Right realism Flashcards
What does this theory believe crime is?
A real problem that needs to be tackled
What type of theory is this?
Sociological - realism
What is theory’s view on crime?
A political view
It considers crime from a right wing (conservative) perspective
What is the best approach to crime?
To get tough on crime and criminals
What are the 3 causes of criminality?
An individual’s rational choice to offend
Biological differences
Inadequate socialisation
Explain the rational choice
The individual chose to commit a crime as they believed the risk of punishment was worth the reward of the crime
If the punishment for crime if higher, people won’t commit crime
Explain biological difference
Crime is caused by both biological and social factors
The biological factors make the person more likely to commit crime
Factors - low intelligence and increased hormones
Explain inadequate socialisation
The welfare state (provides benefits) has under-mined the importance of the nuclear family by being too generous
This has increased low parent families who fail to socialise their children
The lack of discipline and role model causes crime
What study was done?
Rettig - gave students an opportunity to commit crime
Whether they committed was based on degree of punishment
What are the strengths of this theory?
There’s supporting evidence, Rettig proved crime was based on how severe a punishment was (valid theory)
It has forced the government to create victim surveys so more can be found out ( enables us to prevent crime from taking place)
What are the weaknesses of this theory?
This theory focuses heavily on street crime ( ignores other crime in society such as white collar crime)
The theory contradicts itself (how can crime be a rational choice if it’s determined by biology)
It over estimates how much thought goes into crime ( some crime isn’t rational - mens rea of recklessness)
