Right realist views of Crime and Deviance

Question 1

what do wilson and herrnstein argue

Answer 1

Crime is caused by a combination of biological and social factors
- such as aggressiveness and low impulse control

Question 2

What do Herrnstein and murray argue

Answer 2

Main cause of crime is low intelligence which they also see as biologically determined

Question 3

what does lilly (2002) argue (evaluation)

Answer 3

IQ differences account for less than 3% of offending

Question 4

what does charles murray argue

Answer 4

Crime is increasing because of a growing underclass who fail to socialise their children properly
( lone parent families )
- lone mothers are ineffective socialisation agents
- absent fathers mean boys lack parental disciple and appropriate male role models
- males turn to delinquent behaviours and gain status through crime

Question 5

what does bennett argue

Answer 5

crime is the result of growing up surrounded by deviant and criminal adults in a practically perfect criminogenic environment

Question 6

what does rational choice theorist ron clarke argue

Answer 6

decision to commit crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences .
- if rewards of crime outweigh those of non criminal behaviour ,people are likely to offend

Question 7

what does wilson argue

Answer 7

there’s little risk of being caught and punishments are lenient
“ if value of legitimate and alleviate means were declining , a rational teenager might conclude that it made more sense to steal a car rather than wash it .”

Question 8

what does felson argue

Answer 8

routine activity theory :
for a crime to occur there must be a motivated offender , a suitable target and the absence of a capable guardian (police)
- assumed to act rationally so the absence of a guardian is likely to deter them

Question 9

what do wilson and kelling argue

Answer 9

Broken window theory :
- the essential to maintain character of neighbourhoods to prevent crime taking hold
- any sign of graffiti or vandalism must be dealt with immediately

Question 10

what does jock young say

Answer 10

zero tolerance:
police and politicians keen to take the credit for falling crime
- police need arrests to justify their existence

Question 11

what are evaluations of right realists

Answer 11

• ignores wider structural causes of crime such as poverty ( link to marxism )
• overstates offenders rationality and how far they make cost benefit calculations before committing a crime
  • does not explain violence of impulsive crime

Question 12

what are evaluations of the zero tolerance

Answer 12

• preoccupied with petty street crime and ignores corporate crime which is more harmful
• gives police free reign to discriminate against minorities
• zero tolerance leads to displacement of crime to other areas