Right Realists and Crime

Right Realists and Crime

1. Key Theoriests/concepts

   • Wilson and Hernstein (1985)
   • Wilson and Kellings (1982)
   • Hans Eysenck (1970)
   • Hernstein and Murray (1984)
   • Clarke (1985)

2. Political ideals

   • Right wing, odeology, law/order/wekfare, crime is a serious problem that undermines social stability.
   • Other theories fail to offer realistic solutions to tackle c+d

3. BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES

   • Wilson and Herstein (1985) argue that biological differences mean that some people are innately pre-disposed to commit crime. Hans Eyesnck (1970) asserts that research on prisoners shown that most were extrovert. Similarly, Hernstein and Murray (1984) argue that crime may be due to low intelligence = biologically determined.

4. SOCIALISATION AND THE UNDERCLASS

   • Charles Murray (New Right) believes that faulty socialisation and the underclass are the root cause of crime e.g. single parent families. The nuclear family is the BEST sort of family hwoever we have a growing underclass in the West e.g. UK and USA who fail to adequately socialise children.

5. RATIONAL CHOICE

   • People make a conscious decision to CHOOSE to commit crime

6. SOLUTIONS

   • Crime is an evil that requires a strong response that other theories faith to recognise. Wilson and Kellings argue that we should maintain orderly character of neighbourhoods which was implemented in New York, zero tolerance, lack of graffiti, target hardening (situational crime preventation), deterrence e.g. Thatcher's Short sharp shocl regime in YOI's (1980's), surveillance

7. Strengths

   • More realistic, crime is a real problem to be solved, punishes undesireable behaviour e.g. alcoholism/begging via zero tolerance policing, target hardening maximises deterrence, 50% crime reduction in NYC

8. Weaknesses

   • Sefl contradictory e.g. how can crime be a rational choice if its also biologically determined? Ignores structural causes of crime such as poverty, overstates the offenders rationality and how far benefits way up the costs - most do not think about this, moreover biological differences only account for 3% of crimes committed, zero tolderance merely replaces crime and it ignores powerful crimes.