Left realism

What they believe in

Believe there are structural inequalities and relative dep. Crime is a serious problem that affects disadvantaged groups 

Lea and young - relative deprivation

Relative deprivation- Lea and young- relative dep leads to more crime as deprived people resent others having more material goods than them, leads to them resorting to illegitimate means to achieve this 

Eval: many wealthy also turn to crime- white collar crime 

Subcultures

Subcultures- subcultures form as a solution to relative dep and some may turn to crime in order to close the dep gap and achieve mainstream goals 

Eval: not all subcultures are criminal, crime can be committed outside of subcultures 

Marginalisation

Marginalisation- Marginalised groups lack clear goals that organisations to represent them, which leads to frustration and resentment- they express this by turning to criminal acts like rioting and violence 

Eval: doesn’t explain why crime is an outlet for frustrations opposed to other behaviours 

Solutions

Solutions: 

policing and control- policing should be made accountable to local communities 

tackle structural causes of poverty- reducing inequality and discrimination and providing jobs for everyone