Realist approaches

What are left realist causes of crime?

• 1. Marginalisation- ppl mushed to the margins of society with no power to change the situation e.g. ethnic minorities/ w/c youths with little representation or power so can’t express issues legitimately- may do it through crime (violent/ riots/ theft etc to improve social position).

• 2. Relative deprivation- feeling deprived relative to those around you just because they have more (lots of w/c feel this). Lea & Young used this concept to show how today’s society is a paradox (more prosperous but more crime-ridden) & ppl are more aware of deprivation due to media.

  • 3. Subcultures- ppl who exp relative deprivation/ marginalisation may join/ form deviant subcultures (develops merton and cloward & ohlin’s ideas).

What are right realist causes of crime?

• Rational choice- (theory) Clarke- decision to commit crime = based on rational calculation of consequences e.g. ppl vaping underage, they weigh out the good aspects (fit in, less harmful than smoking)/ bad aspects (cancer, disapproval, addiction, legality, etc) but still choose to do it.

• Inadequate socialisation- if someone’s born into the underclass (viewed a ‘class of criminals’) it’s next to impossible to get out so having children in the UC just reproduces it e.g. Murray- boys raised without male role models may turn to gangs instead of respecting authority.

• Biological diffs- some ppl are just born more aggressive so are biologically more likely to commit crime due to genes/ hormones e.g. men with higher testosterone levels are more likely to commit violent crime.

What are left realist solutions for crime?

What does Young say resulted in rise of anti-social behaviour?

• Social community crime prevention (tackling root causes of crime- poverty, poor education) through multi-agency approaches e.g. police & schools work together in knife crime prevention.

• ‘Defining deviance up’- making the definition too broad e.g. with ASBOs 1998- allow authorities to label minor acts as deviant e.g. noise levels- this is problematic and targets young groups & the w/c.

What are right realist solutions for crime?

• Situational crime prevention (target hardening)- making crime more difficult to commit to de influence ppl committing it e.g. more CCTV, locks, alarms.

• Environmental crime prevention (zero tolerance) strict policing even minor offences to prevent more crime & maintain social order. Stems from Wilson & Kellings broken window theory- any sign of crime should be immediately dealt with to send message that no crime whatsoever will be tolerated.

What society does Young say we’re in? Why?

• Late modern (unstable, social exclusion etc, all worsen crime)

• Feature of late modernity = fragmented communities- leading to ppl having diverse views/ opinions, leading to crime (protests, riots, activists)- also social exclusion increases violent crime.

How is surveillance defined & what approach is it?

What did Foucoult’s study find about surveillance?

• Surveillance- PM approach, monitors public behaviour for control.

• Foucoult- uses the example of the panopticon to show how disciplinary power has infiltrated every aspect of PM society leading to self-surveillance.

What are the 2 types of surveillance?

What is actuarial justice?

• 1. Synoptic surveillance- ordinary ppl use e.g. social media to hold others accountable for actions (e.g. celebs)- Thompson argued powerful groups e.g. being exposed by the media.

• 2. Surveillant assemblages- Haggerty & Ericson- modern surveillance systems are now linked tog, diff data from diff sources can now be combined e.g. cctv, phone data- these digital traces can be tracked, shared & analysed to monitor behaviour. E.g. linking cctv with facial recognition.

• Actuarial justice- managing crime & offenders based on risk rather than focusing on punishing individual wrongdoers. E.g. Feeley & Simon- ‘new penology’ focus shifted from individual guilt to group management, authorities aim to prevent crime before it happens usinf offender profiling targeting high risk groups.

Who says victims are socially constructed?

• Christie because context decides who is/ isn’t a victim.

What is positivist victimology? Who states its 3 features & what are they?

What does Hentig say about victim-proneness?

• An individual approach, focusing on characteristics of victims.

• Miers- 1. Focus on interpersonal crime 2. Tries to identify why certain ppl are victims 3. Aims to identify victim patterns.

• Hentig- what makes ppl vulnerable to being a victim: female, elderly, low intelligence, implying some ‘invite’ victimisation.

What is critical victimology? What do Tombs & Whyte say about safety crimes?

• Focuses on power & inequality. Draws ideas from feminism & marxism, focuses on power structures (patriarchy & poverty) and says the powerless are more likely to become victims of the powerful.

• Tombs & Whyte- studied workplace death/ injury caused by employers breaking safety- found it’s often blamed on the victim for being ‘accident prone’.

• The state controls who gets labelled a victim.

What is secondary victimisation?

• E.g. a rape victim may be victimised by the CJS despite already being a victim as CJS try to blame the victim/ say they’re lying.