Topic 4 - Realist Theories of Crime Flashcards
How do realists see crime?
Realists see crime as a real problem to be tackled, not just a social construction
List the three things that realists argue
- There has been a significant rise in the crime rate
- There is a concern about the widespread fear of crime and the impact of crime on it’s victims
- Other theories have failed to offer realistic solutions to the problems of crime
When did realism emerge and what is it similar to?
1970s and 1980s
It is similar to the New Right
What did the New Right government favour?
Rolling back the welfare state, which included less benefits, perverse incentives ( Murray) and they favoured a ‘get tough’ approach on crime with increased use of prison and a ‘short sharp shock’ approach to dealing with young offenders
How are realist approaches divided along political lines?
Right realists = share the new right or neo-conservative political outlook and support the policies such as the ‘get tough’ scheme
Left realists = are socialists and favour quite different policies for reducing crime
What did policy-makers argue about criminologists approach to crime?
Policy makers argued that ‘nothing works’, criminologists had produced many theories prof crime, but no workable solutions to curb the rising crime rate
What was the result of policy makers calling out that a solution needs to found for crime rather than just theories?
This led to a shift in official thinking, away from the search for the causes of crime and towards a search for practical crime control measures.
The governments of the UK and USA also viewed that the best way to reduce crime was through control and punishment, rather than rehabilitating offenders or tackling causes of crime such as poverty as they were not interested in tackling poverty
How does right realism view labelling and critical criminology?
Right realists regard theories such as labelling and critical criminology as too sympathetic to the criminal and too hostile to the forces of law and order
Right realists are less concerned to understand the causes of crime and more concerned to provide what they see as realistic solutions.
Although their main emphasis is on …………… they do offer an explanation of the causes of …….
Although their main emphasis is on crime reduction strategies , they do offer an explanation of the causes of crime
Right realists reject the idea put forward by ………….
Right realists reject the idea put forward by Marxists and others that structural or economic factors such as poverty and inequality are the causes of crime
Provide an example of why right realists are against the Marxists view
They point out that the old tend to be poor yet they have a very low crime rate.
What are the three factors crime is a product of according to right realists?
- Individual biological differences
- Inadequate socialisation
- Individuals rational choice to offend
What theorists are connected to Biological Differences
Wilson and Herrnstein
What did Wilson and Herrnstein put forward?
Wilson and Herrnstein put forward a biosocial theory of criminal behaviour. In their view, crime is caused by a combination of biological and social factors
Biological differences between individuals make some people ……
Biological difference between individuals make some people innately more strongly predisposed to commit crime than others.
Provide an example for biological differences
Personality traits such as aggressiveness, risk taking and low impulse control put some people at greater risk of offending
What does Herrnstein and Murray argue?
Herrnstein and Murray argue that the main cause of crime is low intelligence, which they also see as biologically determined.
However, while biology may increase the chance of an individual offering, …..
Effective socialisation decreases the risk, since it involves learning self-control and internalising moral values of right and wrong
What is the best agency for socialisation for right realists?
The nuclear family
Why does Murray argue that the crime rate is increasing?
Murray argues that the crime rate is increasing because of a growing underclass or ‘new rabble’ who are defined by their deviant behaviour and who fail to socialise their children properly
In Murrays view why is the underclass growing?
According to Murray, the underclass is growing in both the USA and the UK as a result of welfare dependency
What Murray calls the welfare states’ ‘generous revolution’ allows …
Increasing numbers of people to become dependent on the state.
What has the ‘generous revolution’ led to and what does it mean?
It has led to the decline of marriage, and the growth of lone parent families, because women and children can live off benefits. This also means that men no longer have to take responsibility for supporting their families, so they no longer need to work.
Why are lone mothers in affective socialisation agents especially boys? What is the effect?
Absent fathers means boys lack paternal discipline and appropriate male role models. As a result, young males turn to other, often delinquent role models on the street and gain status through crime rather than supporting their families through a steady job
What does Bennett eat al argue crime is the result of?
Growing up surrounded by deviant, delinquent and criminal adults … almost consciously designed to produce vicious, predatory unrepentant street criminals
What does the rational choice theory assume?
That individuals have free will and the power of reason
Name a rational choice theorist
Clarke
What does Clarke argue about the decision to commit a crime?
Clarke argues that the decision to commit crime is a choice based on rational calculation of the likely consequences. If the perceived rewards of crime outweigh the perceived costs to if the rewards of crime appear to be greater than those of non-criminal behaviour, then people will be likely to offend.
What do right realists argue about the perceived costs of crime?
Right realists argue that the perceived costs of crime are low and this is why the crime rate has increased. In their view there is often little risk of being caught and punishment are in any case lenient.
What did Wilson say on the perceived costs of crime?
If both the supply and value and the cost of illegitimate opportunities are declining then a teenager concluded it made more sense to steal a car than wash them
What theory did Felton put forward and what did he argue? What are offenders assumed to do?
Routine Activity Theory, Felton argues that for a crime to occur, there must be a motivated offender, a suitable target and the absence of a ‘capable guardian’.
Offenders are assumed to act rationally, so that the presence of a guardian is likely to deter them
Provide three criticisms of the right realists explanation
- It ignores wider structural problems such as poverty
- It overstates offenders rationality and how far they make cost-benefit calculations before committing a crime. Whilst it may explain some utilitarian crime, it may not explain impulsive or violent crime
- It’s view of criminals as rational actors freely choosing crime conflicts with its claim that their behaviour is determined by their biology and socialisation and it over-emphasises biological factors
What do right realists believe about the causes the crime
Right realists do not believe it is fruitful to try deal with the causes of crime ( such as biological and socialisation differences) since these cannot easily be changed
Instead of trying to deal with the causes of crime what do right realists do?
