Right Realism

Question 1

How do right realists see crime?

Answer 1

• As a real and growing problem that destroys communities, undermines social cohesion and theatens society’s work ethic
• Agree with neo-conservative governments during the 70’s and 80’s

Question 2

What are the causes of crime according to right realists?

Answer 2

1. Biological differences
   - Wilson and Herrnstein (1985): personality traits such as aggressiveness, extroversion, risk taking and low impulse control make some more likely to commit than others
2. Socialisation and the underclass:
   - Effective socialisation decreases the risk since it involves learning self-control and internalising moral values of right and wrong
   - Murray (1990): the underclass can’t socialise their children properly
3. Rational choice theory:
   - Assumes that individuals have free will and the power of reason
   - Clarke (1980): the decision to commit a crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences
   - The perceived costs of crime are low which is why crime has increased

Question 3

Critisisms of the right realist explanations of crime

Answer 3

1. Ignores wider structural causes such as poverty
2. It overstates offenders’ rationality and how far they make cost-benefit calculations before committing a crime
3. Over-emphasises biological factors: Lilly et al (2002): IQ differences account for less than 3% of differences in offending

Question 4

Tackling crime

Answer 4

• Their main focus is on control, containment and punishment of offenders rather than elimiating the underlying causes/ rehabilitation
• Target hardening
• Zero tolerance/ broken windows theory: essential to maintain the orderly character of neighbourhoods to prevent crime

Question 5

Zero tolerance in New York

Answer 5

• Young (2011)
• Zero tolerance policing was first introduced in New York in 1994
• But the crime rate in NY had been declining for 9 years before the intro of zero tolerance

Question 6

What are the criticisms of zero tolerance?

Answer 6

• It’s preoccupied with petty street crime and ignores corporate crime
• It gives the police free rein to discriminate
• It over-emphasises control of disorder over tackling the causes such as lack of investment
• Leads to displacement