Topic 4 Realism

Question 1

What is the left realism theory?

Answer 1

• Left wing, labour approach
• they see inequality in a capitalist society as the cause of crime
• the main perpetrators and victims are the working class and ethnic minority groups
• Lea Young identify three related causes of crime

Question 2

According to left realists Lea and Young, what are the three causes of crime?

Answer 2

• Relative deprivation
• Marginalisation
• Subcultures

Question 3

According to Left realists, Lea and young, how does relative deprivation cause crime?

Answer 3

• The poor feel deprived, they’re not getting what they should, they start to compare themselves to others.
• leads to a ‘bulimic society’ as they feel starved
• a feeling of relative deprivation can make people turn to crime a a way of redressing balance or as a way of venting frustrations
• the feelings of relative deprivation are increasing as a result of materialism and social media

Question 4

According to left realists Lea and Young, how does marginalisation lead to criminality?

Answer 4

• Marginalisation happens to groups in society when they are ignored or overlooked.
• They become frustrated and feel they have no power over the way people are treating them.
• Leads to confrontation with authority

Question 5

According to Left realists Lea and Young how do subcultures lead to criminality?

Answer 5

• Joining a subculture is a way to deal with relative deprivation and marginalisation. Makes them feel less isolated
• They engage in criminal behaviour in these subcultures
• They all have a perception that society doesn’t value them. Leading to them dealing with this in a criminal manner

Question 6

Give 2 strengths of the Left realism theory

Answer 6

• provides an explanation that covers all social classes and a variety of different offences
• Draws attention to the importance of inequality in society and importance of fixing this to reduce crime

Question 7

Give 2 weaknesses of the Left realism theory?

Answer 7

• Right realists would criticise for being too soft as there is little focus on punishment
• Does not explain why everyone who been has marginalised/ feels relative deprivation does not turn to crime

Question 8

What crime control policy is informed by the left realist theory?

Answer 8

• Prevent
• A multi agency approach to preventing terrorism
• Left realists argue that crime must involve many other agencies apart from the police
• Community policing

Question 9

Give a strength to Prevent - the left realist crime control policy

Answer 9

• successfully prevented people being drawn into terrorism
• 4 ISIS members arrested in Germany

Question 10

Give 4 weaknesses to Prevent - the left realist crime control policy

Answer 10

• been accused of mainstream discrimination, Muslims are more likely to be referred
• Innocent people are being referred to the programme
• Undermines the relationship between teachers and pupils who feel they have a legal duty to ‘spy’
• Not everyone is aware of terrorist ideologies (eg teachers have to report and they may not be aware) makes it inconsistent

Question 11

What is the right realist theory/

Answer 11

• right wing, conservation outlook
• They reject Marxist and left realist ideas
• There are biological reasons why people commit crime eg brain abnormality, and inadequate socialisation and offending as a rational choice

Question 12

According to right realists what are the three reasons for crime?

Answer 12

• Biological reasons - brain abnormality
• Inadequate socialisation - lack of male role model causes boys to become delinquent, single parents are to blame, there is a growing underclass of non workers dependent on benefits.
• Offending as a rational choice - deciding to commit crime is based on careful calculation. they argue crime rate is high because perceived costs of crime are too low. Criminals see little risk of getting caught

Question 13

Give 3 strengths of the right realist theory?

Answer 13

• has informed government policy on crime (penal populism)
• offers practical approaches to reducing crime (target hardening)
• Bennet and Wright interviewed burglars and found evidence of crime being a rational choice.

Question 14

Give 3 weaknesses of the right realist theory?

Answer 14

• Offending is not always a rational choice - crime is often committed under the influence of drugs and alcohol and they don’t have the mental stability for it to be rational
• Considered discriminatory towards certain groups, which may perpetuate existing prejudice in society
• Criticised by left realists for their heavy focus on individuals

Question 15

What crime control policy has been informed by right realists?

Answer 15

• They argue policies need to focus on preventing offenders making the choice to commit crime
• Target hardening (situational crime prevention) - involves making a crime more difficult to commit
• Penal populism

Question 16

What do both types of realist believe?

Answer 16

They both believe that official crime statistics are true. They deal with crime more head on as a real-life problem, with consequences for victims, therefore, they both focus on crime prevention strategies. They both believe that there’s been a significant rise in crime. They are both concerned about the widespread fear of crime and the effect of crime on victims.

Question 17

What do right realists believe are the causes of crime?

Answer 17

They believe biological differences and inadequate socialisation are the causes of crime. Hernstein and Murray argue biological factors of low intelligence and aggressive personality traits cause crime. Right realists argue that the nuclear family teaches right from wrong, without this socialisation, kids don’t learn that crime is wrong. Single mothers are inadequate to socialised boys and a lack of male role model can cause young male crime.

Question 18

Why has an underclass developed according to Murray?

Answer 18

Murray states crime has risen due to an increase in the dependency culture, which has led to the development of the underclass.

Question 19

What did Cornish and Clarke discuss?

Answer 19

They believe that crime is a rational choice. People weigh up factors of the rewards and punishments before they commit a crime. If it seems worth it, people will commit crime. Hence, why the advocate harsher punishments.

Question 20

What is the broken windows theory?

Answer 20

This is a theory by Wilson and Kelling. They argue that the physical appearance of an area adds to the problem and attracts more crime. For example, disorganised and broken areas make it appear like the community bond is lost and no one cares about the area. This attracts criminals as they come to the area and commit crime, thinking they won’t get caught.

Question 21

What are right realist crime prevention strategies?

Answer 21

They advocate for strong public punishments, hence the zero-tolerance policing. Right realists believe the state must tackle crime by making the costs to the criminal outweigh the benefits rather than tackle the causes of crime. They also advocate for situational crime prevention, target hardening, by making crime harder to commit. For example, cctv cameras, alarms and automatic lights.

Question 22

What do left realists believe are the causes of crime?

Answer 22

They believe that society is at fault for the cause of crime. Lea and Young argue crime is caused by relative deprivation as people feel deprived of not having the material goods that others have, leading to them committing crimes like theft. Lea and Young also argue that subcultures are a reaction to relative deprivation and are also a cause of crime. They are created when opportunities are blocked and goals cannot be reached through mainstream means and methods. They also argue that marginalisation is a cause of crime as people become frustrated and turn to crime.

Question 23

What does marginalisation mean?

Answer 23

Marginalisation is being socially excluded or pushed to the outside by society.

Question 24

What is a bulimic society?

Answer 24

A bulimic society is a result of the late modern media saturated society, where everyone is exposed to constant advertising. People gorge themselves on media images of an expensive consumer lifestyle but then are forced by their economic circumstance to vomit out their raised expectations.

Question 25

What are left realist crime prevention strategies?

Answer 25

They believe to prevent crime, we must tackle structural inequalities. They argue major structural changes are needed if we want to reduce levels of offending, for example, tackling discrimination, provide decent jobs for everyone and improve housing. They lost advocate for community policing, and police need to improve their relationship with the public and change their priorities.