BME seminar notes

Question 1

Why can bias occur in the CJS? (Cavadino and Dignan)

Answer 1

• Bias can occur for a number of reasons, but normally due to unconscious prejudices and stereotypes rather than deliberate discrimination.

Question 2

What section of which act officially recognises bias in the CJS? And what has it prompted? (Cavadino and Dignan)

Answer 2

section 95 of Criminal Justice Act 1991
• Prompted regular publications containing the results of research and monitoring. Helps identify but hasn’t stopped occurrence of bias.

Question 3

In 2010 what percentage of prisoners were ‘non-white’? And how many discounting foreign nationals in English prisons? According to Cavadino and Dignan

Answer 3

26% of prisoners were non-white. Partly due to large number of foreign inmates in English prisons. But when non-UK nationals are excluded, 20% of prisoners are of ethnic minority.

Question 4

Is racial disparity in prisons getting worse or better? Cavadino and Dignan

Answer 4

• Overall racial disparity is smaller than appeared in previous years.

Question 5

The most dramatic racial disparity in these prison figures concerns ??? people who account for around 2% of people aged 10 or over in E&W, but comprised ?% of the males and ?% of female prison population in 2005. According to Cavadino and Dignan

Answer 5

Black people
14%
19%

Question 6

How many black young men is it estimated that will receive a custodial sentence before their 21st birthday, what is this compared to their white peers? According to Cavadino and Dignan

Answer 6

• Estimated that at this rate nearly 1 in 10 young black men will have received a custodial sentence before their 21st birthday, double the proportion of their white peers.

Question 7

What did the Cavadino and Dignan reading say about afro-caribbean individuals and criminality?

Answer 7

• Home office research has found that young Afro-Caribbean’s have very similar rates of offending to white youths.
• However, clear over years that Afro-Caribbean people are disproportionately the object of police attention and suspicion.

Question 8

What is one of the arguments why black people are generally more discriminated against than white people by the police? Cavadino and Dignan

Answer 8

Seems that many officers hold inaccurate, stereotyped views of black people. Either stereotyping by the police, or the fact that black people tend to be more critical of the police than whites, or both, could lead to the police perceiving black people as having a bad attitude towards them and discriminating against them as a result.

Question 9

According to Cavadino and Dignan, what 2 powers are used the most disproportionately with BME individuals to conduct a stop and search?

Answer 9

1. One of these powers concerned terrorism-related searches (Terrorism Act, 2000), which have been disproportionately imposed not only on Asians but also on black people. However, following a European Court of Human Rights case in 2010, the availability of this power was drastically reduced.
2. The other power concerns searches for guns, knives and other weapons, most used in London. An Asian in E&W is three times as likely to be searched under this power as a white person, and a black person 12 times.

Question 10

What did the McPherson report (1999) say?

Answer 10

• Macpherson report 1999: blamed poor police investigation into Stephen Lawrence’s murder on institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police. Mostly unintentional and unconscious but police were still infected by ‘processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtfulness, and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people’.

Question 11

Who is more likely to be convicted and sentenced to immediate custody for an indictable offence?

Answer 11

27% of black defendants and 29% of Asians convicted of indictable offences were sentenced to immediate custody compared with 23% of whites, and average sentence lengths were also higher for black and Asian defendants.

Question 12

What does recent ministry of justice figures show about ethnic defendants receiving harsher sentences for drug offences (amongst all offences)?

Answer 12

Black offenders are 44% more likely than whites to be sentenced to imprisonment for drug offences and Asians being 41% more likely to be imprisoned for drug offences.

Question 13

In the 1991 national prison survey, which race category did only 29% felt that prison officers treated them well?

Answer 13

Black afrocarribean

Question 14

What do causation theories revolve around?

Answer 14

Causation theories revolving around disadvantage, exclusion and marginalisation are prevalent - It is suggested that social disadvantage turns into vulnerability even when minorities engage in illicit behaviour, partly explaining overrepresentation

Question 15

What did Paul Gilroy (2008) say about the history of black Britain and the Notting Hill Riots?

Answer 15

• 1958 Notting Hill riots as a major turning point in post war history
• Riots were the result of fascist gangs taking to the streets and groups of ‘trendy violent youths’- ‘nigger hunting’
• This began bitter interactions between minorities and the police who perceived ‘black aliens’ as naturally predisposed to criminal activity
• Even when experiencing victimisation, black people were likely to be treated as suspects
• These attitudes still identifies and part of ‘canteen culture’ and the end of the 20th century (Gilroy 2008)

Question 16

Why is it that immigrants were forced to live in overcrowded accommodation? (Goodman, et al)

Answer 16

• An informal colour-bar meant that 14/18 accommodation offices and 20/30 estate agents discriminated against black people so immigrants were forced into overcrowded accommodation

Question 17

Why did the riots in the 1980s kick off?

