How do right and left realism explain crime, and how do sociologists account for the gender patterns in offending?
Component 3 Section B: right realism (rational choice, broken windows) and left realism (relative deprivation, marginalisation, subculture), control theory (Hirschi), and feminist and gender explanations of crime (Heidensohn, Carlen, Adler).
An OCR A-Level Sociology Crime and deviance guide to realism and gender. Covers right realism (rational choice, Wilson and Kelling's broken windows), left realism (Lea and Young's relative deprivation, marginalisation, subculture), Hirschi's control theory, and feminist explanations of gender and crime (Heidensohn, Carlen, Adler), with the exam skills Component 3 Section B rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
OCR Component 3 Section B examines the realist approaches (right and left), control theory, and the gender patterns in crime. Right realism focuses on rational choice and control; left realism on relative deprivation, marginalisation and subculture; feminists on why women commit less recorded crime. You need the named theorists and evaluation.
The answer
Right and left realism
Right realists see offenders as making a rational choice, weighing the costs and benefits of crime (Clarke), so policy should increase the risk and reduce the reward (CCTV, target hardening). Wilson and Kelling's broken windows thesis argues that visible disorder (graffiti, broken windows) signals that nobody cares, inviting more crime, which justifies zero-tolerance policing.
Left realists (Lea and Young) explain crime through three concepts: relative deprivation (feeling deprived compared with others, breeding resentment), marginalisation (groups pushed to the edge of society with no voice), and subculture (a collective response to deprivation). They favour community policing and tackling structural causes such as inequality and unemployment.
Control theory and gender
Hirschi's control theory asks not why people offend but why most do not, arguing that strong social bonds (attachment, commitment, involvement, belief) hold people to conformity, so crime rises when these bonds weaken.
On gender, men commit most recorded crime. Feminists explain women's lower rates through control: Heidensohn argues women are more controlled in the home (domestic responsibility), in public (fear of harassment) and at work (supervision). Carlen links women's crime to the breakdown of the class deal (rewards of work) and gender deal (rewards of family life). Adler's liberation thesis argues that as women gain equality they commit more crime, though this is contested (female crime rose without full equality). The chivalry thesis (women treated leniently by courts) and double deviance (women judged harshly for breaking gender norms) complicate the statistics.
Examples in context
A top essay sets the control explanation (Heidensohn) against the liberation thesis (Adler) and the court-treatment debates (chivalry, double deviance), applies examples, and judges.
Try this
Q1. Outline two right realist ideas about crime. [4 marks]
- What the marker wants. Two ideas (AO1, two marks each): rational choice (offenders weigh costs and benefits), and broken windows or zero-tolerance policing (Wilson and Kelling), each briefly developed.
Q2. Outline and explain two reasons why women may commit less recorded crime than men. [10 marks]
- Cue. Two developed points from Heidensohn's control theory, for example control in the home and control in public, each applied to an example such as domestic responsibility or fear of harassment.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H580/03 201910 marksOutline and explain two left realist explanations of crime. [10]Show worked answer →
An Outline and explain question (AO1 and AO2). Each explanation needs development and an applied example.
Explanation one. Relative deprivation: Lea and Young argue people who feel deprived compared with others may turn to crime out of resentment, for example those excluded from a consumer society they see advertised everywhere.
Explanation two. Marginalisation: groups pushed to the edge of society, with no clear voice or stake, may express frustration through crime, for example marginalised young people with few prospects. The top band applies an example to each.
OCR H580/03 202120 marksAssess sociological explanations of the relationship between gender and crime. [20]Show worked answer →
A Section B essay (AO1, AO2 and AO3), shown at the 20-mark cap (worth up to 40 in the full paper), marked by levels of response.
For. Heidensohn argues women commit less crime because they are more controlled (in the home, in public, at work); Carlen links women's crime to the breakdown of the class and gender deals; Adler's liberation thesis links rising female crime to greater equality.
Against. The liberation thesis is contested (female crime rose without full equality); the chivalry thesis (women treated leniently) and double deviance (women judged harshly) complicate court data; biological and individualistic explanations are rejected by sociologists.
Judgement. Gender patterns are best explained by socialisation and control rather than biology, though no single theory is complete. This balance reaches the top band.
Related dot points
- Component 3 Section B: defining crime and deviance, and the measurement of crime through official statistics, victim surveys and self-report studies, including the dark figure of crime and the social construction of crime statistics.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Crime and deviance guide to measuring crime. Covers definitions of crime and deviance, official statistics, the Crime Survey for England and Wales, self-report studies, the dark figure of crime, and the interpretivist view that statistics are socially constructed, with the exam skills Component 3 Section B rewards.
- Component 3 Section B: functionalist explanations of crime (Durkheim's anomie and the functions of crime, Merton's strain theory) and subcultural explanations (Cohen's status frustration, Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity).
An OCR A-Level Sociology Crime and deviance guide to functionalist and subcultural theories. Covers Durkheim's anomie and the functions of crime, Merton's strain theory, Cohen's status frustration and Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity, with evaluation and the exam skills Component 3 Section B rewards.
- Component 3 Section B: interactionist labelling theory (Becker, Lemert, Cicourel, the deviancy amplification spiral) and Marxist and critical criminology, including the selective enforcement of law and the crimes of the powerful.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Crime and deviance guide to interactionist and Marxist theories. Covers labelling theory (Becker's master status, Lemert's primary and secondary deviance, Cicourel's negotiation of justice, the deviancy amplification spiral) and Marxist criminology (selective enforcement, the crimes of the powerful), with the exam skills Component 3 Section B rewards.
- Component 3 Section B: globalisation and crime (transnational organised crime, green crime, state crime), the media and crime (representation, moral panics and deviancy amplification), and surveillance and punishment (Foucault).
An OCR A-Level Sociology Crime and deviance guide to globalisation, media and crime. Covers transnational organised crime, green crime and state crime, the media's representation of crime, moral panics and deviancy amplification (Cohen), and surveillance and punishment (Foucault), with the synoptic links and exam skills Component 3 Section B rewards.
- Component 2: gender inequality, including the gender pay gap, the glass ceiling, vertical and horizontal segregation, the dual labour market, and the feminist explanations (liberal, radical, Marxist and difference) of women's life chances.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 2 guide to gender inequality. Covers the gender pay gap, the glass ceiling, vertical and horizontal segregation, the dual labour market, and liberal (Oakley), radical (Walby), Marxist and difference feminism, with the debate about whether gender inequality is declining and the exam skills the paper rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR AS and A Level Sociology (H180, H580) specification — OCR (2015)