Left Realism

• Subcultures

  • Developed amongst groups who suffer relative deprivation
  • Dress specifically, tattoos.
  • Lea and Young - Argue this does not account for anything.
• Relative deprivation

  • The poor become aware of their lower class status and the fact they are poor and turn to crime
  • Aware that others have more than them and therefore steal to change this.
• Marginalisation

  • Refers to groups in society who feel more deprived than others economically, socially and politically.
  • They feel as though they have no voice
• Lea and Young - Relative deprivation

  • People are more likely to feel resentment to people with money
  • The media heightens peoples awareness of relative deprivation
  • Informal controls on crime are weakened
• Solutions to crime

  • Community policing
  • Community service
  • CCTV
  • Community centres
  • Ethnic minority police officers
• Policy

  • Tough on crime and the causes of crime (inequality / discrimination)
• Weaknesses

  • Not everyone who is relatively deprived commits crime
  • Relies on official statistics, which Marxists would argue are social constructs
  • ignores ruling class crime
  • focuses too much on street crime and ignores that police can be selective in the areas they police.
  • Criticised for racialising crime and turning it back into a ‘black issue’