Realist explanations of Crime and Deviance

NOV mocks only

What does Wilson and Hernstein claim as the reason that people commit crimes?

Some people are born with a predispiton towards crime

What is an example for Wilson and Hernstein about individuals that have an inclination towards crime?

• born with aggressive tendencies

• extroverted

• prone to risk-taking

According to Wilson and Herstein, why do people with this Biological inclination towards violence commit crime?

People are not socialised effectively - their predisposition is likely to be realised

According to Wilson and Herstein, why do people prevent the Biological inclination towards commiting crime?

Children are more likely to develop a conscience in nuclear families compared to single parent families - where effective socialisation is unlikely

What is Wilson and Hernstein’s solution for stopping crime?

Effectively socialisation can be diverted away from criminal behaviour

Who created the Biology explanation for crime?

Wilson and Hernstein

Why does Murray believe that people commit crime?

attributes to surge in crime to the existence of an underclass, separate from mainstream society

• not just financial disparities, but attitudes and values

What does Murray contend the growth of the underclass to?

Expansion due to the rise in single parenthood

• consequence of overly generous welfare systems

How does the Welfare System encourage single parenthood according to Murray?

Safety net

• encourages women to become pregnant, knowing the system would support them

• fathers often evade responsibility

What happens as a result of children growing up in single-parent households according to Murray?

Children lack male role models and are influenced by delinquent peer groups

• children of underclass go to have children and socialise them in the same way

What Solution could be suggested to prevent the growth in the underclass? (Murray)

Cut benefits: means testings

Who created the Underclass explanation for crime?

Murray

What does Wilson suggest as the explanation for an increase in crime and deviance?

Individuals contemplate crime - asses its benefits like financial gain and status against the risks

What does Wilson suggest as the problem which allowing the rational choice to occur?

Weak law enforcement and lenient punishment contribute to this problem

• informal social controls, like shame, have eroded

Why has the erosion of informal social controls increased the amounts of crime and deviance according to Wilson?

No longer strong enough deterrents to put individuals off making the ration decision to break the law

• communities suffer as crime weakens trust among neighbours

What could be suggested as a solution to Wilson’s rational choice theory?

Tougher sentencing

Who created the Rational Choice explanation for crime?

Wilson

Which theory did Cohen and Felson expand upon?

Rational Choice Theory - Wilson

What does Cohen and Felson describe as the 3 conditions for crime?

• Individuals motivation

• Opportunities and suitable targets

• Lack of deterrence for potential offenders

What does the Routine Theory by Cohen and Felson suggest about crime?

Most crimes are opportunistic rather than premediated

• driven by societal shifts

What is a suggested Solution for Cohen and Felson’s Routine Theory?

Increased policing

Who created the Routine Theory explanation for crime?

Cohen and Felson

What idea does Wilson and Kelling attempt to develop?

crucial to try to maintain informal social control in neighbourhoods

What do Wilson and Kelling suggest as a way to prevent crime?

Clamping down on the first signs of undesirable behaviour in a neighbourhood

What do Wilson and Kelling suggest as the chain of reaction which causes crime?

• Broken window (disorder goes untreated)

• Fear

• Law-abiding citizens will not feel safe and avoid

• Removes informal social control

• Leaves areas to criminals

What is a Solution to Wilson and Kelling’s Broken Window Theory?

Need both formal and informal control

• formal: laws, police

• informal: members of the public

Who created the Broken Windows explanation for crime?

Wilson and Kelling

What are the 4 Right Realist Solutions to Crime

• Increased Policing

• Tougher Sentencing

• Zero-Tolerance Policing

• Situational Crime Prevention Measures

Right Realist Solutions to Crime - Increased Policing

Stronger police presence as a deterrent to criminal behaviour

• advocate for more police officers on the streets

• improved community policies efforts to build trust and cooperation between law enforcement and communities

Right Realist Solutions to Crime - Tougher Sentencing

Support harsher sentences for offenders, including longer prison terms - deters potential criminals and to protect society by incapacitating dangerous individuals

• e.g. ‘three strike laws’ - California: significantly increases the prison sentences of a person who had previously been convicted of a violent crime

Right Realist Solutions to Crime - Zero-Tolerance Policing

Involves cracking down on minor offenses and disorderly behaviour to prevent the escalation of criminal activity - by addressing minor offences

• e.g. New York: Introduced giving police powers to arrest and charge - ‘squegge men’ (broken windows!)

