Left Realism 0.0 / 5 ? SociologyCrime and devianceA2/A-levelWJEC Created by: Megan VialsCreated on: 05-05-14 13:57 Lea and Young (1984) A respose to Right Realism In resoonse to neo-Marxists Radical Criminology which Young himself was part of and wanted to distance himself from, calling it 'Left Idealism' See crime as a real problem for ordinary people Explains it through analysis of Social and Economic relationships and how some groups become marginalised 1 of 9 Crime is a Real Phenomenon Rising crime rate cannot be solely explained by the unreliability of official crime statistics Less critical of offical crime statistics and argue they do refelct typical criminals the 'Typical Criminal' is young, male, working class, and disproportionatley black Focus on victims as well as offenders Recognise crime is concentrated in the inner-city and sink housing estates 2 of 9 Ethnicity and Crime: Lea and Young Black criminality: there has been a real increase in crimes commited but young blacks Accept thereis institutional racism and a canteen culture amongst the police Back criminality also stems from racial discrimination, material deprivation, low wages and unemployment Blakc youths have particularly high asperations, but often not able to legitimately achieve these asperations 3 of 9 Subcultures: Lea and Young The subculture of young blacks is distinctly different form thier parents who largely accepted thier marginalised position in society Black youth culture has high material expectations and asperations: money and status symbol Because Black youth is so closely enmeshed in values of consumption, style and wealth, this is why they commit crimes - blocked opportunities 4 of 9 Relative Deprivation: Lea and Young Fraustrated from disparity between expectations and the reality of lifestyle leads to feelings of relative deprivation Argue the reality for many young Black males is a choice of unemployment, training schemes or 'white man's **** work' They feel unfairly denied glittering prizes offered to others This can develo into strategies which can involve deviant and criminal behaviour 5 of 9 Marginalisation: Lea and Young Marginalisation means the process by which certain groups find themselves on the edge of society White and Black working class youth often feel alienated by schools, unemployment, low wages and the police Young Black males face marginalisation through prejudice and harassment - Militray policing of stop and search 6 of 9 The Policing Problem: Kinsey, Lea and Young (1984) The police too often resort to Military Policing as a method of solving crime through stop and search policies Argue that to improve relationships the public should have more say in shaping police policy 7 of 9 Social Change and Crime: Jack Young Late modernity is making crime worse Less consensus about moral values A breakdown of informal social controls Peoples desire for Immediate and personal pleasure Greater uncertainty and instability in most aspects of life 8 of 9 Critique Key strengh is a recognition of multipule causes of crime Its focus on the victims as well as offenders is good, adding aother dimension to our understanding of crime Relative deprivation and marginalisation cannot explain the motive behind offenders actions Not all people in relative deprivation tunr to crime It assumes when society's values break down crime becomes more likely 9 of 9
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