Theories and Techniques of Crime Control

Department of Law and Criminal Justice Studies

Level 5 Module
Theories and Techniques of Crime Control

Assignment 1
Are there conflicts between the practical application of methods to control crime and criminological thinking concerning the reasons for criminality?

I would argue that there are conflicts between the practical application of methods to control crime and criminological thinking concerning the reasons for criminality. I will demonstrate this by analysing the concepts of left and right realism and explain their links with the politics of the left and the right. I will use changes in the political landscape from the Conservative era of the 1980s to the New Labour era of the late 1990s to highlight the differences in methods of crime control and criminal justice policy. I will finally juxtapose a selection of modern criminological theories which will highlight the difference between left and right criminological thinking.

Recent criminological thinking has developed two concepts of criminology which are known as Right Realism and Left Realism. The realism concepts moved away from just talking and theorising about crime, but actually provided potential solutions on how to deal with it. Although each concept has some similarities, they differ in terms of the causes of crime and how best to address it. (Williams 2004) Jock Young is one of the most prominent authors regarding Left Realism and he argues that there are four points of convergence between Left Realism and Right Realism:
Both see crime as being a problem; both see the public’s fear of crime as having a rational basis, in contrast to left idealism and administrative criminology.
Both believe that the reality of crime control has been misconceived, particularly the centrality between the public-police relationship.
Both are realistic about what can be done about crime and the limitations of our present day knowledge. Neither disdains marginal gains, whilst both discount utopian solutions.
Both emphasise the need for closely monitored research and intervention and are critical of the widespread tendency to ‘throw money’ at the crime problem without attempting to measure the cost. (Young, 1994: 102)

(Walklate 2003) also argues that the birth of both realist approaches stem from the politics of the right and the left, with left realists having found more of an influence in the United Kingdom with authors such as Jock Young, Roger Matthews, Pat Carlen and John Lea being of significance. The right realists influence has been predominantly stronger in the United States with the central proponent of these views being James Q. Wilson, who was a former political advisor to the Reagan administration. (Jones 2009) Both of these realist concepts attempt to address the post war increase in crime even though in contrast the relative wealth and prosperity had continued to rise in the West. Right realism theorists see the criminal as a mere tool to the act and try to explain that the act is preordained either by internal biology, or by external forces of society or circumstance (Walklate 2003)

Right realism is sometimes known as neo-conservatism and one of the main components of this area of criminology is describing the offender as having free will. They argue that the offender makes an individual choice to commit crime and analysis largely focuses on street crime (including burglary). (Jones 2009)

With the Conservative Party coming to power in the UK in 1979, it is argued that the right realist views became the focus for ‘get tough’ policy initiatives in an effort to stem the real increase in crime. This meant increased imprisonment of adult offenders and an increase in the use of cautioning, especially for youth offenders. The emphasis was on personal responsibility and punishment. In the United Kingdom there was a 60% increase in the police budget and a massive prison building program (Walklate 2003). Richard Herrnstein worked with James Q Wilson to devise a bio-social approach to crime and stated that youth crime had risen due to the fact that it was in their biology. (Wilson and Herrnstein 1985) also argue that the increase in youth population was another reason for the increase in crime.
In their book Crime and Human Nature (1985), they state:
Crime is an activity disproportionately carried out by young men living in large cities. There are old criminals, and female ones, and rural and small town ones, but to a much greater degree than would be expected by chance, criminals are young urban males. (Wilson and Herrnstein 1985:26)

They go on to explain their biology theory regarding youth crime:
It is likely that the effect of maleness and youthfulness on the tendency to commit crime has both constitutional and social origins: that is, it has something to do with the biological status of being a young male and with how that young man has been treated by his family, friends and society. (Wilson and Herrnstein 1985:69)

The aim of right realism is to reduce crime by intervention and was a pre cursor of the zero tolerance initiatives which authors such as Kelling and Cohen were strong advocates of. (Jones 2009)

Left Realism emerged as a reaction to the perceived political lefts failure to take an interest in crime control, leaving the political right to monopolise the agenda on crime control. (Jones 2009) Many modern criminologists have hence contributed theories on the causes of crime and provided a number of theories that could be used in the development of policies to reduce crime. One of the main contributors to the left realism cause has been Jock Young.
Jock Young stated in response to the then current criminological thinking and theory:
"The essential flaw of establishment criminology is, of course, the attempt to explain crime without touching upon reality, constantly to distance explanation from basic social and economic problems of a divided society." Young, J. (1997).

(Walklate 2003) argues that left realism stemmed from what is commonly known as left idealism and stated that the powerful in society not only commit crimes but were the creators of laws that predominantly affected the under privileged. Left realism theorists portray the offender as the victim of society as opposed to the free thinking positive offender. One of the main tenets of left realism theory is: crime is a real problem, often a problem for the poor and the marginalised. It is argued that the essence of left realism is the holistic approach to criminology. They include all actors in this process such as the criminals and lawbreakers, the enforcers, the police and any other organisation under state control. This theory is called the square of crime and looks at the interrelationships between, the Offender, the Victim, the Public and the Police. Left realism argues that you cannot reduce crime unless you address each aspect at the same time. (Jones 2009)
According to Young, "Any changes in one of these factors will affect the crime rate. The point here is that crime cannot be simply explained in terms of crime control agencies, and that the agencies involved in crime control are much wider than in the criminal justice system." Young continues, "The police-public relationship is central, the interaction between all the parts is also important. For example, the police and agency response to victims greatly affects the actual impact of victimisation and in certain instances, such as rape and sexual assault, can even involve what has been termed 'secondary victimisation '. That is where the victim herself becomes further stigmatised by police and courts. All of this, particularly in terms of willingness (and wariness) to report to the police, affects the official crime rate and the possibilities of clear-up." (Young 1994)

