Realist Theories of Crime

Realist approaches to crime emerged in the 1980s and 1990s as a reaction against what their proponents saw as the failure of other theories to take crime seriously as a real social problem. Both right realism and left realism argue that crime causes genuine harm — particularly to disadvantaged communities — and that sociological theory must engage with practical crime prevention. However, the two approaches offer very different diagnoses of the causes of crime and propose very different solutions.

Key Definition: Realism in criminology refers to approaches that treat crime as a real and serious problem requiring practical solutions, rather than as a social construction or an inevitable product of social structure.

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Right Realism

Right realism emerged in the United States in the 1980s, closely associated with the New Right political movement and the policies of President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher. Right realists reject structural explanations of crime (such as poverty and inequality) and instead emphasise individual choice, inadequate socialisation, and the rational calculation of criminals.

James Q. Wilson and George Kelling: Broken Windows Theory