left and right realism

• Left realism


  Supports the working class, ethnic minorities (people of colour), agrees with labour party, looks at the conditions of society and why the marginalised commit more crimes
• Right realism


  Conservative, less empathetic viewpoint towards the underdog, believe if people want to achieve, they can but they choose not to
• The cause of crime is debated between left and right realism
• Evaluation of causes of crime

  • Relative deprivation (too deterministic, Marxist that even the bourgeoisie commit crime)
  • Subcultures (not all subcultures are criminal, there are people who are not in subcultures and still commit crime)
  • Marginalised (strain of anomie, status frustration, no explanation for why crime is the outlet of their frustration opposed to other behaviours (deviance))
  • Rational Choice Theory (overstates the offender's rationality and how far they have cost-benefit calculations before committing a crime, too deterministic, working class may not know the consequences, due to the lack of education)
  • Biological Factors (if low intelligence was an explanation for why people commit crime, it would not explain why Asians have such high crime statistics but are simultaneously the highest achievers in education, Marxists suggest that this explanation fails to explain the importance of material deprivation and the social factors that leads to people committing crimes out of necessity, this also does not explain non-utilitarian crimes)
  • Inadequate Socialisation (too deterministic to assume that all people in the under/ working class are inadequately socialised, too deterministic to assume that if you are 'inadequately socialised' you would be a criminal)
• Left and right realism perspectives on preventing crime

  • Policing and control (must be made accountable to local communities and need to improve their relationship with such communities by spending more time investigating crime and involving the community and making policing policy)
  • Tackling structural causes (tackle the structural cause of poverty by reducing inequality of opportunity and discrimination by providing jobs for everyone)
  • Zero tolerance policing (a zero-tolerance policy to undesirable behaviour such as prostitution, begging and drunkenness, police should patrol the streets and take a 'short, sharp, shock' approach, and carry out on stop and search on suspicious characters)
• Broken window thesis


  It is essential to maintain orderly characteristics of neighbourhoods and reduce any signs of crime immediately. This means if an area looks rundown, its going to be treated as such by criminal.
• Target hardening


  If you are making it harder to commit crime (e.g. by locking doors) this will reduce the rewards and act as a deterrent.
• Left Realism


  Focuses on social and economic conditions, agrees with Labour party's liberal perspectives
• Right Realism


  Focuses on individual choice and responsibility, less empathetic view towards the underdog
• Relative Deprivation


  Theory that suggests individuals commit crime when they feel they do not have equitable access to resources and opportunities
• Left realism


  Supports the working class, ethnic minorities (people of colour), agrees with labour party, looks at the conditions of society and why the marginalised commit more crimes
• Right realism


  Conservative viewpoint, less empathetic towards the underdog, believe if people want to achieve, they can but they choose not to
• The cause of crime is a topic of debate
• Evaluation of causes of crime

  • Relative deprivation (too deterministic, Marxist that even the bourgeoisie commit crime)
  • Subcultures (not all subcultures are criminal, there are people who are not in subcultures and still commit crime)
  • Marginalised (strain of anomie, status frustration, no explanation for why crime is the outlet of their frustration opposed to other behaviours (deviance))
• Evaluation of Rational Choice Theory

  • Overstates the offender's rationality and how far they have cost-benefit calculations before committing a crime, too deterministic, working class may not know the consequences, due to the lack of education
• Evaluation of Biological Factors

  • If low intelligence was an explanation for why people commit crime, it would not explain why Asians have such high crime statistics but are simultaneously the highest achievers in education, Marxists suggest that this explanation fails to explain the importance of material deprivation and the social factors that leads to people committing crimes out of necessity, this also does not explain non-utilitarian crimes
• Evaluation of Inadequate Socialisation

  • Too deterministic to assume that all people in the under/ working class are inadequately socialised, too deterministic to assume that if you are 'inadequately socialised' you would be a criminal
• Left and Right realist perspectives on preventing crime

  • Policing and control (made accountable to local communities, improve relationship with communities, spend more time investigating crime, involve community in policing policy)
  • Tackling structural causes (reduce inequality of opportunity and discrimination, provide jobs for everyone)
  • Zero tolerance policing (patrol streets, 'short, sharp, shock' approach, carry out stop and search on suspicious characters)
• Broken window thesis


  It is essential to maintain orderly characteristics of neighbourhoods and reduce any signs of crime immediately. This means if an area looks rundown, its going to be treated as such by criminal.
• Target hardening


  Making it harder to commit crime (e.g. by locking doors) will reduce the rewards and act as a deterrent