Realism

Created by

Lauren

Cards (15)

Right Realism - Causes of Crime:
> biological differences
> inadequate socialisation
> rational choice theory
Right Realism - Biological Differences:
> Wilson and Hernstein - crime is caused by a combination of biological and social factors
> biological traits may make some people innately predisposed to crime e.g. heightened aggression or low intelligence
Right Realism - Inadequate Socialisation:
> Murray - the nuclear family is being undermined by the welfare state, which is a perverse incentive encouraging single parent families
> creates a dependency culture whereby people rely on the state as a way of life - these people form an underclass, who fail to socialise their children into shared norms and values
Right Realism - Rational Choice Theory:
> Clarke - individuals are rational beings with free will
> deciding to commit a crime is a choice based on rational calculation of the consequences and rewards
> if the rewards appear to outweigh the costs, people will be more likely to offend
> crime rate is high because the costs are low e.g. little risk of being caught and lenient punishment
Right Realism - Solutions for Crime:
> zero tolerance policing
> broken windows
> target hardening
Right Realism - Zero Tolerance Policing:
> police should focus on controlling the streets so law-abiding citizens feel safe
> involves cracking down on relatively minor deviance, such as begging and prostitution, to create an environment where the community knows law and order are taken seriously
Right Realism - Broken Windows:
> Wilson and Kelling - we must keep neighbourhoods orderly to prevent crime
> any sign of deterioration e.g. graffiti, must be dealt with immediately to send the message that deviance will not be tolerated
Right Realism - Target Hardening:
> make it more difficult for an offender to commit a crime e.g. locking doors, keeping valuables out of sight and using CCTV
> rewards will no longer outweigh the costs
Left Realism - Causes of Crime:
> relative deprivation
> subcultures
> marginalisation
Left Realism - Relative Deprivation:
> crime is rooted in relative deprivation - how deprived someone feels in relation to others
> when they feel others unfairly have more, they may resort to crime to obtain what they feel entitled to
> the poor have access to the media's materialistic messages, yet lack the opportunities to gain wealth, which fuels their sense of relative deprivation
Left Realism - Subcultures:
> a subculture is a group's solution to the problem of relative deprivation
> some subcultural solutions do not lead to crime e.g. some may turn to religion for comfort and this may encourage conformity
> criminal subcultures subscribe to society's materialistic goals, but opportunities are blocked, so they turn to crime
Left Realism - Marginalisation:
> unemployed youth are marginalised, as they have no organisation to represent them and no clear goals - just a sense of frustration which they express through violent means
> Lea and Young - the problem of WC crime is made worse in late modern society because of greater job insecurity, higher unemployment and harsher welfare policies, which fuel a sense of marginalisation
Left Realism - Solutions for Crime:
> reducing inequality
> democratic policing
Left Realism - Reducing Inequality:
> structural changes to tackle discrimination and inequality
> New Labour adopted a left realist approach, which is described as 'tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime' e.g. the New Deal aimed to get those on benefits into work or training to reduce marginalisation and social inequality
Left Realism - Democratic Policing:
> Kinsey, Lea and Young - police rely on the public for information, but they are losing support
> to win support, police must become more accountable e.g. involving communities in deciding policing priorities e.g. elected Police Crime Commissioners
> crime control must involve a multi-agency approach - schools and social services