Realist Theories on Crime

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  • Created by: FatCat3
  • Created on: 03-11-22 11:36
What do realist theories argue?
-argue crime is a real problem that needs to be tackled and is not a social construction
-theres a sig. increase in crime esp street crime
-concerned about the widespread of crime and impact of crime on victims
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what is right realism and when did it gain popularity?
1970s/80s, right politics ie uk, thatcher, us, Reagan
rr is the belief that crime is growing and destroying communities which undermines social cohesion and threatens society work ethnic
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what gov is associated with ti and what did they say?
Neo-conservative gov; ie policy makers argue northing works→shifts to official thinking→cuz crime is searched for→ideas of control/punishment come about→tackling crime looks at the causes
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what are the causes of crime? include sociologist for each cause
.individual biological differences combined w social factors, Wilson and Hernstein say there are ppl who innately commit crimes and have traits of high aggression
.socialisation and underclass- Murray ie lone mothers-
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fail to socialise children properly which results in higher welfare dependancy
.Rational Choice theory- ppl chose to commit crimes (Clarke), if consequences outweigh the costs, Felson- absence of a capable guardian ie-
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name the c criticisms of this
-police officer, higher chance of committing crime
-ignores wider structural causes ie poverty
-doesn't explain non utilitarian crimes (RCT)
-overemphasis on biological factors ie Lily found iq diff accounted for less team 3% in offences
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what are there views on tackling crime?
name the sociologist with it
.focus on control, containment and punishment
.crime prevention should have low rewards and high use of prison 'target hardening'
.zero-tolerance- Wilson and Keiling, small crimes ie vandalism should be dealt w straight away
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name the criticisms
.plice should roam streets so ppl feel sage ie New York showed low crime after this was introduced
-young accuses success of zero tolerance is a myth by politicians+police to take credit of falling crime rate in NY as it has started in 1985
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-ignores corporate crime
-gives police free rein to discriminate against minorities, youth, homeless, etc
-overemphasis on control rather then tackling disorder ie lack of investments in neighbourhoods
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what is left realism, when did it gain popularity?what are the sociologists called?
1980s/90s, agree w marxists but believe in gradual change instead of revolution
reformist socialists
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how do they tackle crime seriously? and who suggests it?
Aetiological crisis; Young says there was an increase in crime in 1950s and found minorities were more likely to become victims of crime and make victims life hard ie women not going out at night scared men will attack them
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what are the causes of crime? which sociologists are linked to this?
lea and young identified different causes:
.relative deprivation- runciman, when ppl deprived compared to someone else, it leads to high crime to get what they want and believe wealth is unfair ie current society prosperous and crime ridden so-
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-high material possession can cause individualism and self interest/greed, therefore high crime
.subculture-Merton, Cohen and Coloward+Ohlin, blocked opportunities in mainstream goals so crime increases to achieve those goals
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.marginalisation- lack clear goals and organisations to represent goals ie group of workers want better pay etc and have trade unions but this who don't resort to violence to get what they want (don't wanna be powerless)
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what is late modernity, exclusion and crime?
instability makes problem of crime worse ie before in 1950s it was a 'golden age' and there was security, now there are uncertain times, greater inequality, etc which all promotes individualism
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what other sources promote crime?
.media promotes cultural inclusion as it shows materialistic messages
.greater emphasis on leisure, personal consumption and immediate gratification
.there is 'meritocracy' but poor doesn't get opportunities
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.R.D becoming more generalised
.society reaction to crime changing, less consensus on right vs wrong crimes
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what do they argue about the falling crime rate and who argues it?
young, there is a second AC where traditional crimes decreasing but new crimes increasing, ie 2019, 81% thought crime had increased but it had fallen
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what is the rising anti social behaviour rate?
govs introduced ASBOS in 2015 which;
.blurred boundaries of crime, ie ASBO was a crime, if they broke this, they would be sanctioned and more control such as ASBOs would be formed, which they would be broken and turns into a spiral
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.subjective defintion- crime is in the eye of the beholder ie tattoos perceived diff in diff cultures
.flexibility- ASBOS used against stereotypes ie someone making noises or dressed a certain way
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how do they tackle crime?
.policing and control;
-military policing-roam streets, use stop and searches, local communities ie neighbourhood watch, etc
-multi agency approach- alongside police, schools, council services, victim support, etc
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how do they want to tackle structural causes?
ideally, want to tackle inequalities ie poverty, discrimination to decrease crime
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what have left realism and gov policies come up with?
lr- lots of influence on gov policies so they;
.tackling crime, focus on causes
.media restrictions
.laws and legislations
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name the evaluation of LR
-Henry+ Miloranovic say lr accepts authorities idea of crime(street crime by poor) instead of cc
-interactionists say since lr rely on quantitive data from victims, they cant explain offender motives
-use of subcultural theory means they assume-
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-their is a consensus and crime only occurs when that's broken
-not all those who experience RD commit crime
-focuses on high crime inner city areas which gives an unrepresentative view
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+reasons to solve crime
+considers situation ppl in not just the person
+influences gov policies so can actually make a difference in real world
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compare RR and LR
Similarities: see crime as an issue, fear of crime is rational
Differences: diff ends of political spectrum, explain crime diff, diff aims and solutions
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

what is right realism and when did it gain popularity?

Back

1970s/80s, right politics ie uk, thatcher, us, Reagan
rr is the belief that crime is growing and destroying communities which undermines social cohesion and threatens society work ethnic

Card 3

Front

what gov is associated with ti and what did they say?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

what are the causes of crime? include sociologist for each cause

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

continuing w previous card

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

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