Crime and Deviance - Left and Right Realism
- 2. LEFT REALIST
- 3. Lea and Young • In 1983, the first year of the British Crime Survey, the UK government declared it was irrational to fear crime: the public concern was the product of media sensationalism.
- 4. Lea and Young • Lea and Young refuted this idea claiming that working class, black people and the elderly have a realistic fear of street crime as they were often the victims of such crime.
- 5. Lea and Young • They performed a victim survey in Islington that revealed that the working class residents were thoroughly rational to fear crime. • Lea and Young are also critical of some Marxist attempts to politicize black working class crime. • They suggest for many black communities, crime is an unpleasant and harsh day to day reality.
- 6. Why do these groups commit crime? 1. Relative deprivation - W/C feel deprived compared to M/C and black youths feel deprived compared to white youths leading to crime. 2. Marginalization – people feel on the outside with no power to change their situation. 3. Subculture – people experiencing the above points may form deviant subcultures.
- 7. Solutions to Crime • Improve policing and control and gain confidence of the local communities • Deal with the deeper structural causes of crime by reducing inequality by creating jobs and improving housing.
- 8. Evaluation • Lea and Young have highlighted the effects of crime on victims and the underlying causes of crime However, • There is little empirical evidence to support the view that young criminals interpret their realities in the way that Lea and Young describe • Focuses on street crime and ignores white collar crime
- 10. The New Right • Charles Murray identifies what he terms as the underclass which subscribes to deviant and criminal values rather than mainstream. He lays the fault at single mothers. • David Marsland argues that the Welfare State is responsible for the emergence of the underclass
- 11. The New Right • Clarke (1980) put forward a rational choice theory where the decision to commit crime is based on a rational calculation of the consequences. Right realists argue that the perceived costs of crime are low and this has increased the crime rate.
- 12. Control Theories • Travis Hirschi argues that most people do not commit crimes as they have four controls in their lives: 1.Attachment – family and relationships 2.Commitment – people may lose a great deal 3.Involvement – people are engaged in communities and respect would be lost 4.Belief – people have been brought up to respect rules, beliefs and others.
- 13. Criticisms • Rex, Tomlinson reject the idea of an underclass and claim it is not a voluntary situation. The ‘underclass’ have the same aspirations as rest of population. • It is doubtful that crime is underpinned by rationality • Class inequalities in victimization leads to paranoia and gated communities as the rich try to separate themselves from the poor