Ethnicity and Crime

Question 1

what are the statistics on offending and ethnicity?

Answer 1

white= 79.2% of prison pop, and 90.5% of UK pop
black= 13.1% of prison pop, 3% of uk pop
asian= 7.7% of prison pop, 6.5% of uk pop

Question 2

how long are the Average Custodial sentences (in months) for white, black and asian?

Answer 2

White= 15.9
Black= 23.4
Asian= 22.4

Question 3

what are victim surveys?

Answer 3

survey that asks individuals to say what crimes they have been a victim of and to identify a suspect

Question 4

what did Phillips and Bowling say about victim surveys?

Answer 4

evidence suggests that white victims may ‘overidentify’ blacks saying offender was black even if they’re not sure

Question 5

what are the limitations of victim surveys (4)?

Answer 5

-excludes under 10s
-rely on victim memory
-don’t tell us about ethnicity of white collar and corporate crime
-exclude crimes by and against organisation

Question 6

what are self-report studies?

Answer 6

studies that ask individuals to disclose own dishonest and violent behaviour

Question 7

what are the limitations of self report studies?

Answer 7

-do not show likelihood of higher rates of offending by Blacks
-evidence is inconsistent

Question 8

what did Graham and Bowling say about self report studies?

Answer 8

-blacks and whites have similar rates (44/43%)
-Indians, Pakistans and Bangladeshis have much lower rates

Question 9

what did Sharp and Budd say about self report studies?

Answer 9

‘mixed’ are most likely to say that have committed a crime

Question 10

what do self report studies challenge?

Answer 10

they challenge the stereotype that Black people are more likely to offend

Question 11

what are reasons why EMG are more likely to commit crime?

Answer 11

-more likely to join anti-school subcultures
-don’t do as well in exams
-Black Caribbean families are often matti focal and so lack the father figure for descipline
-institutional racism
-gain negative labels
-social exclusion

Question 12

what are some theories that link to the ethnic differences that exist in the patterns of crime?

Answer 12

-strain theory
-right realism = underclass and broken windows

Question 13

what are the 4 reason why EM are perceived to be more criminal?

Answer 13

1- Myth of Black Criminality (gilroy)
2- interactionist idea of unfair stop and search practises
3- institutional racism in police force
4- neo-marxist view of WM and perception as criminals

Question 14

explain myth of criminality?

Answer 14

It is not black people that are more criminal it is that they are perceived/labelled to be criminal by members of the CJS so there appears to be criminal
-they may commit crime our frustration but they feel that being perceived as criminal.
-police resistance against a racist justice system
-crimes committed violent crimes theft and petty Street crime

Question 15

explain interactionist ideas on unfair stop and search practices

Answer 15

-typifications sure that black individuals are perceived as a typical criminal and so they are more likely to be stopped and searched

Question 16

what are some evidence to do with ethnicity and stop and searches?

Answer 16

black people are 8x more likely to be stopped and searched, 3.5x more likely to be arrested and 5x more likely to go to prison

Question 17

explain institutional racism in the police force

Answer 17

Racism is built into the police with a lot of officers and those in the CGS seen black individuals as the typical criminal

Question 18

explain the neo-Marxist view on ethnic minorities and their perception as criminals?

Answer 18

Stuart Hall= in early 70s Capitalism was in
crisis and the vulnerable/marginalised began to strike and speak out against it. The bourgeoise needed to physically oppress the marginalised and so the idea of black men being a ‘black mugger’ was created and a moral panic as a way to distract attention away from blacks striking for the rights
-rise in hate crimes and racism against black communities