Ethnicity

Question 1

What percentage of the population is black?

Answer 1

3%

Question 2

What percentage of the prison population are black?

Answer 2

13%

Question 3

What ways other than official statistics can we use to measure ethnicity and criminality?

Answer 3

Victim surveys

Self report studies

Question 4

How can we use victim surveys to measure ethnicity and crimiality?

Answer 4

Ask people to identify the ethnicity of the person who committed the crime

Question 5

What was found when victim surveys were used to measure ethnicity and criminality?

Answer 5

Black people were significantly over represented in mugging

Question 6

What are the flaws of using victim surveys?

Answer 6

They rely on memory which may be inaccurate
Only cover personal crimes with is 20% of all crime
Exclude children under 10 when most crime involves young people

Question 7

How can we use self-report surveys to measure ethnicity and crimiality?

Answer 7

Ask people to disclose their own dishonest and violent behaviour

Question 8

What was found when self-report surveys were used to measure ethnicity and criminality?

Answer 8

Sharp and Budd: White and mixed race people were likely to say they had committed an offence
Home office found similar findings after conducting 9 studies into drug use

Question 9

What did Sharp and Budd find about using self-report surveys?

Answer 9

White and mixed race people were likely to say they had committed an offence

Question 10

What are general stop and search patterns?

Answer 10

Black people are 7 times more likely to be stopped and searched. Asian people are more likely to be stopped under the terrorism act

Question 11

What are the tree possible reasons for stop and search patterns?

Answer 11

Police racism
Differences in offending
Demographic factors

Question 12

How can police racism affect stop and search patterns?

Answer 12

The Macpherson Report found institutional racism

Phillips and Bowling say many officers hold negative views about ethnic minorities which leads to deliberate targeting

Question 13

What do Phillips and Bowling say about police racism?

Answer 13

many officers hold negative views about ethnic minorities which leads to deliberate targeting

Question 14

How can ethnic differences in offending explain stop and search patterns?

Answer 14

More ethnic minorities are committing crime so are searched more often

Question 15

How can demographic factors explain stop and search patterns?

Answer 15

Ethnic minorities are over-represented in groups most likely to be searched such as the young, manual workers and the unemployed

Question 16

What ethnic patters were found with arrests and cautions?

Answer 16

Arrest rate for black people was 3 times higher

They are more likely to deny their offence so can’t be let off with a warning

Question 17

What ethnic patters were found with proscution and trial?

Answer 17

Phillips and Bowling: Courts are more likely to drop cases against minorities possibly due to weak evidence as police racism.
More likely to select trial by jury as they mistrust people but the crown court will give harsher sentances

Question 18

What ethnic patters were found with conviction and sentencing?

Answer 18

Pre-sentance reports written by probation officers may result in harsher sentencing
Hudson and Bramhall: Reports on Asian offenders were less comprehensive and less likely to suggest they show remorse

Question 19

What did Hudson and Bramhall find about pre-sentence reports?

Answer 19

Reports on Asian offenders were less comprehensive and less likely to suggest they show remorse

Question 20

How do left realists explain the differences in offending?

Answer 20

Minorities have higher levels of unemployment and are more likely to be poor due to marginalisation so commit utilitarian crime
Frustrations caused by marginalisation cause non-utilitarian crime like riots
Therefore black people commit more crime due to relative deprivation

Question 21

Which left realists commented?

Answer 21

Lea and Young

Question 22

What two points about explaining the ethnic differences do neo-marxists offer?

Answer 22

Myth of black criminality (gilroy)
Moral panic (hall)

Question 23

How does Gilroy explain ethinc differences in crime?

Answer 23

Black criminality is a myth created from racist stereotypes

Ethnic minority crime is a form of policial resistance as many come from former British colonies

Question 24

How do Lea and Young critisize Gilroy?

Answer 24

First-generation migrants were very law-abiding
Most crime is intra-ethnic so against people of the same background
Asian crime is similar to white crime

Question 25

How does Hall explain ethnic differences in crime?

Answer 25

Capitalist class created a moral panic over black mugging in the 70s so people would see them as a scapegoat and be distracted from the rising unemployment and inflation. Aimed to divide the working class.

Question 26

How is Hall critisized?

Answer 26

It’s inconsistant to claim black crime is not rising but also that it is due to unemployment
No evidence
The concerns about muggling were realistic