Left realism

• Left realists see inequality in capitalist society as the root cause of crime. They argue the main victims are disadvantaged groups. Crime rates are higher in working class areas with high levels of unemployment and deprivation.
• Left realists propose to reduce crime by making society fairer and more equal.
• Lea and Young identified 3 related causes of crime: relative deprivation, subculture and marginalisation.
• Marginalisation


  Marginalised groups are the ones that lack organisation to represent their interests and lack clearly defined goals.
• Marginalisation example


  Unlike workers, who have clear goals and organisations to give voice to their grievances, jobless youths have no clear goals or organisations to represent them. They have a sense of powerlessness, frustration and resentment of injustice, which they express through crime such as violence and rioting.
• Relative deprivation


  How deprived or badly off someone feels in relation to others. Lea and Young argue that 2 factors are increasing people's sense of relative deprivation:

  1. The media continually advertise material possessions promoting a 'culture hooked on Brands.'
  2. Society is becoming more unequal due to cuts in benefits, unemployment, job insecurity and low pay.
• Relative deprivation downwards

  People who are better off feel resentment against those who are actually worse off. This may explain some hate crimes against powerless groups, for example asylum seekers.
• Subculture 


  A group's way of solving the problem of relative deprivation. Some subcultures turn to crime.
• Criminal subcultures


  Share society's materialistic goals, but because legitimate opportunities are blocked they resort to crime.
• • Inner city youth may find they are denied access to well paid jobs, because of decriminalisation or the poor quality of education they have received. Crime then becomes an alternative means of achieving consumer goods.
• • Not all subcultures turn to crime. Some may turn to religion, this may encourage conformity rather than criminality.