Topic 7a: Right Realist (New Right) explanations of crime and deviance Flashcards
Intro
During the 1980’s Marxist and interactionist approaches were criticized for ignoring the fact that crime was actually a problem for many people and that crime rates were increasing. This lead to the creation of realist approaches. Right Realism is influenced by right-wing Conservative thinking.
The New Right: Underclass theory - murray
suggests that both in the USA and UK, there exists a distinct lower-class subculture below the working-class, i.e. an underclass, which subscribes to deviant and criminal values rather than mainstream values and transmits this deficient culture to their children via socialization.
The New Right: Underclass theory - murray 2
Murray sees the underclass as generally lacking in moral values and especially commitment to marriage and family life. A large percentage of underclass children are brought up by single mothers who are allegedly inadequate and irresponsible parents. Absent fathers mean that 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.
Murray development
Marsland argues that the Welfare State is responsible for the emergence of this underclass because welfare dependency has undermined people’s sense of commitment and obligation to support each other. People belonging to the underclass allegedly are workshy, i.e. they choose not to work despite work being available to them because they prefer to live off state benefits.
The New Right: Underclass theory - eval
Charlesworth used ethnographic research to investigate the effects of unemployment and poverty on people living on a council estate in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. He found that miserable economic conditions have a profound negative effect on people’s physical and mental health. However There were few signs of the anti-social underclass identified by Murray. Rex and Tomlinson reject the idea of the underclass as a deviant subculture which is voluntarily unemployed and devoted to criminal behaviour they point out that poverty is often caused by factors beyond the control of the poor
wilson - broken windows 1
Wilson argued that crime flourishes in situations where social control breaks down. If rowdy behaviour such as litter dropping or vandalism go unchecked, then the entire social order of the area breaks down and gradually there is a move to more frequent and more serious crime. The parallel which Wilson drew was with abandoned buildings - where he asks rhetorically, whether anyone had ever seen just one window broken? The answer was, of course, that once one window was broken, they all were. Once crime is allowed to happen, it flourishes.
wilson - broken windows 2
The conclusion which Wilson drew was that the police had a crucial role to play in restoring the balance of incivilities and helping to recreate community. By this he means using the law to ensure that the smaller incivilities - groups of rowdy youths, noisy parties, public drug use - are ail crushed. According to him, this would help to create a different view of what was acceptable behaviour, and would make public areas feel safe again for the majority of people.
wilson - broken windows eval
Jones argues that factors such as lack of investment are far more important than the nature of penalties in determining whether a neighbourhood declines. He also argues that by concentrating attention on minor offenders would mean that more serious offenders would be more likely to get away with their crimes leading to an unfair criminal justice system.
Matthews found little evidence that tolerating broken windows and public incivilities led to an increase in crime. Matthews argued the level of incivility was determined by the level of crime, and not the other way round.
Rational choice theory: Clarke 1
Clarke (1980) argues that the decision to commit crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences. If the perceived rewards of crime outweigh the perceived costs of crime, or if the rewards of crime appear to be greater than those of non-criminal behavior, then people will be more likely to offend.
Rational choice theory: 2
Right realists argue that currently the perceived costs of crime are low and this is why the crime rate has increased. Criminals perceive there is little risk of being caught or punished, and in any case, formal punishments are weak as are informal family and community social controls.
Rational choice theory: eval
Right Realism over-states the rationality of criminals – many crimes are not the result of rational decisions e.g. it is doubtful whether violent crime is underpinned by rationality.
Control theory: Hirschi 1
Hirschi argues that most people do not commit crime because they have four controls in their lives which mean that the costs of crime clearly outweigh the benefits of crime.
• Attachment means that they are committed to family relationships which may be threatened by involvement in criminality.
• Commitment means that people have invested years in education, building up a career or business, buying a house etc., all these may be lost and wasted if a person is involved in crime.
• Involvement means that people may be actively involved in community life as volunteers, magistrates, parent governors at local schools etc. Respect and reputation would be lost if they engaged in crime.
• Belief means that people may have been brought up to be strongly committed to beliefs in rules, discipline and respect for others and the law.
Control theory: Hirschi 2
Hirschi suggests these controls prevent many people from turning to crime because, quite clearly, the costs of being caught and publicly punished outweigh the benefits of crime, - these people have a great deal to lose. As people start to get older, they start to acquire these controls. Younger people have got less to lose in terms of attachment and commitment. Respect and reputation may actually be enhanced by criminality.
Control theory: Hirschi eval
sometimes social bonds can be used to explain deviance. For example, attachment can actually lead people into crime because of loyalty to their peer group or subculture. The need to support a family in financial trouble can cause, say, shoplifting while attachment to a subculture can encourage drug-taking for example. Like all functionalist theorists, Hirschi assumes a set of shared values in society – other perspectives such as Marxism would disagree with this view.
Conclusion
Rational choice theory
