Realist Theories of Crime Flashcards
What does realist theories focus on?
- The reality of crime
- Achieving solutions to crime in society.
Which group of people are realist theories interested in?
- Victims
What do left realists do?
- Provide a causal explanation of crime
- Look at individuals and what has caused them to commit the crime.
What are the potential factors that cause people to commit crime?
Give at least two examples.
At least two from:
- Material deprivation – not being able to achieve/gain things through legitimate means but still wanting things, means that people could commit crime to achieve status and material items through criminality.
- Someone’s upbringing – crime, abuse, socialisation
- Revenge
- Greed – consumerism and capitalism.
- Subcultures and a want for status.
What do left realists argue to be the three causes for crime?
- Marginalisation
- Relative deprivation
- Subcultures
What does marginalisation refer to?
- Individuals who live on the margins of society and therefore cannot take part in society.
What is meant by relative deprivation, and what does this result in?
- This refers to some individuals being relatively deprived in comparison to others and this therefore leads to a sense of injustice and resentment.
How can left realist ideas of crime be evaluated?
Give at least three points.
At least three from:
- Left realists want to reduce crime in society by way of more community based improvements yet not using harsh punishments such as imprisonment.
- Marxists argue that left realism fails to explain corporate crime which is more harmful.
- Interactionalists argue that, because left realists rely on quantitative data from victim surveys, they cannot explain offenders’ motives.
- The use of subcultural theory, means that left realists assume that value consensus exists and that crime only happens when this breaks down.
- Relative deprivation cannot fully explain because not all those who experience it commit crime.
- Its focus on high-crime inner city areas gives an unrepresentative view and makes crime appear a greater problem than it is.
What do left realists suggest to be solutions to crime?
Give at least three examples.
At least three from:
- Community policing
- Ethnic minority police officers
- CCTV
- Community Service
- Community centres
What do right realist perspectives look at?
- The causes of crime and what can be put in place to deter criminals.
What four factors do right realists identify as a cause for crime?
- Biological differences
- Socialisation and the underclass
- Rational Choice Theory
- Opportunity
What do right realists give as potential solutions to crime?
Give at least three examples.
At least three from: - CCTV - Zero tolerance policing - Harsher punishments - More police officers - USA - 3 Strikes People have three chances and then are given life prison sentences.
What do right realist argue about biological differences in terms of socialisation and the underclass?
- While biology may increase the chance of the individual offending, effective socialisation decreases the risk, since it involves learning self-control and internalising moral values of right and wrong.
What do right realists suggest is the best agent of socialisation?
- The traditional nuclear family
What does rational choice theory do?
- Assume that individuals have free will and the power of reason.