Answer 17

• 1980s riots- triggered by indifference with which the authorities reacted to the death of 13 people in a fire in South London- victims were treated as perpetrators

Question 18

What did Lord Scarman say from his enquiry after the 1980s riots?

Answer 18

Lord Scarman carried out an enquiry saying that the police and the black community had shared responsibility for restoring relationships
• Scarman called for increased recruitment of ethnic minority officers

Question 19

What has the Youth Justice Board (report by Feilzer and Hood 2004) said about the sentencing differences for young ethnic minorities?

Answer 19

Discrepancies in sentencing for young people is worryingly high

Question 20

What did Witte (1996) say about qualitative research into racist violence?

Answer 20

victims are perceived as representatives of specific communities, not victimised as an individual but as a part of an alienated group

Question 21

What is the process of othering?

Answer 21

use of stats and media to promote hostile attitudes (Lambert 1970), and the other becomes a threat to homogeneity (Ruggiero 2001)

Question 22

What does Marshall (1997) say about criminality of minorities and social disadvantage/relative deprivation?

Answer 22

criminality resulting from disillusionment and discrimination of younger minority generations e.g. legacy of slavery of African Caribbean and South Asian groups, is identified a trigger in deviant choice, as well as changing structure of the family and experiences in the labour market- this weakens mechanisms of social control- disadvantage of a symbolic nature (as powerful as material deprivation)

Question 23

Why are second generation ethnic minorities more likely to commit crimes according to Tonry (1997)?

Answer 23

distinguishes between first generation minorities and their children, who experience assimilation problems and more likely to engage in crime due to higher expectations

Question 24

What has Webster (2007) said about social disadvantage and criminality?

Answer 24

weak residential stability and high transience of populations- disadvantage and exclusion feed defensive masculine identities and shared assertive values (like subcultural theory?)

Question 25

What did Bowling and Philips (2002) say about the connection between ethnic minorities and level of offending?

Answer 25

impossible to conclude whether or not people from minority groups do any more or less crime

Question 26

What does neo-colonial analysis say about ethnic minorities and offending and social deprivation?

Answer 26

says that structural exclusion and perceived oppression ‘result in higher levels of alienation and higher inter and intrapersonal levels of crime and violence’ (Barak 1998, p.209)

Question 27

What is control balance theory (Tittle, 1995)? How can this be applied to crime and the labour market?

Answer 27

• the degree of control actors exercise in relation to amount of control they experience – control surpluses and deficits give rise to different forms of deviance
• Minorities with lower degrees of freedom or control are offered limited options in the official labour market, so social disadvantage means vulnerability even when they choose illegal behaviour

Question 28

What does Barak (1998) say about the high levels of inter and intrapersonal levels of crime and violence among ethnic minorities?

Answer 28

• could be described as forms of self-victimisation- violence is self-destructive criminality

Question 29

What is the case of ethnic minorities in illicit markets?

Answer 29

Illicit markets- ethnic minorities operate in markets with high risk and low pay, and little chance for ‘career’ advancement e.g. tend to occupy lower levels of selling drugs but have more risk as they are more visible to the police

Question 30

What has Miller (1999) said about the ‘war on drugs’?

Answer 30

argues the war on drugs is actually against ethnic minorities inhabiting inner cities in western countries- because drug dealing happens in more public places in the city it means young black men are targeted more e.g. even if crack use declines, arrests of young black men will continue to rise

Question 31

What new discourse of ‘culture’ is used to disguise racial stereotypes? According to Sviensson

Answer 31

• we can not say that “black people have a criminal nature” (it’s not politically acceptable) but we can say that “black culture glorifies violence” (e.g. American street gangs).
• Both statements say the same; that crime is endemic within the black population, which suggests overrepresentation is unrelated to the structure of British society and the experience of black people within it – which is ridiculous, of course it is related. Black people are not ‘destined by their nature to offend’ – wider structural factors and social conditions play vital role.
• The powerful simplicity of this discourse reduces ‘all social complexities, both within communities and across whole plural societies, to an astonishingly simple equation: “Culture = community = ethnic identity = nature = culture” ‘ (Baumann, 1996: 17).

Question 32

What does Sviensson say about the concept of institutional racism?

Answer 32

 The concept of institutional racism in the criminal justice system focuses exclusively on policy and practice of criminal justice institutions, but leaves out of the equation wider social and economic structures

Question 33

‘police racism is not primarily about discriminating against young black males but ….’ (Jefferson, 1992: 31; original emphasis).

Answer 33

‘…rather about the production of a criminal Other in which, currently, young black males figure prominently’

Question 34

What did the Webster (2012) report aim to investigate?