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is legislation that was passed following the Labour Party election victory in 1997. This piece of legislation combined measures that ensured offenders had to take responsibility for their actions and policies to tackle social and economic exclusion. The legislation created a number of new offences which included the introduction of the Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO). The legislation also created a responsibility on each local authority in England and Wales to formulate and implement a strategy to reduce crime and disorder in their area. This was a significant piece of legislation with regards to the shift of emphasis from punishment of the offender to crime prevention and looking at ways to reduce crime and recidivism of offenders.

Although not central to answering the question, I think it is useful to juxtapose a selection of prominent theories from the left and the right realist schools of criminological thinking to understand the relevant methods and policies of crime control that were used during each political era:

Rational Choice Theory - Where the offender makes a rational assessment of the consequences of committing a crime and whether the economic advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Another definition would be “maximise payoff, minimise costs” Akers (1990)

Routine Activity Theory - This theory basically says that crime will happen and will continue to happen if there is an opportunity, it is not protected and the reward is worth it. The three main tenets to this are: A Motivated Offender, A Suitable Target and The Lack of a Capable Guardian. (Cohen and Felson 1979)

Strain Theory – This theory argues that the pressure placed on an individual by society may cause that individual to commit crime. Merton’s anomie theory is sometimes referred to as ‘strain theory’ to indicate the strain which drives people into committing deviant acts. (Jones 2009)

Sub Cultural Theory – This theory emerged from the work of the Chicago School on gangs and developed through a set of theories arguing that certain groups or subcultures in society have values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence. The primary focus is on juvenile delinquency because theorists believe that if this pattern of offending can be understood and controlled, it will break the transition from teenage offender into habitual criminal. Fischer (1995) proposed that the size, population, and heterogeneity of cities actually strengthens social groups, and encourages the formation of subcultures, which are much more diverse in nature compared to the general culture. Fischer defines a subculture as:
"a large set of people who share a defining trait, associate with one another, are members of institutions associated with their defining trait, adhere to a distinct set of values, share a set of cultural tools and take part in a common way of life" (Fischer 1995: p544)

Labelling Theory – A number of theorists have contributed to the development of this theory. The basis of this theory is concerned with how the behaviour of individuals may be influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them, and is associated with the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping. Howard Becker is a leading contributor to this theory, he states that social groups create deviance by making rules whose infraction creates deviance, and by applying those roles to particular people and labelling them as outsiders. From this point of view, deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by other of rules and sanctions to an 'offender. ' The deviant is one to whom that label has been successfully applied; deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label. (Becker H. 1963)

Conclusion – To highlight the conflicts between the two ideals and in turn two political parties, I would argue that Left Realism approaches to criminology tend to see the offender as mainly an instrument to the act and often presented the offender as the victim of society (Williams 2004). Left realists believe that to reduce crime you must take a holistic approach to the problem, hence the square of crime and restorative justice initiatives of the New Labour government of the late 1990s (Young 2004). Right realism approaches to criminality tend to look at the individual, and concentrate on the biological and physiological reasons for criminal behaviour (Wilson and Herrnstein 1985). Right realism ideals have found favour on the political right and punitive approaches to criminal justice policy such as increase in police and prison numbers and the increase in cautioning of youth offenders were favoured during the previous Conservative government of the 1980s. The two differing viewpoints as to the reasons for criminality and the methods of controlling and reducing crime are clearly shown in the examples above and are in direct conflict with each other in the practical application of methods to control crime.

References
Akers R, (1990) The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 1981

Becker, H. (1963) (revised 1973) Outsiders. New York: Free Press

Fischer, Claude (1995). "The Subcultural Theory of Urbanism: A Twentieth Year Assessment". American Journal of Sociology 101

Jones S. (2009) Oxford University Press, 2009

Walklate S. (2003) Understanding Criminology: Current Theoretical Debates, Oxford University Press, 2003

Williams Katherine S. (2004) Textbook on Criminology, Oxford University Press, 2004

Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) Crime and Human Nature, 1985

Young, J. (1994) Incessant Chatter: Recent Paragdims in Criminology, 1994, p40 In: Maguire, M.,
Morgan, R. & Reiner, R. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Young, J. (1997) Foreword in: Van Swaaningen, R. Critical Criminology: Visions from Europe, London: Sage Publications

References: Akers R, (1990) The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 1981 Becker, H. (1963) (revised 1973) Outsiders. New York: Free Press Fischer, Claude (1995). "The Subcultural Theory of Urbanism: A Twentieth Year Assessment". American Journal of Sociology 101 Jones S. (2009) Oxford University Press, 2009 Walklate S. (2003) Understanding Criminology: Current Theoretical Debates, Oxford University Press, 2003 Williams Katherine S. (2004) Textbook on Criminology, Oxford University Press, 2004 Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) Crime and Human Nature, 1985 Young, J. (1994) Incessant Chatter: Recent Paragdims in Criminology, 1994, p40 In: Maguire, M., Morgan, R. & Reiner, R. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, Oxford: Oxford University Press Young, J. (1997) Foreword in: Van Swaaningen, R. Critical Criminology: Visions from Europe, London: Sage Publications