Assess the Value of the Left Realist Approach to Crime and Deviance

Assess the value of the left realist approach to crime and deviance (21 marks)

Lea and Young have identified three causes of crime that all relate to each other, these are relative deprivation, subculture and marginalisation. Lea and Young believe that crime has its roots in deprivation, however deprivation is not directly the cause of crime, for example poverty was high in the 1930s, yet the crime rates were low and since the 1950s the living standards have risen and so have the crime rates. Relative deprivation is how deprived someone feels in comparison to others or compared to their own expectations of life. Someone feeling like this can lead to crime because they may feel resentment that others have more than them, they resort to crime to obtain what they feel they are entitled to. Lea and Young explain the contradiction in today’s society, that it is both more prosperous and more crime-ridden. Although some people are better off in today’s society, they are more aware of relative deprivation due to the media, this then raises everyone’s expectations for material goods. Some people, who can’t afford the things that they would like, may resort to crime to get these things for example the riots. People have seen an opportunity to get free goods such as TV’s so they have joined in with the other rioters and stole from the shops thinking that they should be entitled to these material goods. Young believes that relative deprivation is not necessarily the lead to crime. He believes that it is a combination between relative deprivation and individualism. Individualism is a concern with the self and their own individual rights, rather than the rights within a group. This causes crime as it encourages the search of self-interest at the rate of others. Left realists believe that increasing individualism is causing the breakup of families and communities by undermining the values of mutual support. This weakens the control that groups use individuals, creating a spiral...