Gilroy (1982) ~ The Myth Of Black Criminality ~ Writes as a new criminologist and
explores what he calls the 'myth of black criminality. He argues that African Caribbean
men are no more criminal than whites, but they are labelled by the police and courts
and treated unfairly. ~ Even when young black men do break the law, it is best seen as
a political act. in effect, they are fighting back against a racist white society and are
continuing the battle against white society that started with the slave trade, the British
Empire and colonialism. ~ Gilroy argues that the high unemployment rates of the
1980s led to a surplus population and that it was convenient for the authorities to
focus on the myth of black crime, rather than their failure to ensure full employment!
NEW LEFT REALISM: ~ Movement away from the notion of crime as
a product of capitalism. Some new left realists express their concern
that Marxism and the new criminology approaches have idealistic
views of criminals as 'political revolutionaries' somehow fighting
back against capitalism and racism. The New left is concerned about
the social implications and the reduction of crime.
YOUNG (1988) The Principle of Realism ~ Aetiological
crisis (causation) The inability of theories to explain crime
~ Crisis of the penal system - inability of the system to
reform offenders ~ Increased awareness of victimisation ~
Public criticism about the efficiency of the police.
LEA AND YOUNG (1984) ~ What is to be done about law and
order? ~ Crime is now a real problem with a fivefold increase in
criminal activity ~ Between the 1960's and the 1980's even with
the use of conservative law and order programmes crime is still
increasing. ~ Crime hurts individuals, there appears to be less
compassion in society and more concern with personal gain.
NEW LEFT REALISM AND THE SQUARE OF CRIME ~
It is suggested within the broader parameters of new
left realism that crime should be understood in terms
of the four elements to which it is linked. Each element
will contribute to a greater or lesser extent to the
individuals experiences and perception of crime and
the need to abide by the law!
NEW RIGHT REALSIM ~ Right-wing views in relation to crime all tend to share some
common ground. Firstly, they argue that criminals have made a rational choice to break
the law (they were not forced to become criminals but have weighed up the pros and
cons of their intended actions). Secondly, the role of government is not to eliminate the
mythical 'root causes' of crime, such as poverty and educational underachievement, but
to punish the criminal. Thirdly, humans are naturally selfish and greedy, and if they
receive poor socialisation, crime will be the inevitable result ~ Crime can never be
eliminated, merely reduced!
MURRAY (1988) The Underclass ~ Murray has focused on the
develoement of an underclass of single parent families
dependent on the state welfare. He blames the children of these
families for much of the delinquent behaviour. In short, children
need two parents and role models. A single parent cannot
provide adequate socialisation. ~ Right realists also argue that
police need to be far tougher and adopt a zero tolerance
approach to crime. Minor crimes as littering and graffiti need
stamping on hard, and the police need to move in on groups if
they look like they may cause trouble. (pessimistic) AO2 ~ Bit
simplistic ~ Cant apply this to everyone ~ Doesn't consider
different situation ~ sometimes its nothing to do with poor
socialisation ~ Deterministic applying it to everyone say there
greedy!
SITUATIONAL MEASURES ~ Increasing the effort ~
Target hardening. access control. deflecting offenders,
controlling facilitators ~ Marine application ~ Fencing off
key areas ~ ID badges for users ~ Partial park closure no
anchor markers ~ vessel and employee registration! ~
Increasing the risks ~ entry exist screening, formal
surveillance, surveillance by employees, natural
surveillance ~ Marine application ~ Harbour and jetty
vessel checks, CCTV satellite photos vessel monitoring
system, boat and aircraft patrolling, reporting by public
users. ~ Reducing the rewards ~ Target removal,
identifying property, removing inducements, rule setting.
~ Marine application ~ Preventing access to park,
relocating species, Licensing of vessels fish tagging,
interfering with markets/distribution channels, issuing
permits and licensing!