Left and right realism on crime, statistics on crime

one that suggests practical solutions to the issue of crime not just an explanation

there has been a significant increase in the crime rate, there are concerns about the fear of crime, other sociological theories fail to offer realistic solutions to crime

free choice, individualism, people are naturally selfish, value consensus underpins society, close links to right wing politics and new right ideology

community control “control, containment, punishment“

believed sociology hadnt provided solutions to crime, believed that heavier punishment did not always help as crime was inevitable, argued that the solution was to increase rate of detection to make the risk of committing the crime heavier therefore it would deter people from being criminal

rational choice theory, broken windows theory, underclass

ideology that all individuals have the capacity to make choices and weigh up the risks of criminal activity, crime will generally increase when there is a decrease in the risk of committing a crime

Wilson and Kelling

idea that if an area has a high level of small-scale disorder crimes going unpunished (e.g graffiti, broken windows, dog fouling), the people in the area will be under the impression that crime is not risky and will therefore commit more. there is often an absence of both formal and informal social control

deviants become attracted to the area which moves many people out as they do not want to be in that environment, they commit crime there as they believe it is allowed

charles murray

idea that there is and increase in deviants due to inadequate primary socialisation. single parent households lacked a father figure who asserted discipline, families lived off of welfare benefits which would convey the message to their children that hard work is not needed and not valued turning them to deviance

to gain a social status and because they did not value work anymore

stricter socialisation of young people e.g cjs in schools, more policing in communities, more zero-tolerance policies, situational crime prevention such as noises playing to deter people, increased social control

addresses immediate causes of crime such as broken windows, gives policies to reduce opportunity of crime,recognises severity of small scale crimes, recognises importance of community control

over-emphasis on minor offences, corporate crime and white collar crime doesn’t exist, assumes offenders are rational, only suggests that strong police presence will help yet doesn’t acknowledge labelling and self fulfilling prophecy

Jock Young

inequality through structure and injustice

marxist and neo marxist views don’t tackle crime seriously and romanticise working class crime along with not taking victims seriously, believed democratic policy and improved clear up rates by police would help crime rates

relative deprivation, marginalisation, subcultures

Runciman

someone feels that they are materially deprived in relation to those around them due to the belongings the society may have e.g not having a phone or new shoes

groups lack clear goals and organisations to represent their interests, for example, groups based on class or ethnicity. these groups turn to crime as a means to release their frustrations

groups with the same ideology and frustrations that come up with collective solutions to relative deprivation, argue that those who achieved the goals of society did so illegitimately so will do the same, have the same goals of society but access them through illegitimate means (crime)

through the examination of the interrelations between four elements- role of victims, social structure and formal social control, public and informal social control, offenders

who the victim is and how they choose to report their crime, how do victims view offenders and if they trust the police to prosecute the offender

the context of crime and how it is defined, the style of policing and who decides weather the deviance is deviant, styles of policing e.g military

how the general public reacts to crime, how offenders are condemned, trust between the police and the public

building communities, agencies working together, community policing, tacking social deprivation, addressing risks of crime

police records, prison records, court records, victim surveys, self report studies, OCR (official crime rate)

court records, prison records, police records

moore and champman, police use filters which decided weather or not they should report a crime i.e victim status, importantness of rime, categorisation of crime, police digression (mood), relationships and career status i.e needing more completed crimes for a promotion

annual survey carried out by the ONS surveying 500,000 peoples experience with crime through structured interviews assessing their experiences with crime, attitudes to the CJS, fears of crime etc

pros- representative, quantitative and easy to analyse, identifies repeat victims, shows some of the dark figure of crime

cons- relies on memory, does ask why, not everyone realises they are a victim, no victimless crimes i.e drug use, no cooperate or white collar crimes included, shame of victimisation