Realist Theorists Flashcards
Realists believe that crime is a…
Real problem to be tackled
What do realists argue about crime ?
- There’s been a real increase in crime rates, especially street crime, burglary & assault
- concerned about the widespread fear of crime and impact on its victims
- other theories have failed to offer realistic solutions to the problem of crime and practical policies to solve it
When did realism emerge ?
1970’s and 1980’s when politics shifted to the right
What are the two types of realist approaches ?
- Right realists - new right/ neoliberal outlook. They favour get tough stances on crime
- Left realists- socialists and favour different policies for reducing crime
What do Right realists say about crime ?
- Right realism sees crime as a real growing problem that destroys communities, undermines social cohesion, and threatens society’s work ethic
- Policies influenced by right realism don’t focus on the cause of crime but rather practical approaches which focuses on crime control measures such as harsher punishments
- They criticise other theories for their failure to identify any practical crime prevention measures arguing that other theories are too sympathetic to the offender
How do right realists criticise other theories ?
- They argue Marxists emphasise too much on capitalism causing crime control measures
- Labelling focuses too much on ‘others to blame’
What are the 3 causes of crime according to right realists ?
- Biological differences
- Socialisation and the underclass
- Rational choice theory
~ Routine activity theory
What is biological differences in terms of a right realist cause of crime?
Some people are more pre-disposed to commit crime than others and having personality traits such as aggression, impulsiveness etc can put an individual at greater rusk of offending
HERNSTEIN AND MURRAY - Main cause of crime is low intelligence levels which attributes to biology
*Hernstein and Murray
Biological differences - right realist causes of crime
Low IQ is the main cause of crime which attributes to biology
What is meant by socialisation and the underclass in terms of a right realist cause of crime?
Biology may pre-dispose an individual to committing crime however effective socialisation can decrease the risk of them becoming offenders. A nuclear family is needed to do this as the male role models of a father instills discipline
CHARLES MURRAY -
crime is increasing due to an increase of the underclass who are defined by their deviant children and inadequately socialising their children. The state has undergone a ‘ Generous revolution’
BENNET, DILULIO AND WALTERS-
Children that grow up around “deviant, delinquent and criminal adults” produce “vicious, predatory, unrepentant street criminals
*Charles Murray
crime is increasing due to an increase of the underclass who are defined by their deviant children and inadequately socialising their children. The state has undergone a ‘ Generous revolution’
*Bennet, Dilulio and Walters
Children that grow up around “deviant, delinquent, criminal adults” produces “vicious, predatory, unrepentant street criminals”
What is meant by the Rational Choice Theory in terms of right realist causes of crime?
CLARKE
Individuals have free will and the power of reason so the choice to commit crime was a choice based on rational calculation of the likely consequences
Why do they commit:
- the rewards of the crime outlay the perceived cost
- The benefit reaped illegitimately, outweighs the consequence the legitimate will enforce
- The risk of being caught is minimal and the law is lenient
WILSON
If the value of legitimate opportunities declines at the same time as the cost of illegitimate opportunities also declines then its very likely that crime will occur as it would seem to be the rational choice to ‘steal cars than wash them’
This links to the :
Routine activity theory
*Clarke
Rational choice theory - right realist cause of crime
Individuals have free will and the power of reason so the choice to commit crime was a choice based on rational calculation of the likely consequences
*Wilson
If the value of legitimate opportunities declines at the same time as the cost of illegitimate opportunities also declines then its very likely that crime will occur as it would seem to be the rational choice to ‘steal cars than wash them’
What is meant by the routine activity theory as part of the rational choice theory in right realist causes of crime?
For a crime to occur there must be 3 components:
- A motivated offender
- A suitable target - victim or property
- Absence of a suitable guardian - formal/ informal control agencies e.g police or neighbours
FELSON
An informal rational guardian is as likely to deter offending behaviour as the presence of police
*Felson
Routine activity theory - Rational choice theory - right realist cause of crime
The presence of an informal rational guardian is as likely to deter offending as police
What is some evaluation for the right realist causes of crime?
- it ignores structural causes of crime
- Rational choice - doesn’t adequately explain non-utilitarian crime
- Biological - Lily et al found IQ differences account for less than 3% of differences in offending
What are the 3 right realist solutions to tackle crime?
They don’t focus on the root cause of the crime but rather they focus on control, containment and punishment by reducing rewards
- Broken Windows - WILSON AND KELLING
- Zero tolerance policies
- Target hardening
*Wilson and Kelling
Right realist solution to causing crime - broken windows
It’s crucial to maintain the appearance and orderly character of a neighbourhood to prevent crime taking hold
What is meant by the right realist solution of crime ‘Broken windows’ ?
It’s crucial to maintain the appearance and orderly character of a neighbourhood to prevent crime taking hold
What is meant by the right realist solution of crime ‘Zero tolerance policies’ ?
There should be no tolerance of undesirable behaviour such as prostitution, begging etc. The police should control the streets so that the law abiding feel safe. This first introduced in New York
What is meant by the right realist solution of crime ‘Target hardening’ ?
Greater use of prisons, ensuring punishments are given quickly after the crime to maximise their deterrent effect. The cost of offending must be much greater
What is AO3 for Right realists solutions to tackling crime?
- Its preoccupied with petty street crime and ignores corporate crime
- Zero tolerance policies - Jones found that they failed to prevent crime in the USA
- Zero tolerance policies- Young says tat the success of these has been largely exaggerated and in fact a myth that politicians and police used for an already decreasing crime rate
