadequate socialisation for boys ?

Answer 6

Murray argues that the welfare state being generous has led to increasing number of people becoming state dependent which had led to the decline of marriage and the growth of lone parent families because women and children can live off benefits.
However , lone mothers are ineffective socialisation agents especially for boys . Absent fathers means that boys lack parental discipline and male role models , as a result boys turn to other normally delinquent role models on the street and gain their status through crime

Question 7

Rational choice theory -what does right realist Clarke argue the rational choice theory is ?

Answer 7

Clarke argues that a decision to commit a crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences. If the perceived rewards of the crime outweigh the costs then people are more likely to offend

Question 8

What are the criticisms of the right realist explanation for the causes of crime including lily et al ?

Answer 8

-it ignores wider structural causes such as poverty
-it overstates offenders rationality and how far they make cost - benefit calculations before committing a crime , while it may explain utilitarian crime it may not explain violent or impulsive crime
- over emphasise biological factors eg Lily et al found IQ differences account for less than 3% of differences in offending

Question 9

How do right realists believe we should tackle crime ?

Answer 9

Right realists believe to tackle crime we should make it les attractive such as reducing the rewards and increasing the costs of the crime

Question 10

What do right realists Wilson and kelling find about zero tolerance policing eg broken window theory ?

Answer 10

Wilson and Kelling’s have an article broken window which argues that it is essential to maintain the orderly character of the neighbourhoods to prevent crime , any sign of deterioration such as graffiti and vandalism should be delt with immediately
They advocate a zero tolerance policy towards undesirable behaviours such as prostitution , begging and drunkenness , the police should control these behaviours so others feel safe

Question 11

Why does right realist Young believe zero tolerance is a myth especially in his study ?

Answer 11

Young argues that zero tolerance was a myth peddled by politicians and police who were keen to take the credit for failing crime rates but in fact the crime rate in New York has already been falling 9 years before zero tolerance was introduced and was falling in other cities which didn’t have zero tolerance policies

Question 12

What are criticisms of zero tolerance ?

Answer 12

-its preoccupied with petty street crimes and ignores corporate crimes , which are more likely to be costly and harmful
-it gives the police free rein to discriminate against minorities , youth , the homeless etc
-zero tolerance and target hardening just lead to displacement of crime into other areas

Question 13

How do left realists criticise Marxists for not taking crime seriously ?

Answer 13

Marxists have concentrated on crimes of the powerful such as corporate crime which left realists argue is important but they argue it neglects working class crime and its effects

Question 14

How do left realists criticise Neo Marxists for not taking crime seriously ?

Answer 14

Neo Marxists romanticise working class criminals as Robin hoods stealing from the rich as an act of political resistance to capitalism. But left realists point out that working class criminals mostly victimise other working class people not the rich

Question 15

How do left realists criticise labelling theory for not taking crime seriously ?

Answer 15

Labelling theorists see working class criminals as the victims of discriminatory labelling by social control agents . Left realists argue that this approach neglects the real victims -working class people who suffer at the hand of real criminals

Question 16

What do left realists mean by the aetiological crisis (young )?

Answer 16

Young argues that the real increase of crime led to an aetiological crisis - a crisis in explanation for theories of crime
Critical criminology and labelling theory tend to deny that the increase was real and argue it was the result of increased reporting or increased tendency to label the poor so the statistics were a social construction not reality
However , left realists argue that the increase was too great to be explained in this way and was real , more people were reporting crime because more people were victim to crime

Question 17

What are the 3 causes of crime stated by Lea and Young ?

Answer 17

-relative deprivation
-subcultures
-marginalisation

Question 18

How do Lea and young explain relative deprivation as a cause of crime and how its linked to todays society ?

Answer 18

Relative derivation refers to how someone feels in relation to others this can lead to crime when people feel they need to obtain what they are entitled to.
They believe there is more crime today due to people being more aware of their relative deprivation due to the media and advertising which raise everyone’s expectations for material possessions , those who cannot afford them resort to crime instead

Question 19

How does young believe the combination of relative deprivation and individualism leads to increased levels of crime ?

Answer 19

Young argues the lethal combination of relative deprivation and individualism (concern with the self and one’s own individual rights , rather than those of the group ) and it causes crime by encouraging the pursuit of self interest at the expense of others

Question 20

What do left realists believe a the purpose of a subculture ?

Answer 20

For left realists a subculture is a groups collective solution to the problem of relative deprivation

Question 21

How do left realists believe marginalisation leads to increased crime rates ?

Answer 21

Those who are marginalised such as unemployed youths or minority ethnic groups have no organisation to represent them and no clear goals just frustration they feel like they do not belong anywhere
Being powerless to use political means to improve their position they express their frustration through criminal means such as a violence and rioting

Question 22

Why has there been an increase in the anti social behaviour rate while the normal crime rate is falling , what are the main features according to young ?

Answer 22

-blurring the boundaries of crime - so incivilities become crimes , breaching an anti social behaviour order is itself a crime thus manufacturing more crime
-subjective definition - anti social behaviour has no objective definition , it is in the eye of the beholder
-flexibility - anti social behaviour orders have been used against people wearing hoodies , making noise , letting off fireworks , begging. This subjective definition means the net can be constantly widened

Question 23

How do left realists lea and young believe we can tackle crime ?

Answer 23

-improve policing and control
-deal with deeper structural causes of crime

Question 24

Tackling crime - what do left realists believe is the problem with military policing and why do police do it in the first place ?

Answer 24

The police depend on the public to provide them with information about crimes. However , the police are losing public support , especially among ethnic minorities and the young
As a result , the flow of information dries up and police come to rely on military policing instead such as swamping an area and using random stop and search tactics . This alienates a community where locals no longer trust the police and do not provide them with information so is a viscous circle where police resort to military policing and so on

Question 25

Tackling crime - what do left realists believe police need to do to tackle crime ?

Answer 25

Left realists argue that policing must be made accountable to local communities and deal with local concerns . Routine beat patrols are ineffective and stop and search tactic cause conflict
Police need to improve their relationship with local communities by spending more time investigating crime and changing their priorities eg they over police minor drug crime but under police racist attacks and domestic violence

Question 26

Tacking crime - what do left realists mean by a multi agency approach to tackle crime ?

Answer 26

Left realists argue that crime control cannot be left to the police alone - a multi agency approach is needed .
This would involve agencies such as local councils , social services , housing departments , schools , leisure services , voluntary organisations , public and victim support

Question 27

Tackling crime - how do left realists such as Lea and Young belie we must tackle the structural causes to reduce crime ?

Answer 27

In left realists view , the causes of crime lie in the unequal structure of society and major structural changes are needed if we want to reduce crime.
We must deal with inequality of opportunity , tackle discrimination , provide decent jobs for everyone , improve housing and community facilities
We must also become more tolerant of diversity and cease stereotyping whole groups as criminal

Question 28

What are criticisms of left realism include interactionists ?

Answer 28

-interactionists argue because left realists rely on quantitative data from victim surveys , they cannot explain the offenders motives
-relative deprivation cannot fully explain crime because not all those who experience it commit crime so the theory over predicts the amount of crime
-its focus on high crime inner city areas gives an unrepresentative view and makes crime appear as a greater problem than it is