Left realism

• key idea of left realism

  see crime as a real problem. Its main victims are disadvantaged groups. Inequality is the main cause of crime; it encourages relative deprivation
• Strengths of left realism

  • draws attention to the importance of poverty, inequality and relative deprivation as the underlying structural causes of crime
  • draws attention to the reality of street crime and its effects, especially on victims from deprived groups
• Limitations of left realism

  • Henry and Milovanovic argue that left realism accepts the authorities definition of crime as just being street crimes of the poor. fails to explain corporate or white collar crimes
  • over-predicts the amount of working-class crime: not everyone who experiences relative deprivation and marginalisation turns to crime
  • focuses on high-crime inner-city areas gives an unrepresentative view and makes crime appear a greater problem than it is