LEFT AND RIGHT REALISM

REVISION – MILLIE PRICE

RIGHT REALISM Right Realists favor a ‘get tough’ stance on crime

• They believe the root cause of crime is BIOLOGY and POOR SOCIALISATION as people make a rational choice to commit crime

Right Realists question the view that economic factors, like poverty or unemployment are the reasoning behind rising crime rates.

They believe the solution is more formal social control such as harsher prison sentences, zero tolerance policies

WILSON & KELLING – BROKEN WINDOW THEORY

Wilson and Kellings ‘BROKEN WINDOWS’ article has been described as the most influential single article on crime prevention ever written.

They use the term ‘broken windows’ to stand for all the various signs of disorder and lack of concern for others that are found in some neighbourhoods. This includes:

Undue noise Graffiti Dog fouling Vandalism and so on.

In some neighbourhoods, there is absence of both formal social control (the police) and informal social control (the community).

It seems that the police are only concerned with serious crime and turn a blind eye to petty nuisance behaviour, which respectable members of the community feel intimidated and powerless

 Without action taking place, the situation gets worse. Respectable people move out (if they can) and the area becomes a magnet for deviants.

ZERO TOLERANCE POLICING

Wilson and Kelling developed two strategies used within zero tolerance policing

1. Firstly their solution is to use a TWOFOLD STRATEGY. First an environmental improvement strategy: any broken window must be repaired immediately and abandoned cars towed without delay etc. Otherwise more will follow and neighbourhood will be on the slide.

2. Secondly, the police must adopt a ZERO TOLERANCE policing strategy. Instead of merely reacting to crime, they must proactively tackle even the slightest sign of disorder, even if it is not criminal. This will halt neighbourhood decline and prevent serious crime taking root.

CRITICISMS OF RIGHT REALISM

Doesn't’ explain white collar crime or domestic violence

Ignores issues like poverty

Scapegoats the underclass

Overstates the role of rationality

Crime displaced to other areas

LEFT REALISMLeft Realists on the other hand couch their

explanations firmly in the INEQUALITIES CREATED BY A CAPITALIST SOCIETY

They look at WHY crime occurs and say that it is down to RELATIVE DEPRIVATION, MARGINALISATION and CRIMINAL SUBCULTURES and also other reasons such as poverty, boredom and status frustration.

They're solution is more informal social control e.g. better housing, more job opportunities etc.

RELATIVE DEPRIVATIONOne reason why LEA & YOUNG (LEFT REALISTS) would

say crime occurs is due to RELATIVE DEPRIVATION.

This is where people feel resentment that others unfairly have more than them and so they feel deprived of material items for example. And when they cant get these things through legitimate ways they will resort to crime to obtain it what they feel they are entitled too.

Now a-days for example young people feel immense pressure to ‘fit in’ with their peer groups and get whatever ‘cool gadget’ their friends have. There is a huge gap between what they can actually achieve and what they want – this causes frustration so they turn to crime to get it

SUBCULTURESDifferent groups may PRODUCE DIFFERENT SUBCULTURAL

SOLUTIONS to this problem of relative deprivation.

E.g. some may turn to crime to close the ‘deprivation gap’, while others may find that religious offers them spiritual comfort.

In terms of afro-Caribbean's – as they are from the same relatively deprived backgrounds, they may form subcultures together as they share the same norms and values and beliefs.

They then form deviant subcultures e.g. gangs + then commit crimes

MARGINALISATIONW/C people/youths or black people may feel ‘ON

THE EDGE OF SOCIETY’ as they are perhaps a minority group and lack representation from organisations that woukd represent their political interests

So they often resort to violence and rioting as a form of political action to achieve their goals and/or take out their frustration as they feel left out of society.