Ethnicity Flashcards
explain Neo-Marxist viewpoint on ethnicity and crime.
Gilroy (1982)
argued crime by black people, especially in 1970s, was a form of political action - representing a culture of resistance to oppression
Denied the idea there’d greater criminality among black people, suggested this was a myth created by negative stereotyping from police and media who saw minority groups as untrustworthy.
Hall (1978) argued Britain was facing and economic and political crisis, threatening the dominance of the ruling class ideology - thus creating a ‘crisis of hegemony.’
At the same time, conflict between police and African-Caribbean community was growing due to selective publication of crime statistics.
Media promoted idea black people were more prone to criminality and promoted the media image of the ‘black mugger’ was born. - moral panic, ‘black mugger’ used as scapegoat for societies’ wider issues.
Hall argued there had not been an increase in street robbery and the moral panic was simply used to justify more aggressive policing against black community. Media overexaggerating crime created shared public concerns, restoring the hegemony.
Evaluate the Neo-Marxist viewpoint of ethnicity and crime.
- ‘crisis of hegemony’ in 1970s no longer exists, suggests explanation is inadequate
-Gilroy imposing own interpretation that black crime is due to frustration , many crimes are committed against other black people
-Lea and Young (1984) point out most crimes are reported by public , not uncovered by police, so it is hard to explain black crime in terms of police racism.
Outline Left Realism’s viewpoint on crime
Lea and Young (1984)
theory accepts that for some offences, the crime rates are higher among black people than white people. The factors below cause this.
marginality - some black people are pushed to the edge of mainstream society, causing frustration and powerlessness, this is further fuelled by the experience of racism.
relative deprivation-most likely faced by those in social and economic deprivation, many ethnic minority groups face this.
subculture- marginality and relative deprivation can cause formation of subcultures, providing peer support for young black males, which may involve gang culture as a response to the frustration they feel.
Explain how social exclusion could make black people more likely to commit crime.
Why , although facing social exclusion too, are Asian people less likely to commit crime?
Bowling and Phillips (2002) suggest higher levels of robbery by black people could be linked to poverty and social exclusion, which black communities are more likely to suffer from. Such activities can lead to seeking identity through peer group status and powerful black identity that’s otherwise denied.
Although social exclusion affects Asian people too, lower crime rate may be because Asian culture offers a clearer identity and there are arguably stronger controls within Asian communities and families.
How may the police/criminal justice system be seen to be racist?
Reiner (2000) argued there is a racist ‘canteen culture’ within the police, including suspicion matcho values and racism.
Philips and Bowling 92012) suggest racial discrimination is shown both directly and indirectly.
DIRECT
stop and search
institutional racism
discrimination when sentencing
INDIRECT
mistrust of police (less likely to cooperate)
social positions (more likely to show characteristics which make remand as opposed to bail more likely)
What do Bowling and Phillips (2012) argue about stop and search? (a direct form of discrimination)
Bowling and Philips (2012) argue stop and search leads to unfair criminalisation of ethnic minorities, undermining public support for police within their communities.
It can lead to self fulfilling prophecy, with higher levels of robbery among black youth arising as a response to labelling and acting in accordance with these stereotypes.
general ethnicity evaluation points
+ significant evidence from self-report surveys that higher rate of offending from ethic minority groups has been overexaggerated.
-ethnic minority groups may be suffering from other factors such as deprivation which is contributing to crime , not necessarily to do with their ethnicity.
Sharp and Budd (2005)
Self report survey - Home Office’s 2003 OCJS
white people had highest rate of lifetime offending, black and Asian people were significantly less likely to offend than white respondents.
briefly explain the case of Stephen Lawrence.
In April 1993, Stephen Lawrence was attacked by a group of white boys in a racially motivated attack.
It took the police weeks to make any arrests.
Police argue, had this been a white boy who was killed, there would have been a much swifter investigation.
