The Left vs The Right Discuss What does it mean to have left wing or right wing political views What do we mean by the political spectrum People shouldnt have to pay taxes ID: 556173
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Slide1
Realist Explanations for Crime & Deviance
The Left vs. The RightSlide2
Discuss
What does it mean to have “left wing” or “right wing” political views
?
What do we mean by the ‘political spectrum’?Slide3
People shouldn’t have to pay taxes!
All people should be treated equally!
The government shouldn’t tell consenting adults what they can do in bed!
The benefits system is essential to help people who can’t help themselves...
Private companies should run services, not the government.
Big businesses should be allowed to do what they want!
Life is about survival of the fittest.
We need to deal with climate change urgently!!!!!!
Healthcare should be free to everyone.
The traditions of a society should be sacred.Slide4
People shouldn’t have to pay taxes!
All people should be treated equally!
The government shouldn’t tell consenting adults what they can do in bed!
The benefits system is essential to help people who can’t help themselves...
Private companies should run services, not the government.
Big businesses should be allowed to do what they want!
Life is about survival of the fittest.
We need to deal with climate change urgently!!!!!!
Healthcare should be free to everyone.
The traditions of a society should be sacred.
LEFT
RIGHT!
On the left, are some key ‘left wing’ ideas. On the right, some key ‘right wing’ ideas. The more you hold on one side, the more ‘left’ or ‘right’ wing you are. Slide5Slide6
The Realist Perspectives
Rather than just theorizing on the explanations for crime and deviance, realists accept the
reality
of the situation and promote solutions...
...They do a bit of explaining too, but their explanations tend to be linked to firm solutions...
...Right and Left realism, linked to right and left politics, are often directly opposed. How a society tackles crime may be largely down to the political views of its government.Slide7
Right RealismSlide8
Individual
responsibility
Freedom from
state
controlTradition HierarchyOrder
Right Realist Philosophy
The Right Realists fuse liberal andc
onservative views; the theories ofFunctionalism were a big influence also...Slide9
You know, I think poverty causes crime...
No it doesn’t you lazy devil!
What!? How do you know?
In the early ‘60s, the country was wealthy; individuals had more money than ever and there were lots of schemes to help the poor. Yet the crime rate rocketed!!!!
Oh.
Normal Person (played by Keanu Reeves)
The New Right (played by Maggie Thatcher)Slide10
The New Right
Reject any argument that links poverty and unemployment to crime...
...Although they do accept the statistics that claim crime is mostly committed by poor people, who are often unemployed and in poverty!?!Slide11
It encourages dependency and a
lack
of motivation that is handed down through generations. It creates an
underclass
.
The welfare state “saps moral fibre, erodes Christian ethics and threatens family values”.Marsland
(1992) agreed: The ‘nanny state’ removes individual choice and desire to work.
Charles Murray (1992): The Welfare StateSlide12
Why might Murray blame the welfare state for the following:
LAZINESS
IMMORALITY
SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES
SECULARISATION
POOR SOCIALISATION OF CHILDREN
DiscussSlide13
Murray...
SINGLE-PARENTS CAUSE CRIME!!!
Psst
...don’t tell anyone, but I left my wife and kids...Slide14
Cultural Explanations for Crime
Blame a decline in
‘civility’
and respect for authority
.
The rise of ‘fatherless families’, in which young males are denied an appropriate role model
.Decline in family values and lack of discipline both inside and outside of the home.Slide15
Wilson (1975) believed that
individuals
choose
to be criminals.
He said crime was a result of “wickedness”.He claimed “the criminal engages in a rational calculation before engaging in crime”
(cost/benefit analysis)This is one of the key features of the Right Realist view.
Wilson: Individual Choice
Note: James Q. Wilson is often considered the originator of the Right Realist perspective.Slide16Slide17
“Have you ever wondered why you never see just one broken window?”
This was the most influential R. Realist study and showed how crime
flourishes when social
control and communities break
down.Broken Windows (Wilson &
Kelling; 1982)Slide18Slide19Slide20Slide21
A Broken Windows Escalation Model.
Discuss: What could be done to stop this happening?Slide22
Zero Tolerance
Right Realists promote this police strategy for managing crime.
No offence, however minor, is tolerated.
Views about what is acceptable are therefore reshaped.
New York City
, in which a zero tolerance policy transformed the city, is cited as an example of how successful it can be.Slide23
These are strategies which seek to change environments in which crime can take place...
...The changes should increase the risk and difficulty to the offender, reduce any reward for committing the crime.
The costs of committing a crime in this place will outweigh the benefits.
