The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Left Realist Perspective in Criminology - Coursework Example

217143 Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the left realist perspective in criminology Left realism first began in the UK during the 1980’s and emerged as a response to the need to ‘take crime seriously’ (Lea and Young, 1984; Young, 1986). During this period of time the working classes were suffering from the effects of an increase in crime. Left realists called upon the criminal justice system to stop criminal victimisation and not take any regard of the class of the perpetrator (Cohen, 1985). Since the 1980’s the theory of left realism in the UK has generally become concerned with the interaction of the state, the social structure, offenders and victims. Within left realism the labelling theory of criminology focuses on activities within society as well as in the activities of the criminal justice system. Left realism is concerned with informal social control and deterrence within the criminal justice system. Left realism has not attempted to deliver any new theory on the causes of crime, but has instead worked on changing the existing theories of crime into the ‘action and reaction’ model (Young, 1987). Merton (1938) developed the theory of anomie or relative deprivation when combined with social or economic marginality is one of the major causes of crime. Lea and Young (1984) concluded in their study that relative deprivation is likely to result in those persons turning to criminal activity in situations where they have been marginalised from society. Positivism suggests that crime is brought about by absolute deprivation in the form of unemployment, lack of schooling and poor housing. Realist theories tend to consider relative deprivation as being the major cause of criminal behaviour. Relative deprivation occurs when there is unfairness in the allocation of resources which leads the offender to resort to crime to level the balance. Left realism has been criticised for its restricted applicability for certain crimes. Crimes associated with relative deprivation include things such as shoplifting and street robberies. Cloward and Ohlin (1960) believed that relative deprivation did not occur in response to the need to supplement the income of the individual but as a way of coping with the obstacles placed before these individuals which prevented them from achieving success in their lives. Box (1983) stated that those suffering from relative deprivation where more likely to resort to violent crimes. Box explained why he believed that men suffering from relative deprivation are more likely to rape women then those from other social backgrounds. In his study he stated "When men from this latter group rape they rely primarily on physical violence because this is the resource they command. Being relatively unable to 'wine and dine' females or place them in a position of social debt, and being less able to induce in women a sense of physical and emotional over-comeness these 'socially' powerless men are left with a sense of resentment and bitterness which is fanned and inflamed by cultural sex-role stereotypes of 'successful' men being sexually potent."(Box 1983 p.152) [2]. Right wing realism was concerned with holding offenders responsible by using punishment as a solution to the increase in crime. Left realism by contrast considered the offender to be a victim of the system and emphasised the multiculturalism of diversity and the need to defend communities against the actions of the State as well as the police and the criminal justice system. Currie (1992) believed that the way forward was for a criminal justice system that took crime seriously but had a radical approach to the analysis of crime. In response to the call to take crime seriously Maclean (1985) carried out the first realist victimisation study. Studies done by Currie (1985) and Wilson (1987) also embodied the view of the offender as a victim. Fuelled by the need to take crime seriously the government used the fear of crime and moral panic that had come into existence to push forward social control in the form of CCTV, neighbourhood watch schemes and police domestic violence units. Realist criminology tends to focus on playing down crime suggesting that the media are responsible for instigating a moral panic and an irrational fear of crime (Currie, 1992). Alongside this the left idealism plays down the dysfunction within these oppressed groups and the causes of crime are highlighted as being poverty or interventions by the criminal justice system reflected on the war on drugs (Hulsman, 1986). Left realism functions on the notion that for crime to exist their must be rules and rule breakers as well as offenders and victims. Previous criminological theories tended to focus on either the victim or the offender, but not both together as is the case with realism. Realism holds the belief that the efficiency of policing lies in the relationship between the police and the public, whilst the impact of the crime centres on the relationship between the victim and the offender (Lea, 1992). Realism perpetuates the notion that the burgled public create the economy that sustains burglary whilst the police create a moral climate that leads people into committing crimes (Lea, 1992) Under the realist theory crime rates are controlled by the number of potential victims alongside the number of offenders and the changes in the level of control that is in force by the police and other agencies. Taylor et al (1973) looked at the social interaction of the victim, the offender, the state and the police to demonstrate that for crime to exist there needs to be actors and reactors. Within the realm of left realism this interaction between the various agencies has become to be known as the ‘square of crime’. This square of crime has been used to calculate crime rates. Within this framework left realists believe that the efficacy of the police is determined by the relationship between the police and the public. They also believe that the impact of crime is affected by the relationship between the offender and the victim. Recidivism is influenced by the relationship between the State and the offender whilst the moral climate of the