Crime And Deviance - Ethnicity And Crime

Question 1

According to the Ministry of Justice 2013, what are black people more likely to do than white people?

Answer 1

3x more likely to be arrested & more likely to be charged, remanded in custody & face court proceedings than face a caution

Question 2

According to the Ministry of Justice 2013, what are Asian people more likely to do than white people?

Answer 2

More likely to be charged than face a caution

Question 3

What does Neo-Marxist Gilroy argue about black crime?

Answer 3

black crime a form of political action
denied greater criminality among black people than white -> myth created by negative stereotyping by police & media

Question 4

What does Hall et al say about black crime & scapegoating?

Answer 4

1970s Britain -> £££ crisis & growing conflict between police & black community, fuelled by crime stats showing black people involved in particular offences -> media pick it up & created moral panic of the ‘black mugger’ which justified aggressive & repressive forms of policing against black community

Question 5

What are 3 main criticisms of the neo-marxist explanation?

Answer 5

Conflicts between minority ethnic groups, the police, CJA & the media still exist

Gilroy imposes his own interpretations of the meanings of black crime

Lea & Young -> most crimes reported by the public, not uncovered by the police -> hard to explain crime in terms of police racism

Question 6

What does Left realism say about ethnic differences & crime?

Answer 6

For some offences, black crime is higher than for the white pop

Question 7

What 3 factors contribute to black crime being higher than white crime, for some offences, according to Lea & young

Answer 7

Marginality
Relative deprivation
Subculture

Question 8

How does marginality affect why black crime is higher than white crime?

Answer 8

some ethnic groups pushed to the edges of mainstream society due to lack of legitamate means -> creates resentment & sense of powerlessness, furthered by racism

Question 8

How does relative deprivation affect why black crime is higher than white crime?

Answer 8

felt by those in deprived social situations, many minority ethnic individuals do

Question 9

How does subculture affect why black crime is higher than white crime?

Answer 9

marginalisation & relative deprivation combine to form subcultures in deprived communities -> provide form of peer support support for young black males

Question 10

What does Bowling & Phillips say about social exclusion & the search

Answer 10

suggest higher levels of robbery in black people linked to poverty & social exclusion (they’re more likely to suffer from)

poverty & social exclusions also affects Asians (particularly Pakistanis & Bangladeshis) -> lower crime rates due to Asian culture due to clear sense of identity & stronger controls in the family

Question 11

What do Bowling & Phillips say about Asian communities?

Answer 11

Poverty affects them (especially Pakistanis & bangladeshis) however lower crime rate are due to stronger sense of identity provided by cultural values & stronger community controls

Question 12

What do labelling theorists & Marxists say about the social construction of crime stats?

Answer 12

Stats showing higher offending rates among black & Asian people result from selective law enforcement not actual crime rates

Question 13

What does Reiner say about a racist canteen culture?

Answer 13

Police culture fosters suspicion, macho values & racism which encourages mistrust & use of racial stereotypes -> leads to higher arrests among black & Asian individuals

Crimes linking to ethnic minorities therefore seen as socially constructed through police prejudice

Question 14

What are the 2 ways of indirect racial discrimination?

Answer 14

Mistrust of police
Social position

Question 15

How does mistrust of police link to indirect racial discrimination?

Answer 15

Minorities often mistrust police -> leads to less cooperation with officers, less likelihood of admitting guilt & ineligibility for cautions/reduced sentences

Question 16

How does social position link to indirect racial discrimination?

Answer 16

Minority groups have more social characteristics e.g. poor housing that are more likely to have them remanded in custody rather than granted bail (more likely to reoffend)

Question 17

What are the 5 ways of direct racial discrimination?

Answer 17

Stop & search
Institutional racism
Arrests, charges & court proceedings
Discrimination in sentencing
Over-representation in prison

Question 18

How is stop and search an example of direct racial discrimination & what does Fitzgerald say?

Answer 18

Black & Asian people (especially youth) frequently stereotyped as trouble makers -> higher stop & search rates
Ministry of justice -> black (6x) & Asians (2x) likley to be stopped compared to whites

Fitzgerald -> discrimination higher when officers relied on stereotypes

Question 19

What does the macpherson report suggest about institutional racism?

Answer 19

Critiqued met police’s handling of Stephen Lawrence’s murder -> revealed professional incompetence & bias (suggests deep-rooted institutional racism in the force)

Question 20

How is arrests, charges & court proceedings an example of direct racial discrimination?

Answer 20

Black & Asian often charged without sufficient evidence

Crown prosecution service -> drops many cases against minorities with lower conviction rates (implies weak evidence & potential discrimination)

Question 21

How are black people discriminated in sentencing?

Answer 21

in the same position as whites, they’re more likely to be given a prison sentence & a longer one

Question 22

How is overrepresentation in prison an example of direct racial discrimination & what does Phillip & Bowling say?

Answer 22

2013, black people overrepresented 13% compared to 3% of their general pop

Philip & Bowling -> black & Asian prisoners face more brutal regime than whites (stereotyping, abuse, denial of earned privileges etc)

Question 23

EVALUATION: What is a limitation of the ethnicity & crime explanation?

Answer 23

it is difficult to discover whether the differences between ethnic groups are resulting from their ethnic identity or differences in age/social class/area etc e.g. compared to whites ethnic minorites have higher proportions of young ppl/those suffering social & economic deprivation -> higher crime rates can be related to those factors

Question 24

EVALUATION: What is a strength of the ethnicity & crime explanation?

Answer 24

substantial evidence in self report studies that higher rate of offending in official stats is exaggerated created from racist stereotyping, labelling & racial discrimination in the CJS