crime causes RR

• RR reject structural & economic factors as a cause of crime. EG many old people are poor but have a low crime rate
• Wilson: Crime is a rational choice.

  Criminals make a rational choice to offend. They weigh up the risks and consequences of the crime, and will commit it if the benefits (such as financial gain & status) outweigh this. Wilson believes, in terms of street crime, the balance of risks has tipped too much in favour of criminals. Particularly, the chance of being caught has become quite low. Therefore punishment is not an effective deterrent if there is little chance criminals will be caught & prosecute (link to their idea of zero tolerance policing.
• In the past, people were deterred from committing crime as being caught wouldve brought public shame & a loss of status in the community. However communities have been undermined by the prevalance of crime & as a result neighbours have become increasingly distrustful of eachother & law abiding citizens are spending less time on the dangerous streets. Therefore, the concept of public disgrace (an informal social control) is not longer effective at keeping crime down.
• Wilson & Herring 'broken windows':

  It is crucial to maintain informal social controls to prevent crime. The police are a catalyst in doing this, clamping down on any indications of deviant behaviour (sex workers, drug addicts, vandals, drunks) so the law abiding citizens feel safe. Therefore they will spend time in public places and can monitor behaviour & put informal pressure on them to conform. Use the example of if just one broken window goes unrepaired in an area, law abiding citizens will not feel safe on the streets and more criminals will feel more inclined to emerge.
• RR call for 'zero tolerance policing', therefore there will be no benefit of crime for criminals & areas wont be able to deteriorate.

  The idea of a zero tolerance policing policy has been implemented in some areas

  For example, in 1990s New York, zero tolerance policing reduced crime significantly. EG Homicide decreased by 50%

  However, critics question the effectiveness of ZTP, the level crime in New York had started to decline before the policy was introduced & the crime decline had been happening in other cities too alongside the high levels of unemployment decreasing (economic factor?)
• Believe other theories have failed to solve the problem of crime.

  Criticise labelling & critical criminology for being too sympathetic to criminals & too hostile to courts & police.

  They believe in furthering punishments, rather than rehabilitating offenders or tackling other potential causes of crime, like poverty. For example through implementing a zero tolerance policy to make crime appear less attractive.
• Criticism: Post modernists challenge the idea people weigh up the benefits of crime before committing them, as they argue that the thrill of taking risks is what is alluring about criminal activity. The bigger the risk, the better the thrill.
• Wilson & Hernstein: Crime is a combination of bio & social (inadequate socialisation) factors

  Biological differences between individuals makes some more predisposed to committing crime. Personality traits such as aggressiveness, risk-taking, & low intelligence

  • Supported by the existence of the warrior gene. EG Mary & Norma Bell, some of Britain's youngest killers, fit the profile of a criminal. Mary showed agressive & risk taking traits, later diagnosed psychopath. Norma often described as 'simple'.

  -Contradictory. Free will 'rational choice' is diminished by bio factors low intelligence.
• Murray: A group has developed below the main class system 'the underclass', which is defined not by its economic position, but by its attitudes & values. defined by their deviant & criminal behaviour & disregard for the law, and their failure to socialise their children adequately. This has increased bc of increasing welfare benefits, lead to a dependency culture, led to the decline of marriage, & single parent families, mens men no longer have to take responsibilty for supporting their families
• Murray: Lone mothers are ineffective agents of socialisation, especially for boys. Absent fathers mean that boys lack paternal discipline & appropriate male role models. As a result, young male turn to toher delinquent m=role models on the street to gain status through crimme rather than supporting their families through a steady job. This creates a perfect, crimogenic environment. Records show that those claiming unemployment benefits are twice as likely to have a criminal record than those who are not.