Right Realist Solutions to Crime - Situational Crime Prevention Measures

Aims to reduce the benefits of committing crimes by making targets of crime harder to commit crime against or impossible

• e.g. ‘hostile architecture’: deters people from sleeping/congregating

What does the Right Realists view emphasis?

• Law and Order

• Individual Responsibility

• The need for Effective Crime Control strategies

What is the Impact on Policies for the Right Realist approach?

• Tough-on-Crime Policies

• Preventive Measures

What is the Right Realist Impact on Policies - Tough-on-Crime Policies

Leading to the implementation of stricter sentencing laws, mandatory minimum sentences, and increased police presence in high-crime areas

What is the Right Realist Impact on Policies - Preventive Measures

To address the root causes of crime and reduce recidivism

• e.g. early intervention programs & youth mentoring

What is the Impact on Law for the Right Realist approach?

• Harsher Sentencing

• Focus on Deterrence

• Emphasis on Victim’s Right

What is the Right Realist Impact on Law - Harsher Sentencing

Leads to laws that impose harsher penalties for criminal offenses

• e.g. longer prison sentences for repeat offenders

What is the Right Realist Impact on Law - Focus on Deterrence

Laws may prioritise deterrence over rehabilitation

• emphasising punishment to dissuade individuals from engaging in criminal behaviour

What is the Right Realist Impact on Law - Emphasis on Victim’s Rights

Leads to legal reforms that prioritise the rights of crime victims

• e.g. enhancing victim impact statements in court proceedings

How do Lea and Young describe Relative Deprivation?

Individual perceives themselves as deprived (whether materially or otherwise) in comparison to others in society

What crisis did Lea and Young suggest that there was in the 1950s?

An Aetiological crisis in Criminology

• couldn’t explain why crime rates were rising despite increases in people’s living standards

Why does Lea and Young suggest that there has been a heightened sense of Relative Deprivation?

Media and Advertising

• persuades influences inflate material expectations for everyone

• people feel economically disadvantaged despite increased prosperity

How does Lea and Young’s theory of Relative Deprivation lead to an increase in crime?

Fuels a relentless drive to accumulate possessions

• People feel they cannot live the lifestyle promoted - leads to frustration and resentment

What does Young mean when he suggests that we are living in a ‘Global Merton’

• Increased individualism and consumerism promoted by the media

• and economic exclusion

How do Lea and Young describe the ‘Golden Age of Capitalism’ and what has it been replaced with?

• Most people were in full employment with wage increases

Replaced with job insecurity and zero hour contracts

Who created the Relative Deprivation Theory?

Lea and Young

How do Lea and Young describe Marginalisation?

Marginal groups generally lack the organisation to represent their interests in political life and consequently their concerns are not generally taken seriously by those in positions of power

What does Lea and Young suggest that Marginalised Groups do to express their grievances?

Tend to use violence and rioting as forms of political action to express their sense of grievance

What do Lea and Young claim as the underlying reason for Crime?

Inequality - even with reasonable living standards and low rates of poverty

• those left behind in an increasingly unequal society could become marginalised, feel deprived and form subcultures that encourage criminality

Who created the Marginalisation Theory?

Lea and Young

How do Lea and Young describe why groups create Subcultures?

May develop a subcultural strategies and lifestyles to cope with the problems of relative deprivation and marginalisation

How does Lea and Young’s Subcultural theory contrast with Functionalists?

there is a less consensus about moral values than in the past because there is now an increasingly variety of subcultures - claiming their views as legitimate

According to Lea and Young how do Subcultures increase in conflict and crime?

Increase conflict and rising crime - particularly hate crimes committed against marginalised groups

• e.g. Black and minority ethnic groups, or against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

Who created the Subcultures Theory?

Lea and Young