They seek practical measures to make crime less attractive
What is the main focus of of right realists?
On control, containment and punishment of offenders rather than eliminating the underlying causes of fending or rehabilitating them
What should crime prevention policies do? Provide an example
Crime prevention policies should reduce the rewards and increase the costs of crime to the offender.
For example; by ‘target hardening’ greater use of prison and ensuring punishments follow soon after the offence to maximise the deterrent effect
Which theorists are behind zero tolerance ?
Wilson and Kelling
What is the article called that Wilson and Kelling put forward?
Broken windows
What did the Broken Windows article argue?
That it is essential to maintain the orderly character of neighbourhoods to prevent crime taking hold.
Any sign of deterioration such as graffiti or vandalism, must be dealt with immediately
How should the police advocate a zero tolerance policy towards undesirable behaviour?
The police should focus on controlling the streets so that law-abiding citizens feel safe
What do supporters of zero tolerance policing claim?
That it achieved huge reductions in crime after it was introduced in New York
What does Young argue about the zero tolerance policy?
Young argues that its ‘success’ was a myth peddled by politicians and police keen to take the credit for falling crime
What did Young argue about crime in New York?
Young argues that police need arrests to justify their existence and New York’s shortage of serious crime led police there to ‘define deviance up’.
This is that they took to arresting people for minor deviant acts that had previously fallen outside their ‘net’, re-labelling them now as worthy of punishment
What happened after zero tolerance?
After zero-tolerance was introduced, police and politicians then wrongly claimed that cracking down on these minor crimes had been the cause of the decline
What was the real reason for the success of the zero tolerance policy?
It was just a product of the police’s way of coping with a decline that had already occurred
Name the four criticisms of zero tolerance
- It is preoccupied with petty street crime and ignores corporate crime, which is more costly and harmful
- It gives the police free rein to discriminate against minorities, youth and the homeless
- It over-emphasises control of disorder, rather than tackling the causes of neighbourhood decline such as lack of investment
- Zero tolerance and target hardening just lead to displacement of crime to other areas.
Who are left realists similar to and why?
Like Marxists, left realists see society as an unequal capitalist one
Who are left realists unlike and what do they believe in?
Unlike Marxists, left realists are reformists rather than revolutionary socialists, they believe we need explanations of crime that will lead to practical strategies for reducing it now, rather than waiting for a revolution and a classless society to abolish crime.
What is the central idea of left realism?
Crime is a real problem, one that particularly affects the disadvantaged groups who are its main victims.
What do left realists accuse other sociologists of and who do they accuse?
Left realists accuse. Other sociologists of not taking crime seriously
What do left realists accuse Marxists of doing
They accuse Marxists of concentrating of crimes of the powerful such as corporate crime, whereas left realists agree that this is important but they argue that it neglects working - class crime and its effects
What do left realists accuse neo-Marxists of doing
Romanticise working-class criminals as latter-day robin hoods, stealing from the rich as an act of political resistance to capitalism, left realists point out that working-class criminals mostly victimise other working-class people, not the rich.
What do left realists accuse labelling theorists off?
See working class criminals of the victims of discriminatory labelling by social by social control agents, left realists argue that this approach neglects the real victims, the working-class who suffer at the hands of the criminals.
What is a part of the left realists project of taking crime seriously?
Is to recognise from the 1950s onwards there was an increase in crime, especially working-class crime
What did this project from the left realists lead to?
Young argues that this led to an aetiological crisis, a crisis in explanation, for the theories of crime
What is an example of aetiolgical crisis?
Critical criminology and labelling theory tend to deny that the increase was real. Instead they argue that it was just the result of increased reporting or increased tendency to label the poor.
In short, the increase in stats were just a social construction not a reality
What did left realists argue about the example of the aetiological crisis? Provide evidence
Left realists argue that the increase was too great to be explained in this way + was real, more people reporting as more people were becoming victims.
Eg, victim surveys such as British Crime Survey and local surveys
For left realists, what does taking crime seriously involve?
Recognising who is most affected by crime
For left realists, who is the most affected by crime and how do they know this
Surveys shows disadvantaged groups have a greater risk of becoming victims, especially burglary, street crime and violence, for example unskilled workers are twice as likely to be burgled as other people.
What is the effect of disadvantaged groups having a greater risk of becoming victims? Provide example
Due to this, disadvantaged groups have a greater fear of crime and it has a greater effect on their lives, eg, fear of attack may prevent women from going out at night
Although disadvantaged groups are more likely to be fearful of crime, what is another effect?
At the same time, these groups are less likely to report crimes against them and the police are often reluctant to deal with crimes such as domestic violence, race or rapist attacks
Who and how many causes of crime were identified in left realism and by him
Lea and Young identify three related causes of crime; relative deprivation, subcultures and marginalisation
What do Lea and Young say on crime for relative deprivation?
Crime has its roots in deprivation
However, deprivation in itself is not ……………………. Provide example
Directly responsible for crime
Eg . Poverty was rife in the 1930s, yet crime rates were low. By contrast, since the 1950s living standards have risen, but so too has the crime rate.
Whose concept do left realists draw on?
Runchiman’s concept of relative deprivation
