Ethnicity and Crime

Question 1

What are significant ethnic differences in the likelihood of being involved in the criminal justice system, according to official statistics?

Answer 1

Black people, and to a lesser extent Asian people are over represented:
=> Black people make up just 3% of the population, but 13.1% of the prison population.
=> Asians make up 6.5% of the population, but 7.7% of the prison population.

By contrast, white people are under represented at all stages of the criminal justice process.

Question 2

What does the pattern which first appeared in the 1970s suggest?

Answer 2

There appears to be higher levels of criminality among some minority ethnic groups, particularly the black population.

Question 3

What are the two alternative sources of statistics?

Answer 3

Victim surveys and self-report surveys.

Question 4

Describe victim surveys.

Answer 4

=> E.g. the Crime survey for England and Wales.
=> Ask individuals to say the crimes to which they have been victims.
=> Allow us to gain information about ethnic groups and offending since the victim will be asked to identify the ethnicity of their assailant.
=> Show that a great deal of crime is intra-ethnic (takes place in, rather than between ethnic groups).
=> Useful in helping to identify ethnic patterns of offending.

Question 5

Evaluate victim surveys.

Answer 5

Criticisms:
=> Rely on the victims memory of the event/s.
=> Only cover personal crimes, which make approximately 20% of all crimes.
=> Exclude under 10s: minority ethnic groups contain a higher proportion of young people.
=> Exclude crimes by and against organisations; tell us nothing about the ethnicity of white collar and corporate criminals.

Question 6

Describe self-report surveys.

Answer 6

=> Ask individuals to disclose their own dishonest and violent behaviour.
=> Graham and Bowling (based on a sample of 2500 people); found that black people (43%) and white people (44%) had very
similar rates of offending, while Indians (30%), Pakistanis (28%) and Bangladeshis (13%) had much lower rates.
=> Sharpe and Budd; the 2003 Offending, Crime and Justice survey of 12,00 people found that white people and those of ‘mixed’
ethnic origins were most likely to say that they had offended (40%) followed by black people (28%) and Asian people (21%).
=> Challenge the stereotype of black people as being more likely than white people to offend.
=> Support the widely held view that Asians are less likely to offend.
=> Have their limitations in relation to ethnicity and offending; overall evidence is inconsistent.

Question 7

Evaluate self-report surveys.

Answer 7

Criticisms:
=> Some individuals may not wish to conduct a self-report survey.
=> Rely on people to be honest.
=> Individuals may have differing viewpoints on what they consider ‘criminal’.
=> Rely on offenders to recall events.
=> May undermine the severity of the offence (offender may fear getting punished).
=> May not be valid.

Question 8

What is ‘Stop and Search’ in terms of ethnic differences in crime?

Answer 8

=> Police use power of S&S if they have ‘reasonable suspicion’ of wrongdoing.
=> Under the ‘Terrorism Act 2000’, police can S&S persons or vehicles whether or not they have reasonable suspicion.

Question 9

How does ‘Stop and Search’ affect ethnic differences in criminal convictions?

Answer 9

=> Black people 7 times more likely to be S&S.
=> Asians twice as likely as white people to get S&S.
=> Asians are more likely than other groups to be stopped under ‘Terrorism Act 2000’.

Question 10

What do Philips and Bowling note about members of minority ethnic communities?

Answer 10

They are more likely to think they are ‘over policed and under protected’, thus having a limited faith in the police.

Question 11

What demographic factors have an affects on ‘Stop and Searches’?

Answer 11

=> Ethnic minorities over represented in population groups who are most likely to be S&S such as the young, unemployed, manual
workers and urban dwellers.
=> These groups are more likely to be stopped regardless of their ethnicity, but they also have a higher proportion of ethnic
minorities in them; minorities stopped more as a result.

Question 12

What is ‘Arrests and Cautions’ in terms of ethnic differences in crime?

Answer 12

=> When arrested, black people and Asian people were less likely than white people to receive a caution.
=> May be because members of minority ethnic groups are more likely to deny the offence and to exercise their right to legal
advice; this means that they are unable to be let off with a caution and are more likely to get charged instead.

Question 13

What do figures for England and Wales show about ‘Arrests and Cautions’ in 2014/15?

Answer 13

The arrest rate for black people was three times the rate of white people.

Question 14

What is ‘Prosecution and Trial’ in terms of ethnic differences in crime?

Answer 14

=> The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for deciding whether or not a case put forward by the police should be prosecuted in court.
=> CPS is more likely to drop cases against ethnic minorities.

Question 15

What do Philips and Bowling argue is the reason for the CPS being more likely to drop cases against ethnic minorities?

Answer 15

The evidence presented to the CPS by the police is often weaker and based on stereotyping of ethnic minorities as criminals.

Question 16

What can be noted about ‘Convictions and Sentencing’ related to ethnic differences in criminal convictions?

Answer 16

=> Black and Asian defendants are less likely to be found guilty, suggesting discrimination.
=> The police and CPS may be bringing weaker or less serious cases against ethnic minorities that are thrown out by the crown courts.

Question 17

What are ‘Pre-sentence Reports’ in terms of ethnic differences in criminal convictions?

Answer 17

=> Reports written by probation officers.
=> Intended as a risk assessment to assist magistrates in deciding the appropriate sentence for a given offender.
=> Found that reports on Asian offenders were less comprehensive, and suggested that they were less remorseful than white
offenders.
=> E.g. they place bias in the context of the ‘demonising’ of Muslims in the wake of events of 9/11.

Question 18

What affect does ‘Prison’ have in terms of ethnic differences between criminal convictions?

Answer 18

=> Just over 1/4 of the prion population were from minority ethnic groups in 2014.
=> Among British nationals, 0.55% of black people were in jail compared to 0.16% of Asians and 0.14% of white people.
=> Black people were 4 times more likely than white people to be in prison.
=> Black and Asian people were more likely than white people to be serving longer sentences.

Question 19

Which sociologists have developed explanations for allegations of oppressive policing of minority ethnic communities?

Answer 19

=> Neo Marxists.

=> Left Realists.

Question 20

What do Neo Marxists argue about allegations of oppression by the police? Who makes these claims?

Answer 20

=> Gilroy and Hall et al.
=> Statistics are a social construct resulting from racist labelling and discrimination in the criminal
justice system.

Question 21

What do Left Realists argue about allegations of oppression by the police? Who makes these claims?

Answer 21

=> Lea and Young.

=> Statistics represent real differences in rates of offending.

Question 22

What does Gilroy argue?

Answer 22

=> In the 1970s, crime by black people was a form of political action that represented a culture of resistance to oppression, in the
form of police racism and harassment.
=> Denies that there was more crime by black people than white people, suggesting that it was a myth started by negative
stereotyping from police, who saw minority ethnic groups as untrustworthy.
=> African Caribbean youths were labelled as potential ‘muggers’.
=> Asians were labelled as potential ‘illegal immigrants’.