ethnicity and crime Flashcards
different factors in explaining ethnic differences in crime rates
- economic/structural factors
- police/institutional racism
- cultural differences amongst ethnic minority groups
- demographic factors (age/location)
economic/structural
- neo-marxist Hall et al
- media focused on mugging and portrayed it as a new crime rising rapidly - black youth became folk devils/scapegoats
- inner cities were flooded with extra ‘heavy-handed’ police who used stop and search due to moral entrepreneurs reaction
- deviance amplification spiral, wc divided on racial grounds, authoritarian policing
eval: contradictory - hall says ac crime was low and that it was rising as a result of of unemployment
economic/structural
- left realist: cashmore
argues african-caribbean young men are encouraged to gain material success but opportunities are blocked by racism - experience anomie and turn to street crime (innovation)
economic/structural
neo-marxist: gilroy
- sees black crime as resistance against the state
- symbols of black cultures also as a way of differentiating black community from white e.g music, clothing
- myth of black criminality=a result of police having negative stereotypes of acs and asians.
eval: a lot of crime intra-ethnic, illogical to say black on black crime is a political act against the white state
police/institutional racism
- graham and bowling
their study of 14-25 year olds found that the self-reported offending rates were more or less the same of white, black and asian respondents. it so challenges the view that the rate of offending of black ethnic groups is higher than white ethnic groups
police/institutional racism
- jones and singer
found that black people Two and a half more times likely than white people to be stopped and asked to account for their actions and behaviour and presence in an area
police/institutional racism
- reiner
developed the theory of canteen culture. he argues that in order to fit with the police force, new recruits had to hold politically conservative, sexist and racist views
police/institutional racism
- phillips and bowling
argue that UK CJS is racist:
- higher numbers of stop and searches of black men (5-8x more likely)
- higher number of arrests
- over-policing of inner city areas
- use of racially abusive language
- higher imprisonment rates for black men compared to whites
cultural differences amongst ethnic minority groups
- Sewell, triple quandry theory
three risk factors which mean that african-carribbean boys commit higher levels of crime
1: single parent families, lack positive male role models
2: mainstream culture is racist. they perceive teachers, police, employers etc to be racist
3: media influence and emphasis on ‘conspicuous consumption’-
they then join gangs/subcultures where they can achieve status through hyper-masculine violence and material goods bought through crime. gang life becomes a comfort zone
eval: implies african-carribbean family life is inadequate and consequently responsible for crime and delinquency
cultural differences amongst ethnic minority groups
- Hirschi, bonds of attachment
young people commit crime because they lack the social controls of attachment, commitment, involvement and belief in their lives. people are less inclined to commit crime as they get older, because they have more to lose.
- could be argued asian crime rate is low because they acquire these controls at an earlier stage
eval; asian crime rate is raising. since 9/11, young muslims being stopped and arrested is rising
demographic factors (age/location)
- fitzgerald
compared the rate of ethnic minority street crime to a range of socio-economic general data. he concluded EMs sufferred 4 major variables:
1. lived in areas which lacked community cohesion
2. young males made up of disproportionate number of west indian
3. over representative/statistical link between crime and single parent families
4. subcultures that promote crime linked closely with educational failure, similar subcultures of white WC
demographic factors (age/location)
- waddington
argues police stop a higher number of black people compared to whites.
however, he argues there are more EM youths out at night in inner cities and the police simply target those in high risk areas. if the area is disproportionately represented by young black males they are more likely to be stopped and searched - because of where they are rather than their ethnicity
policing
phillips and bowling note since the 1970s there have been many allegations of oppressive policing of minority ethnic communities
stop and search
compared with white people, black people are 7x more likely to be stopped and searched, and asian people 2x more likely
- statistics show asian people are most likely to be stopped and searched under the terrorism act
explaining stop and search patterns
- police racism: macpherson report concluded there was institutional racism in met police post stephen lawrence,,,
- ethnic differences in offending: explanation that it reflects offending rates. difference between low and high discretion
- ethnic minorities are over-represented in population groups who are likely to be stopped, such as the young, the unemployed, manual workers and urban dwellers