Ethnicity Flashcards
WHO commits the most crime ?
Official statistics highlight that black people are more likely to be stopped, arrested and imprisoned.
Why black people are more likely to commit most crime
sociologists argue this is because they are more likely to offend, due to poor educational achievement, dysfunctional family structure and racist stereotypes portrayed in the media.
WHO TALKS ABOUT WHY BLACK PEOPLE APPEAR MORE CRIMINAL
LEA AND YOUNG
GILROY
HALL ET AL
What does Lea And Young say ?
Differences in statistics are the result of black people being discriminated in wider society. Utilitarian crime is a response to material deprivation and non-utilitarian crime is due to their frustration towards society. They believe police racism is not the main cause of this because 90% of crimes are reported by the public.
What does Gilroy say ?
BME do not commit more crime than others. It is the result of racist policing who act on stereotypes. Also, BME often come from former colonies where they resisted oppression. However, when they resisted racism in Britain it was criminalised.
What does Hall Et All
In the 1970s, there was a moral panic about black people and mugging. This is because capitalism was in crisis and they used this story to cover it up. Thus, black people were not more criminal but a mere victim of capitalism. However, this made black people more unlikely to get jobs and then turn to crime.
What factors explain why black people are more criminal?
Education
Family
Media
Explain Education ?
Black caribbean pupils statistically perform poorly in education, and therefore may find it hard to find a legitimate and sufficiently well-paid job. In turn, they may either turn to illegal means of employment (such as drug trade) or turn to crime due to relative deprivation.
Explain Family
Functionalists - the growing rate of a lone-parent family structure with in the black community leads to inadequate socialisation, therefore children are not taught the correct norms and values of society - in this instance, they are not taught crime is immoral.
Explain Media
Media representations reinforce the stereotype that black people are more criminal. This may lead to a self fulfilling prophecy and black people will in turn commit more crime.
