By Elliott Gwynn

Developed at the same time as Left Realism. Those with a right-wing approach to politics developed Right Realism. They believed crime rates were rising as society fragmented due to the decline of community and lack of respect for authority.

Right realism was founded in 1982 by James Q. Wilson in his book Broken Windows

Decline in respect for authority- heavily linked to fatherless families

Decline in family values and discipline Welfare state has undermined the

morality and virtues of self-restraint and self-control

Collapse of sense of community Crimes rewards outweigh the potential

losses

Increase the risks, decrease the opportunites!

Target hardening- Security devices Surveillence- CCTV Zero tolerance policing People taking responsibility of their own

environment

Wilson and Kelling said that when control is lost, crime can spiral and cause areas to fall into decline.

Imagine a disused building W & K said that once one window gets

smashed, and it doesn’t get repaired. More vandalism will occur!

Wilson and Kelling drew the conclusion that the control of disorderly behaviour in public places is vital to prevent the escalation to more serious crime.

This view was a huge influence on zero-tolerance approach to crime, which was applied in New York during the 80’s.

A proportion of any given community is likely to engage in what James Q. Wilson called ‘Incivilities’.

Ranges from dropping litter to rowdy behaviour.

The amount and extent of incivilities is held in check by the response of the community.

If there is no response, it can lead to more frequent and serious crimes.

• There are three types of control according to Right Realists.

• 1. Direct- Where punishment is threatened and applied for wrong doing

• 2. Indirect- Where someone refrains from delinquency because the act may cause hurt to loved ones

• 3. Internal- Where guilt or ones conscience stops someone from committing the act

Matthews- 92- He found no evidence that tolerance of minor incidents would lead to an increase in crime

Jones- 98- He felt factors such as lack of investment determine whether an area falls into decline more than crime. He also said that spending more time and resources on minor crimes would lead to serious criminals getting away with their crimes.

Right Realism is too reliant on the accuracy of statistics

They ignore the crimes of the powerful and rich

They ignore the role of inequality in causing crime