realism (sociologial)

• left realism and crime (lea and young)

  • POLITICAL OUTLOOK = left wing socialist. they see inequality in capitalist society as root cause of crime. crime reduction by making society fairer and more equal
  • CAUSE (relative deprivation) = media and growing inequality make people unable to afford lifestyle that is promoted to them. some turn to crime to gain what they think they deserve
• left realism and crime (lea and young)

  • CAUSE (subculture) = criminal subcultures share societies materialistic goals. legitimate opportunities to achieve them are blocked so they turn to crime
  • CAUSE (marginalisation) = marginalised groups such as unemployed youths have no goals or organisations to represent their interests. frustration leads them to non utilitarian crime
• strengths of left realism:

  • draws attention to importance of poverty, inequality and relative deprivation as causes of crime
  • draws attention to reality of street crime especially effects on victims from deprived groups
• limitation of left realism:

  • HENRY AND MILOVANOVIC: fails to explain crimes of the powerful
  • overpredicts working class crime. not all poor people turn to crime
  • focus on inner city high crime areas. this makes crime appear to be a greater problem than it is
• right realism and crime:

  • POLITICAL OUTLOOK = conservative, see crime as a problem. best way to reduce it is through control and punishment
  • CAUSE BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES = WILSON AND HERNSTEIN: some individuals have biological traits which make them more prone to criminality
  • CAUSE INADEQUATE SOCIALISATION = underclass is welfare dependent and does not have the right norms or values. lone mothers mean boys lack a role model so turn to gangs
• right realism and crime:

  • offending is a rational choice (RCT) = people weigh up costs and benefits of committing a crime before deciding to do it (free will)
  • FELSON (RAT) : for a crime to occur there needs to be a: motivated offender, a suitable target and a lack of a capable guardian
• strengths of right realism:

  • RCT is supported by Rettig's study where students choice to commit crime was dependent on severity of punishment
  • Feldman's study also found that people would commit crime if rewards were high and punishment was low
  • may explain some opportunistic crimes such as petty theft
  • bennet and wright: burgulars said risk of being caught was important in deciding decision to commit crime
• limitations of right realism:

  • bennet and wright : studied convicted burglars. may not be the same as successful ones
  • Rettig and Feldman = studies were lab experiments not real life