Realist Theories of Crime
- Created by: 11pyoung
- Created on: 19-02-18 18:07
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- Realist Theories of Crime
- Left Realism
- Comparison with previous theories
- Developed out of Marxist and critical criminology but was critical of certain aspects of these theories
- Crime can only be tackled by reforming capitalism rather than replacing it
- Developed out of Marxist and critical criminology but was critical of certain aspects of these theories
- Underpolicing and overpolicing
- Some crimes have too much attention and resources devoted to them
- Mainly crimes that do more damage to the offenders than to a third-party
- Lea and Young
- Sexual assault and racially-motivated attacks remain underreported and need more resources devoted to them
- Some crimes have too much attention and resources devoted to them
- Explanation of crime
- Relative deprivation
- In modern societies advertisers stress the importance of economic success and promote middle-class lifestyles and patterns of consumption
- Lea and Young
- Rising crime is partly the result of a rise in people's expectations with regard to what they think they are entitled to consume, combined with the fact that some social groups simply do not have the economic resources to achieve these expectations
- Lea and Young
- In modern societies advertisers stress the importance of economic success and promote middle-class lifestyles and patterns of consumption
- Subcultures
- Some groups may develop subcultural strategies to cope with the problem of material deprivation.
- Marginalisation
- Marginal groups generally lack the organisation to represent their interests in political life and consequently their concerns are not generally taken seriously by those in positions of power
- Relative deprivation
- The square of crime
- Roger Matthews
- Crime can only be understood in terms of the interaction between four elements
- The State
- The Offender
- Informal social control
- The Victim
- Crime can only be understood in terms of the interaction between four elements
- Acknowledges that crime is produced through the interaction between what offenders do and the social reaction to their behaviour
- Roger Matthews
- Left realism and policy
- New Labour
- Adopted policies aimed to reduce inequality
- Recruitment f ethnic minority police officers
- New Labour
- Evaluation
- Hughes
- It fails to successfully explain the causes of street crime
- The concept of relative deprivation is useful in understanding why crime can increase despite rising living standards
- Jones
- Left Realism fails to explain why some people who experience relative deprivation do not commit crime
- Ruggiero
- Neglected corporate and organised crime in comparison to Marxist criminologists
- Stresses the importance of Victims and explores their role in defining what is considered criminal
- Hughes
- The rising crime rate
- Some sociologists have been dismissive of the rise in street crime since WWII
- Lea and Young
- These crime rates are so great that they cannot be simply explained away by changes n recording and reporting crimes
- Lea and Young
- Some sociologists have been dismissive of the rise in street crime since WWII
- Comparison with previous theories
- Right Realism
- James Q Wilson: crime as rational choice
- Crime is a matter of rational choice
- Individuals who contemplate crime weigh up the benefits of criminality, and balance these against the risks
- Punishment is not effective as a deterrent is there is little chance you will get caught
- Individuals who contemplate crime weigh up the benefits of criminality, and balance these against the risks
- Crime is a matter of rational choice
- Wilson and Kelling: broken windows
- Developed the idea that it is crucial to try to maintain informal social controls in neighbourhoods if crime is to be kept in check
- Police play an important role in this by clamping down on the first signs of undesirable behaviour
- Police should operate on a zero-tolerance basis within areas of deterioration
- Police play an important role in this by clamping down on the first signs of undesirable behaviour
- Developed the idea that it is crucial to try to maintain informal social controls in neighbourhoods if crime is to be kept in check
- Charles Murray and the underclass
- Growth in crime is due to growth in underclass
- Children who lack a male role model are influenced more by peer groups who are involved in delinquent activities
- Growth in crime is due to growth in underclass
- Influence of right realism
- Zero-tolerance policing
- ASBO's
- Encouraging the rise in the prison population
- Evaluation
- Matthew
- Found little evidence that tolerating broken windows and other minor incidents has led to an increase in crime
- Steve Jones
- Factors such as lack of investment are far more important in determining whether a neighbourhood declines rather than tolerating broken windows
- Young and Lea
- The policing policies advocated by right realists are a form of 'militaristic' policing, where the police act as if they were an invading army
- Katz and Lyng
- The emotional appeal or thrill of crime is important in explaining crimes
- Tony Fitzpatrick
- There is no evidence that most benefits claimants turn to crime and are unwilling to work
- Matthew
- Cohen and Felson: Routine Activities theory
- In most circumstances social control mechanisms and the risk of getting caught or lack of opportunity prevent crime from taking place
- Crime needs three conditions in order to take place:
- Individuals who are motivated to offend
- The availability of targets and opportunity
- The lack of capable guardians
- Crime is opportunistic
- Crime needs three conditions in order to take place:
- In most circumstances social control mechanisms and the risk of getting caught or lack of opportunity prevent crime from taking place
- James Q Wilson: crime as rational choice
- Left Realism
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