right realism

• right realism

  right realism views crime as a growing problem that destroys communities, undermines social cohesion and threatens society's work ethic. the right realist approach has been influential in the USA, UK etc. policy makers argued that 'nothing works', criminologists had produced many theories of crime but found no solution to cut back rising crime rates. this led to a shift in official thinking, away from the searches of the causes of crime and towards a search for practical crime control measures.
• more...

  it also meant that the US and UK government tough stance towards offenders and their view that the best way to reduce crime was through control and punishment, rather than rehabilitating offenders and tackling causes of crime. right realists are less concerned to understand the cause of crime and are more focused on providing realistic solutions.
• 1 strength

  this explanation can explain why some people commit crime, especially, opportunistic crimes e.g., someone who finds a car key on the floor next to a car, might steal the car as the opportunity has arisen.
• 1 weakness

  this explanation is criticised as not all impulsive crimes are rationally thought through. in certain circumstances, costs and benefits are not weighed or considered e.g., a drunk person getting involved in a fight with someone is likely to have impaired decision making skills or be acting on impulse alone as a result of intoxication.
• 1 weakness

  most research surrounding this explanation uses experiments and hypothetical scenarios about crime. when people are questioned whether or not they would commit crime in a hypothetical situation, there are no consequences for their behaviour, or real emotions involved. this means that the research fails to replicate realistic scenarios and any conclusion drawn might not reflect real life situations of criminality.