Realism

• How do realist approaches to crime differ from other theories?

  Realists see crime as a real problem to be tackled, not just a social construction created by social agencies.
• What are 3 things all realists agree on?

  -a significant rise in crime, especially in street crime, burglary and assault.

  -concerned about the widespread fear of crime and its impact on victims. -realists argue that other theories have failed to offer realist solutions to the problem of crime
• What critique do Realists have of other crime theories?

  realists argue that other theories have failed to offer realistic solutions to the problem of crime
• How do right realists view crime?

  They see crime, especially street crime, as a serious problem that destroys communities and threatens social cohesion and society’s work ethic.
• What influence have right realist policies had?

  they influenced the “zero tolerance” approach to street crime and disorder in the UK and US, led by theorists like James Q. Wilson.
• What shift in crime policy did right realism advocate?

  a shift from searching for causes of crime to implementing practical crime control measures focused on control and punishment rather than rehabilitating offenders or tackling causes of crime such as poverty
• What three factors is crime the product of according to RR?

  -biological differences

  -inadequate socialisation

  -rational choice theory
• Wilson and Hernstein - crime is caused by a combination of biological and social factors. - biological differences between individuals make some people innately more strongly predisposed to commit crime than others. For example, personality traits such as aggressiveness, extroversion, risk taking and low impulse control put some people at greater risk of offending.

  They argue the main cause of crime is low intelligence - biologically determined.
• What are some personality traits that put some people at greater risk of offending? according to Wilson and Hernstein

  Extroversion, risk taking, aggressiveness, low impulse control
• Inadequate socialisation - For RR, what is the best agency of socialisation?

  Nuclear family
• Inadequate socialisation - why does Charles Murray believe crime rate is increasing?

  Because of a growing underclass who are defined by their deviant behaviour and who fail to socialise their children properly. The underclass is growing in the UK and USA as a result of the welfare dependency.
• Inadequate socialisation - what has the dependence on the welfare state since the 1960s lead to?

  Decline of marriage and growth of lone parent families, because women and children can live off of benefits. This means men no longer have to take responsibility for supporting their families, so they no longer need to work.
• Inadequate socialisation - what does the absence of fathers mean for the boys in these lone parent families?

  Boys lack paternal discipline and appropriate male role models. As a result, young males turn to other, often delinquent role models on the street and gain status through crime rather than supporting their families.
• Inadequate socialisation - what does Benett et al say about this?

  crime is the result of “growing up surrounded by deviant, delinquent and criminal adults in a practically perfect crimogenic environment.”
• Rational choice theory - this theory assumes individuals have…?

  Free will and power of reason
• Rational choice theory - what does Ron clarke argue about the decision to commit crime?

  a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences. If the perceived rewards of the crime outweigh the perceived costs, then people will be likely to offend.