Crime 4 - Realist theories of crime Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is the stance of right realists?
-share a conservative, New Right political outlook and support a ‘zero
tolerance’ stance on crime, they have been very influential in the UK and USA
-see crime as a growing problem
-labelling theory and critical criminology are too sympathetic to the criminal and other theories fail to solve the problem of crime
-believe crime should be dealt with control and punishment, not rehabilitation
What is the stance of left realists?
-are reformist socialists and favour policies to promote equality
-like RRs, see crime as a real problem but they are socialists
-like Marxists, LRs are opposed to the inequality of capitalist society, but, they are reformist and believe gradual reforms are the correct route to take
Right realism
According to right realists, what are the causes of crime?
-Biological differences: Wilson & Herrnstein, biological factors leave some people innately predisposed to commit crime e.g: low intelligence
-The underclass: effective socialisation through the nuclear family decreases the risk of offending, Murray: nuclear family is undermined by the welfare state and a growth of the underclass, lack of male role model for these families
-Rational choice theory: Clarke, individuals have free will, people make a rational decision and weigh up the consequences, the crime rate is high because the perceived costs are low
Felson: routine activity theory, for crime to occur there must be a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a ‘capable guardian’
Right realism
What do RRs believe we should solve crime?
-believe it’s too difficult to tackle the underlying issues that cause crime (socialisation & underclass), instead they focus on the punishment of these criminals
Wilson & Kelling: must keep neighbourhoods orderly to prevent crime taking place (broken windows thesis)
-advocate a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy, focus on controlling the streets to protect ‘law obiding citizens’, however, these target ethnic minorities
-crime prevention policies: reduce the reward of crime, e.g: target hardening
Right realism
What are some criticisms of them?
Chaiken: target hardening creates displacement, free reign for police to target ethnic minorities
-relies on quantitative data, cannot explain offenders’ motives (interactionists)
Young: crime was already decreasing before the ZTP, arrest rate has been boosted by ‘defining deviance up’
Marxists: fails to explain corporate crime
Left realism
What do they criticise about other theories’ approaches?
Marxists: focus on the crimes of the powerful, neglect working-class crime and its effects
Neo-marxists: romanticise working-class criminals
Labelling: see criminals as victims of labelling, this neglects the real victims
Left realism
What do Lea & Young identify as the three causes of crime?
-Relative deprivation: people feel deprived in relation to others, commit crime to obtain what they feel they are entitled too, cultural inclusion & economic exclusion (similar to Merton’s notion of anomie)
-Subculture: join these to solve the problem of RD, criminal subcultures subscribe to society’s materialistic goals, legitimate opportunities are blocked to they turn to crime
-Marginalisation: unemployed are marginalised, express their frustration through criminal means
Left realism
What does Young argue about crime in late modern society?
It’s worse because of:
-harsher welfare policies
-destabilisation of family and community life
-crime is now found throughout society, not just at the bottom
-late modern society is a high-crime society with a low tolerance for crime
Left realism
What are the two policies that LR say will create a solution to crime?
-Democratic policing: Kinsey, Lea & Young, argue that the police rely on the public for information but the police are losing public support, police must therefore become more accountable and crime control must involve a multi-agency approach
-Reducing inequality: must remove social inequality, they call for major structural changes to tackle discrimination
Left realism
What are some criticisms of left realists’ ideas?
-it over-predicts the amount of working-class crime, not everyone who experiences relative deprivation turns to crime
-understanding offenders’ motives requires qualitative data, but LRs rely on quantitative data
Marxists: fails to explain corporate crime