Situational Crime PreventionSlide24
Toilet Feature
Before the change
After the change
Ceiling Panels
Removable
Attendants
None
LightingFairly dim, regular light-bulb fittings
WallsNormal brick and normal paint
NooksLots
Sink sizeSix users at a time
New York City Toilets: A Situational Crime Prevention ExampleCopy & Complete, identifying changes that could be made to stamp out crime in public toilets!Slide25
How has SCP been used in these places...Slide26
Walklate
(
1996)
Typology
of Prevention Strategies
Offender-Centred (harsher sentences, treatment and rehabilitation)
Victim-Centred (advice to individuals via govt. literature and insurers regarding precautions that need taking)Environment-Centred
(target-hardening; CCTV)Community-Centred
(Neighbourhood Watch; involvement of schools and local businesses in tackling crime).Slide27
List all the places where you are aware of CCTV cameras in your local area...
CCTVSlide28
Is someone less likely to commit a crime because they are aware they might be caught on film?
Does CCTV prevent crime, or displace it?
Is it really a solution to crime, considering that so much crime happens in private places?
Does it make us less afraid of crime?
CCTV: DiscussSlide29
What sort of freedoms are we giving up as CCTV expands?
Who should have the right to conduct surveillance – and how should they be monitored?
CCTV: DiscussSlide30
Many of the policies displace crime, rather than prevent it.
Greater surveillance reduces our privacy and our freedom.
Its policies focus on street crime, burglary etc. They ignore crime like domestic violence and corporate crime.
Places blame on victims!
Criticisms of Right RealismSlide31
The idea that some people are just born ‘wicked’ is dangerous...
Platt & Takagi (1977)
point out that it completely ignores crimes of the rich and powerful. Its policies and theories are designed entirely to criminalise working-class people.
It assumes that crimes are calculated behaviours...but many crimes are done from passion, in the heat of the moment.
Criticisms of Right RealismSlide32
Right Realist Explanations
Right Realist Solutions
CompleteSlide33
Left RealismSlide34
Jock Young
(along with
John Lea & Roger Matthews
) are considered the main founders of Left Realism.
Marxists are too idealistic...and they ignore that most victims of crime are poor...
Realistically, most people are more worried about street crime and burglary than they are corporate crime...
The Right Wing are making things worse by over-dramatising the problem and distorting focus..
We have to develop realistic strategies to reduce the harm that crime does in the lives of the poor and powerless...
The Origins of
Left Realism.Slide35
Left Realist Explanations
Accept poverty and unemployment as factors. Lea & Young (1984) point to
“growing army of unemployed”
, for whom collective violence and temporary control of territory is a reaction against political thinking of the time
.
However, also accepted that the problem went beyond poverty.Slide36
Relative Deprivation
The term was derived from the work
of
Runciman
(1966)...“...Revolution can only occur when the poor became aware of the sheer scale of the differences between themselves and the rich...”
This was developed by Lea & Young who claimed crime is not caused by poverty itself, but by the resentment of the poor at how little their income matched their aspirations.*
*
Does this sound familiar...?Slide37
This means that some groups are more likely than others to suffer
economic, social and political deprivation
.
If you suffer the first two, you will probably also suffer the third...
...And this causes
frustration, as it means you can’t influence decision-makers and so feel powerless.
MarginalizationSlide38
Lea & Young believe that groups who experience relative deprivation and political marginalization are likely to form
subcultures
...
...They were very influenced here again by
Merton...
SubculturesSlide39
‘The Square of Crime’
: To understand and tackle crime, you need to understand how each corner of the square
acts and reacts
in the situation (and in regards to each other).
http://www.bunker8.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/misc/square.htmSlide40
Discuss (small groups)
Consider the London Riots.
How would the Square of Crime be used to explore what caused them and how future riots could be prevented?Slide41
Critical of ‘zero tolerance’ measures, or of any measures that encourage the police to act in a more hostile or aggressive manner.
Military policing
only leads to
mobilisation of bystanders
The Role of the PoliceSlide42
Left Realists want to rebuild trust between troubled communities and the police. They promote a police force who:
Are democratically controlled
Abandon ‘stop and search’ policies
Focus on racial attacks, domestic abuse and corporate crime
Consult with communities
Are approachable!
The Role of the PoliceDiscuss: Why are these things important from a Left Realist view?Slide43
“…
tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime…”
– Tony BlairSlide44
Left Realist: Long Term Goals
Changes in the structure of society to promote social justice
.
Removal or reduction of inequality.Slide45
Left Realist: Immediate Policies
Young & Matthews (1992)
Build strong communities and
“not expect them to resemble the soap operas we watch
” (Young;
1997).
Ensuring all sectors of society (e.g. Families, schools) – not just the police - join the fight against crime…Work with victims to minimise suffering
Focusing on deprived, high-crime-rate areas…Slide46
Don’t spend enough time focusing on offenders...
Relative Deprivation is useful for explaining some crimes, but not others (e.g. rape, assault).
Don’t really deal with corporate crime...
Marxists accuse them of “selling out”
(ignoring the true causes of crime and just dealing with the establishment’s view of crime...)
Criticisms of Left RealismSlide47
Left Realist Explanations
Left Realist Solutions
Complete