criminology, realist Sometimes also termed ‘Left Realism’, realist criminology emerged in the mid-1980s, in the work of Jock Young and others in Britain (see, for example, the special issue of Contemporary Crises, 1988
). Its proponents emphasize social causes of crime, and interaction between agencies of social control (such as the police and courts), the offender, the victim, and the public. They consider the choices facing individuals in restricting circumstances, and draw strongly upon theories of relative deprivation and subcultures.

realist criminology See CRIMINOLOGY, REALIST.