Left realism part 2

Lea and yound 84- explaining crime

They attempt to explain why people turn to crime by using three key concepts;

1. Relative deprivation; it is not deprivayion as such that causes people to commit crime, but whether they see themselves as deprived in comparison to others. In modern societies, advertisers stress the importance of economic success and promote middle class lifestyles.   They argueb that rising crime is partly the result of rising expectations of high standards of living, combined with the opportunities to achieve this. 

2. Subculture; working class devaint subcultures emerge as group solutions to problems arising from social inequality. These can act as motivators for crime, as some working class subcultures see offending as acceptable behaviour.

3. Marginalisation-  some groups find themselves politically and economically on the edge of society. This is due to factors such as poor educational achievement and unemployment. 

Tackling crime

Left realists develop practical policies to tackle crime.    KINSEY ET AL 86 suggests that the police need to improve clear up rates to; deter offenders from commitng crune, they need to spend more time investigating crime to reassure people and rstore confidence in the police. They also need to improve relations with the community.

Without the support of the public, the police have to resort to military policing such as stopping and searching large numbers of people or using CCTV. 

YOUNG does not believe that crime can be dealt with simply by improving the efficiency of the police. He suggests that policies should aim to;

• Improve leisure facilities for the young
• reduce income inequalities
• Raise the living standards of poorer families
• Provide community facilities which enhance the sense of belonging.