Left and Right realism A look back at
Left and Right realism
A look back at crime statistics • Victims of crime tend to be poor and disadvantaged. However… • Majority of crime occurs in inner city areas and most disadvantaged • Large social housing developments • Adds to a real concern over the amount of crime taking place • This led to two perspectives…
Right realism • Crime is a real problem • Attempt to tackle the causes of crime by Zero tolerance • Handout: http: //news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/uk/182553. stm
Zero tolerance Doley, 2003 Task: Can we think of any preventative measures for crime?
James Wilson • Handout: • Varieties of policing behaviour (1968) Based on the New York police intervention : Zero Tolerance Broken windows
Broken windows • Proportion of people will be involved in ‘incivilities’- dropping litter, vandelism, graffiti. • In most communities this behaviour is eradicated by the informal sanctions of that community- hence the behaviour is stopped from going further. However in some areas the behaviour is not checked, thus crime flourishes • Linked to the work of Etzioni (1993)
Communiterianism – Etzioni 1993 • Stresses that only local communities by their own efforts and local face-to-face relationships can solve social problems and hence crime.
Conclusion of Wilson • Police should play a role in restoring the balance of incivilities and help to recreate the community (Moore 2004) • Dealing with crime that has already been committed does not stop future crime. . The police must tackle those small crimes in order to prevent future big crimes- hence order maintenance • Minority report? ?
Against Wilson • Platt and Takagi (1977) • Concentrates on inner city crime and hence lower social class crime • How about the crimes committed by the powerful?
Left realism • From the writers of LEAS, Young and Matthews • Emphasises the importance of tackling deprivation and of getting policing to respond to the needs of the local population • Relative deprivation Media makes this worse!- poor can afford TV 95% of households have digital services • Marginalisation • Subculture • Handout: Task define and explain the three above approaches
Relative deprivation • • • Runciman (1966) Awareness of their poverty that leads to crime Linked to media People see what they are lacking Lea and Young (1984)-link to expectations
Marginalisation • Some groups more than others are likely to suffer
Notes handout to help you with Realism
Social Constructionism • Becker • Master label • Evidence of changing in laws and deviant behaviour – Homosexuality, child abuse etc
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