right realism

• what political outlook do right realists have?

  right wing conservative
• what are right realists mainly concerned with?

  practical solutions to reduce crime - usually through control and punishment
• what three factors do right realists believe is the cause of crime?

  biological differences between individuals; inadequate socialisation; offending is a rational choice
• what did wilson and herrnstein claim?

  biological differences make some individuals more likely to commit crime. they believed personality traits associated with criminality are innate
• what do right realists see as the best agency of socialisation?

  the nuclear family
• what did murray claim?

  the nuclear family is being undermined by generous welfare benefits and this has led to a steady rise in the number of welfare-dependent lone parent families
• what did murray argue about the ‘underclass’?

  they fail to socialise their children properly. absent fathers mean that boys lack discipline and an appropriate male role model so they turn to delinquent role models in street gangs and young men gain status through crime
• what does the rational choice theory claim?

  we are rational beings with free will
• what do right realists argue is the cause of a high crime rate?

  the perceived costs of crime are low
• what is felson’s routine activity theory?

  for a crime to occur, three factors are necessary: a motivated offender; a suitable target; the absence of a ’capable guardian’
• what is the problem with felson’s routine activity theory if the rational choice theory is correct?

  offenders may act rationally and just move their attention to where the target is softer. this is called displacement - crime doesn’t decline, it just moves