the realist theories of crime Flashcards
right and left realism: similarities and differences
- both theories see high crime rates as a serious problem
- both been influential in recent policy making
- RIGHT: badly behaved individuals cause crime
- LEFT: poor living conditions - social exclusion
- RIGHT realism supports a zero tolerance approach
- LEFT realism supports a more reformist approach - tough on the causes of crime
right realism (conservative) causes of crime:
- poor socialization
- lack of positive male role models
- under class
- generous welfare benefits
- poor parenting skills
left realism (labour - similar to marxism) causes of crime:
- poor quality housing
- relative deprivation
- inequality of educational opportunities
- social exclusion
- inequalities found in capitalism
WILSON & HERRINSTEIN (right) - questioning unemployment to explain crime
- question that crime is a result of poverty and unemployment
- since 1960s the USA has been very prosperous
- high levels of employment
- lots of social programmes aimed at young people
- education attainment levels higher than ever
- yet crime rates are still very high
- blame biological and social factors
right realism: characteristics of a criminal
- biological factors: some individuals are predisposed to committing crime
- personality traits: more aggressive
- risk taking behaviour
- low intelligence
CHARLES MURRAY (right) - deplorable behaviour
- ‘under class’
- not so much about poverty - more about the deplorable behaviour
- teenage mums - live off benefits
- children inadequately socialised
- large numbers of healthy young males who refuse to work
single parents (right perspective)
- inadequate socialisation
- dependent on welfare benefits
- only two parent heterosexual families can socialise children correctly
- little boys need role models
- crime is a characteristic of the underclass
- men who don’t support their families turn to crime for masculinity
CLARKE (right) - rational choice theory
- individuals make a choice about committing crimes based on rational calculation
- if the rewards of a crime outweigh the consequences of being caught, then people will offend
FELSON (right) - routine activity theory
- for a crime to take place there needs to be a motivated offender
- suitable target - victim
- absence of capable guardian (police officer or neighbor)
- criminals act rationally, the presence of a guardian will deter them
right realist solutions to crime
- no point dealing with cause of crime
- biological/socialisation factors are too difficult to tackle
- need to make crime more attractive
- need zero tolerance policing
evaluation of right realism (criticisms)
- claim that living standards have gone up, however, gap between rich and poor is greater than ever - relative deprivation
- focus too much on young men and street crime, what about corporate and domestic crime?
- it assumes that official statistics give a true representation of crime
- putting more people in prison is very expensive - no evidence that this works
- threat to civil liberties - culture of control and use of surveillance techniques
left realism - critiques of other theories
- marxists focus too much on the crimes of the powerful and neglect WC crime and its effects
- critical/radical criminology romanticise working class criminals and ignore victims
- labelling theories see criminals as the victims of labelling, again ignoring victims
what is left realism / their beliefs
- developed in 1980s/90s
- led by JOCK YOUNG
- taking crime seriously involves looking at who is most affected by crime
- people in WC areas are more likely to be a victim of burglary, assault etc
LEA AND YOUNG - the causes of crime
- relative deprivation
- feelings of resentment caused by the media and advertising
- increase in individualism - lack of community spirit, decline in family life
street crime subcultures
- social groups who have their opportunities blocked - young WC males
- subscribe to mainstream values such as materialism and consumerism
- want designer labels - only way to achieve this is street crime
how does marginalisation cause crime?
- groups lack clear goals and organisation
- young, unemployed people lack both of these
- feel frustrated and turn to crime
YOUNG - late modern society and rising crime
- late modernity (instability, insecurity and exclusion) has made crime worse
- changes in the economy
- decline in manufacturing jobs (male work)
- lack of work has broken down many WC families and communitites
- very little government intervention to help create jobs
- reduction in welfare benefits creates more social exclusion
factors of late modern society
- media saturated: poor have access to materialistic messages
- immediate gratification
- meritocracy: poor are excluded from societies wealth
- relative deprivation
- hate crimes
- less consensus about acceptable behaviour
- informal social controls now less effective as families/communities disintegrate
- public are less tolerant and demand harsher formal controls by the state
- high crime society with a low tolerance for crime
how to the left want to tackle crime?
- improve policing - community policing
- deal with the deeper structural causes of crime
KINGSEY, LEA AND YOUNG - policing problems
- police ‘clear up rates’ are too low to act as deterrent
- police depend on the public for information, but they are loosing public support
- police rely on military policing such as swamping an area
what needs to be done to fix the public’s relationship with the police (left)
- positive relationships with the public - work with other social organisations such as social services and schools, multi agency approach
- end to military style policing - ‘stop and search’ creates distrust
- more time investigating crime to build up trust with the community
- changes need to be made with priorities - less time spend policing minor drugs
how to tackle the structural causes (left)
- deal with the inequality of opportunity
- unfairness of rewards
- tackle discrimination
- decent jobs for all
- improve housing conditions
- improve community facilities
- end stereotyping certain social groups as criminals
left realism and government policy
- LR have had lots of influence over governmental policy
- similar approach to new labour (1997-2010) : tough on crime as well as the causes
- ASBOs to protect vunerable groups from anti-social behaviour
- new deal for unemployed people
- however, these policies failed - dealt with the symptoms and not the causes
evaluation of left realism (criticisms)
- drawn attention to street crime and its effects
- makes street crime seem worse than it is, labels it the crime of the poor
- ignores corporate crime and the harm it causes
- description of relative deprivation can fit us all - not all marginalised groups commit crime
comparing right and left realism
- both see crime as a serious problem
- come from different ends of the political spectrum
- RR are neo-conservatives, who blame individuals and lack of control
- RR want a tough stance taken on offenders
- LR are reformist socialists who blame structural inequalities
- LR prioritise justice, achieved through democratic policing and social reforms to create equality