country directly affects the increase in the criminal population. Lea (1992) holds that crime rates are a bi-product of the changes in the number of offenders with the number of possible offenders. Gibbons (1974) and Inciardi (1980) used quantitative methods and victim surveys to substantiate the square of crime theory. Realism examines the development of criminal behaviour through analysing the background causes of crime, why people commit crime, and the moral aspect of criminal activity as well as examining how the agencies respond to the offender and victim and their effectiveness at crime detection. Realist theories show that the career of the criminal is built up by the responses of society to his crime and that policing policies change in response to their involvement with offenders. Such changes are most noticeable in domestic violence crimes where the victim changes their lifestyle as a reaction to the increase of violence in the home. Choosing whether or not to commit a crime is a moral choice but according to realist theories this choice can be affected by social factors (Wilson, 1987; Young, 1987). With realism the social causation of crime takes precedence over all other causes of crime. Realist believe that improving the housing conditions of people along with better job prospects and less disparity in incomes between all classes will reduce the crime levels throughout the UK. Realism ideals strive for immediate intervention whilst seeking long term fundamental changes. Left realist believe this can only be achieved through radical reform of the criminal justice system. Cohen (1990) maintains that an impact on crime can only be achieved through long term social change. It is his assertion that such changes increase the morale of the community and therefore increase the capacity for further changes (Matthews, 1988; Loader, 1997). The Labour party has adopted many of the fundamental elements of left realism. Evidence of the Labour party’s endorsement of left realism can be noted through comparing a synopsis of the work of Young in 1994 with The Labour party’s main policy documents. In Young (1994) he makes the comment that Crime, like any other form of behaviour, involves moral choice in certain restricting circumstances. It is not inevitable in any particular circumstances . . . The reality of the human predicament is the construction of choice in determinate circumstances. Because of this causality presents itself as complex, sometimes distant and, because of the human ability to reinterpret the world, always potentially reversible. Whilst the Labour party concludes that Recognising that there are underlying causes of crime is in no way to excuse or condone offending. Individuals must be held responsible for their own behaviour, and must be brought to justice and punished when they commit an offence. It can be noted from this that both the left realists and the Labour party are aware of the influence personal autonomy has on explaining criminal behaviour. The Labour party goes further than left realism by refusing to accept that some are not as free as others to avoid choosing a life of crime (Raynor, 1997). Left realism in essence operates on the basis of just desserts, taking the notion that if someone in exercising their own free will chooses to resort to crime they deserve to be punished. This notion of free will stems from Becker’s rational choice theory that was used to explain why people commit crimes (Becker, 1968). He believed that society produced crime by the complementary way in which the increase in criminal opportunities leads to an increase in the number of potential offenders. Society has in some ways legitimised crime thus legitimising the offender. This is evident in the way that it is socially ore acceptable if the victim of a murder is a prostitute rather than a respectable woman (Jouve, 1987; Cameron and Frazer, 1988). This was demonstrated with the Yorkshire Ripper where the efforts to find the killer only increased in intensity when he moved onto woman who were not prostitutes. In corporate crime some activities although illegal are to a certain extent ignored. These include low safety standards in the workplace, employing of foreign workforce on a cash in hand basis thereby dodging tax and dumping hazardous waste (Braithwaite, 1984; Jones, 1988). In analysing the left realist perspective on crime it is obvious that there are many flaws in their theory. It is understandable why the left realist would try to convince people that the rise in crime is a societal problem. Their theory is based on the crime statistics which invariably show that there is a higher level of crime amongst the working classes then the middle and upper classes. It is easy to draw the assumption form this that the cause of crime is poverty, unemployment, poor housing and lack of proper education. This theory to a certain extent ignores white collar crime and crimes perpetuated by big corporations. It almost makes such crimes acceptable as they are within an industry and therefore less likely to harm an individual. The realist theory whilst accepting the free will of the offender to make the choice to commit a crime then goes on to try to apportion that blame to other external factors. The theory tries to encourage rehabilitation as a means of dealing with the problem, but fails to accept that there is an element within the criminal fraternity that do not wish to deviate from their life of crime. In order for the theory to work and the crime levels to drop there has to be an examination of each offender as an individual so that it can be determined why they have chosen a life of crime and also to establish whether there is anything that could have been done to have prevented them from becoming involved with crime. Bibliography Becker, G, 1968. Crime and Punishment: an Economic Approach. Journal of Political Economy 76 pp 169-217 Box, S, 1983. Crime, Power and Mystification. Tavistock Braithwaite 1984. Corporate Crime in the Pharmacutical Industry. Routlege and Kegan Paul Cameron, D, 1987. The Lust To Kill. Polity Press Cloward, R & Ohlin, L, 1960 Delinquency and Opportunity. Free Press (New York) Cohen, S, 1985,  Visions of Social Control. 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