Exploring Right-Wing Theories on Crime and Deviance

1. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Paper 3: Crime and deviance L.O: to investigate Right wing explanation for crime and deviance Starter: • What do you understand by the terms ‘right-wing’ and ‘left-wing’? • Which UK political parties are generally seen as right-wing and which are more left-wing?

2. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Right-wing Left-wing • Applied to crime: • It is caused by bad choices and poor socialisation (wrong norms and values) • Blame the criminal not their social inequality/circumstances • Solutions = tougher penalties and stricter control • Functionalism/New Right/right realism • Applied to crime: • It is caused by an unequal system • Blame the system not the individual deviant • Deviance could be a result of necessity or desperation, a reaction to labelling or resistance to inequality • Argue that law is not applied equally • Marxism, interactionism, radical criminology, left-realism • Focus on issues of power and inequality in society • Equality should be the goal of society • Argue that people at the bottom are victims of their circumstances • The State should intervene to share wealth and ensure everyone has equal chances • Focus on individual achievement and opportunity • Believe equality is impossible and undesirable • Talented people should be incentivised to work and rewarded • People get what they deserve • The State shouldn’t intervene to support those struggling

3. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Right-wing theories

4. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Right-wing theories There are several right-wing views on crime and deviance. Sometimes these are all referred to as ‘right realists’ but there are actually differences between them all. The New Right Right realists Control theory All influenced by Durkheim and functionalism.

5. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Key assumptions of the right-wing theories

6. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Key assumptions • Equality is not possible or desirable. • Crime is caused by bad choices and poor socialisation. • The individual is to blame for their own actions. • Harsh penalties and strict control should be used to tackle crime and deviance. • The State should not intervene to support. These are general right-wing assumptions. You can adapt these to suit specific branches of right-wing views, e.g. New Right or right-realism.

7. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Right-wing theory 1Control theory

8. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Theorist 1Hirschi

9. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Hirshi (1969) Explanation of crime Control theory (social bonds) Instead of asking why people commit crime, he asks why people do not commit crime. Write down the reasons that you do not commit crime.

10. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Hirschi (1969) Look back at your own personal reasons for not committing crime. Do any of them correspond with those given by Hirschi?

11. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Hirschi (1969) Summarise Hirschi’s beliefs… Those with will be unlikely to commit crime.

12. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Hirschi (1969) Statistics on the prison population tend to support his ideas.

13. Hirschi – A03 Strengths: Functionalists would praise this theory, e.g. it recognises the importance of socialisation and social control in creating a cohesive society and value consensus. Can explain why the working class commit more crime through the idea of commitment, e.g. they don’t have the resources and are blocked to the opportunities and so they do not have as strong a commitment. Marxists would argue that the ruling class are to blame for this and the working class should not be punished for having a lack of resources. It is a rational response (Gordon) to their situation and social inequality. Limitations: Lacks empirical evidence, e.g. based on questionnaires and interviews, this is qualitative data and could be influenced by participant effects or researcher bias in selecting evidence to support their claims. This brings into question the validity of the findings. Hirschi, like Durkheim, is more interested in why most people conform, e.g. the four social bonds, therefore his theory is more about social control than about criminality. Fails to explain why people with close social bonds, e.g. the 88% in prison who want their family in their lives, do commit crime. However, interactionism and labelling theory (Becker) could explain this due to labelling, master status and self-fulfilling prophecy.

14. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Right-wing theory 2The New Right

15. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Theorist 1Murray

16. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Murray Explanation of crime The underclass and criminality • Inadequate socialisation can lead young people from the ‘underclass’ to develop a dependency culture. • Lack of discipline and respect. • Criminality and laziness. • Blames over-generous welfare payments for encouraging ‘feckless’ behaviour. • Condemns the increase in single mothers raising young boys with no father. • ‘Illegitimacy’ is a greater indicator of criminality than poverty alone.

17. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Murray Can you predict his conclusions based on his ideology? Explanation of crime The underclass and criminality Girls without fathers • Emotionally damaged • Search for father substitute • Often pregnant at an early age • Poor impulse control • More likely to be sexual predators • Unable to wake at the same time every morning • Unable to go to a regular job Boys without fathers

18. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Evaluating Murray

19. A03- Murray Strengths: Offers an explanation of why crime is committed, e.g. due to poor socialisation and morals emerging from the underclass. Other theories of crime, e.g. Durkheim have failed to offer a full explanation behind crime. Link to not explaining why white collar crime is committed. Functionalists would support some of the concepts. Example? Limitations: -The claim that the underclass have a dependency culture and deviant values has been challenged by many sociologists, e.g. Gallie 1994 interviewed long-term unemployed about attitudes to work. He found that most had a strong ‘work ethic’ and wanted to work. There was no evidence of dependency culture. This challenges the reliability of Murray’s theory due to a lack of supporting research evidence. -The claim that the underclass have a lack of morals has been challenged, e.g. Charlesworth’s study of deprivation in Rotherham (1999) found that despite clear effects of poverty on physical and mental health, most still had strong moral values and did not commit crime, even though it would have been an easy option. This again challenges the reliability of Murray’s explanation due to a lack of supporting research evidence for his claims. -Young 2003 argues that certain sections of society, e.g. teenage mothers, beggars and immigrants are an ‘easy enemy’ and are used as scapegoats. They are portrayed as contributing to the problems of society quite disproportionately to their actual impact. He refers to the New Right as the ‘sociology of vindictiveness’ that seeks to punish, demean and humiliate those at the bottom of society. -Ignores the crime of the wealthy, e.g. white collar crime. -No empirical evidence, e.g. no research supports that the underclass as a distinct subculture with distinctive values and behaviour even exists. Marxists would argue that this has simply been created as a way of creating fear to justify the ruling class’ control. E.g. benefit street.

20. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Theorists 2Murray and Hernstein

21. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Murray and Hernstein (1994) Explanation of crime Intelligence and criminal behaviour • Used IQ data to demonstrate a correlation between low IQ and criminality. • They even linked low IQ with race! • Although, they did argue that white people with low IQ are also more likely to commit crime.

22. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Evaluating Murray and Hernstein

23. A03- Murray and Hernstein Strengths: Offers an explanation of why crime is committed, e.g. low IQ, this is unlike some other theorists who fail to provide such explanations, e.g. Durkheim. Functionalists would agree to an extent, e.g. poor socialisation (education) can lead to a lack of cohesion in society and ultimately crime. Limitations: The evidence that this is based on is questionable. Explain Cause and effect cannot be assumed, e.g. that having a low IQ causes criminality, this is only correlational research and many other factors could contribute toward the likelihood of criminality, e.g. poverty. The link to race can be challenged, e.g. the criminal justice system is criticised as institutionally racist and those from ethnic minorities are more likely to be arrested, charged and sentenced more harshly. This is not due to their IQ, this is due to internal racism of CJS and police.

24. LO: Explain crime using right-wing theories and evaluate given explanations. Plenary Can you link the ideas of any of the theorists covered today to modern day politics?