Answer 34

Report wants to investigate whether the decisions/judgements made by the courts, judges and ‘police discretion’ contribute to the overrepresentation of BME and lower social status backgrounds in the CJS.

Question 35

What did the Webster (2012) report show?(4)

Answer 35

1. Comparing official statistics and self-report data shows that the overrepresentation of some ethnic groups is not a true picture of their actual offending.
2. Focusing exclusively on ethnicity ignores social determinants such as socio-economic status and the ethnic categories used to compare criminal justice outcomes are too crude anyway
3. Residual discrimination by the police and the courts varies between and within jurisdictions and neighbourhoods, and by their ethnic and social class makeup
4. Discretion is least visible (measureable) and discrimination is therefore most likely at the police stage of criminal justice e.g. police stop and searches

Question 36

Webster reading: Between 2004/5 – 2008/9 there was a striking growth in the number of stop and searches of black people and Asians by ??% increase, compared to ??% for white people?

Answer 36

70% BME

30% white people

Question 37

What has self-report studies revealed about ethnicity and offending?

Answer 37

• White and black rates and patterns of offending were and remain very similar (offending rates reported by Asians were substantially lower.
• Self-report studies tend to suggest that whites offend more than any other group.
• So overrepresentation is not explained by differences between these group’s offending rates or the types of crime they commit

Question 38

Does levels of stop and search change depending on a white person in a largely BME populated area?

Answer 38

• Overall, they found that black males had a higher stop and search and arrest rate than comparable whites and Asians, but whites living in ‘blacker’ areas had a higher stop and search arrest rate than blacks and blacks living in ‘whiter’ areas had higher rates than white

Question 39

Where did the pseudo-scientific idea of race come from and what is it?

Answer 39

originated from the European Enlightenment through philosophers such as Hume and Kant. They believed the Age of Reason was synonymous with ‘white people’ whereas other races were naturally and morally inferior.

Question 40

What does raciology legitimise according to Gilroy (2000)?

Answer 40

legitimized practices of slavery, was embedded in imperialism and the British Empire.

Question 41

What and when was the statement by social scientists concluded there was no scientific basis for the suggestion that some races were inferior to others?

Answer 41

• 1951 UNESCO Statement by experts

Question 42

What is ‘ethnicity’ according to Barth (1969)?

Answer 42

• Ethnicity excludes a biological basis and focuses on self defined collectivities of people who share common origin and culture, based on local socio-cultural systems.

Question 43

What times are racist victimisation heightened?

Answer 43

• Racist Victimisation within Britain increase in times such as during the Iraq war – anti-semitic campaigns within London increase.

Question 44

What did the MacPherson investigation into the Stephen Lawrence murder show about the response to racist victimisation?

Answer 44

professional incompetence, institutional racism and failure of leadership by senior officers. They found prejudice, discrimination and ignorance amongst the police force. The Home Office called for police awareness, training, a culturally diverse police force and high levels of discipline

Question 45

What is ‘scapegoating’?

Answer 45

blaming their acquaintances for using scarce social / economic resources.

Question 46

What did the BCS 2000 find to be the biggest explanation for ethnic minority victimisation?

Answer 46

found age income employment and inner city residence more important than ethnic origin
This may be housing and income discrimination

Question 47

In Graham and Bowling (1995) self-report study of 2,500 respondents, what was the rate of offending, and the likilihood of admitting a crime?

Answer 47

• white and blacks similar rates of offending (44 and 43 percent).
• white and mixed race most likely to admit criminality (40%) whereas Asians only roughly (20%).

Question 48

What explanations can be given for why black murders case are more likely to be unresolved than white murder cases?

Answer 48

may be to do with the method of killing or witnesses less likely to want to come forward or police may be less interested/ mishandle the cases.

Question 49

Why might the ethnic minority lack of confidence in the police, especially after the Stephen Lawerence inquiry, mean they are more likely to offend?

Answer 49

The BCS survey found some ethnic minorities saw the policing as inequitable and illegitimate and therefore perhaps this has implications for ethnic minorities to conform to the Law.

Question 50

The Prison Service by the commission for Racial Equality (2003), found how many incidents of unlawful racial discrimination in a Brixton Prison?

Answer 50

17

Question 51

What does the 1996 BCS find about how many times BME individuals are stop and searched per year?

Answer 51

• 23% of black respondents had been stopped by the police during the previous year compared with 16% of whites and 15% of Asians.
• Black people also more likely to be stopped several times in a year, and to be searched by the police following a stop.

Question 52

Why might the historical treatment of BME individuals effect the criminality/severity of offending?

Answer 52

• Historical context ‘legacy of slavery’ – Inherent tensions between Black people and the police therefore perhaps when stop and searched, they may be more hostile and less cooperative and hence be more likely to be arrested and taken further in CJS