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

Right realists argue that crime today is a very real and growing problem. Right Realists argue that crime threatens society’s work ethic, social cohesion and destroys communities in society. Unlike other theories, Right realism focuses on the solutions for crime alongside the explanation of what causes crime in society, this approach also criticise labelling and criminology theories for being too sympathetic to the offender or too hostile to those in power.
Right realists, Wilson and Herrnstein argue the idea that crime is a result of biological differences in people. Some people are suggested to be more inclined to commit crime than others. For example, those with higher traits of aggression may have the increasing tendency to commit crime. In support of the previous point, Wilson and Murray argue that low intelligence can lead to the causes of crime, this being a biological trait shows that crime is because of biological differences. In contrast, Lilly found that differences in intelligence only accounted for a 3% difference in offenders. This implies that it is very unlikely that the causes of crime are biological differences.
Clarke, a right realist, came up with the rational choice theory, suggesting that crime is a matter of choice which is made by the criminal who weighs up the costs and benefits of committing crimes. In today’s society, the costs of committing petty crimes are rather low, whereas the rewards are increasingly becoming higher, which explains why crime is on the rise. However, a criticism of this right realist view is that it contradicts itself. On one hand, they say committing crimes is about a matter of choice and free will, yet, on the other hand they argue that offenders have biological traits that lead to committing crimes and this determines it.
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