ethnicity and crime Flashcards
what do official statistics tell us
Official statistics can tell us some patterns and trends in relation to crime within the UK
what three ways can we measure crime and ethnicity
official statistics
victim surveys
self report studies
What do statistics tell us about crime?
The total number of stop and searches, where ethnicity was known, increased between 2017/18 (266,000) and 2020/21 (557,000). The proportion of suspects stopped and searched remained relatively stable across most ethnic groups, with a decrease from 21% to 17% for the Black ethnic group.
In 2020/21, 43% of all stop and searches (where ethnicity is known) were conducted in London, involving a higher proportion of persons from minority ethnic groups when compared to the rest of England and Wales.
what are victim surveys
Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)
Asks individuals to say what crimes they have been victims of - get asked to identify the ethnicity of the perpetrator
In robberies - Black people have been over represented as the perpetrators
victim surveys evaluation
They rely on victims memory… how accurate is that?
They only look at personal crimes
What about crimes on younger people?
what are self report studies
Individuals are asked to provide details on their own criminal behaviour
Graham and Bowling (1995) found that black people (43%) and white people (44%) had similar self-reporting rates, in comparison to indian people (30%)
what are the 4 main patterns of the criminal justice system and ethnicity
prosecutions and trial
arrests and cautions
prisons
policing and stop and search
stop and search
Members of minority ethnic groups are more likely to be stopped and searched by police
Black people are 7 times more likely to be stopped and searched in comparison to white people
Often, only a small number of those stopped and searched result in an arrest
Asian people are more likely to be stopped and searched under the Terrorism Act
why 3 main reasons for stop and search
Police racism:
Macpherson Report (1999) found institutional racism within the police
Deeply ingrained racist attitudes among officers
Police hold stereotypical attitudes
Ethnic differences:
Simply explains ethnic differences in offending
Low discretion - police act on information
High discretion - police act without intelligence
Demographic factors:
Ethnic minorities are overrepresented in the young (most likely to be stopped and searched)
Get searched due to their age, regardless of their ethnicity
Criminal justice system workers
In 2012, 5.1% of judges had BME backgrounds and there were 6,679 ethnic minority police officers (as of 31 March 2012). This accounts for 5% of all officers compared with 4.8% in March 2011.
prosecutions and trial (CPS)
Crown Prosecution Service decide whether a case should be be prosecuted in court
CPS are more likely to drop cases against ethnic minorities - often due to the evidence being based on stereotypical views, rather than evidence
prosecutions and trial (pre sentence reports)
These are written by probation officers
It is intended as a risk assessment to assist magistrates in deciding on the appropriate sentence for an offender
PSR’s allow for discrimination
Asian offenders were often described as less remorseful than white offenders
prison
In 2020, the adult prison population comprised 73% white, 13% black, 8% Asian, 5% of mixed ethnicity and 1% from other ethnic groups
However black people, according to the 2021 census, make up just 4% of the general population, meaning they are over three times as likely to end up in the prison population
Similar findings in other countries such as US
what are the two explanations for ethnic differences in offending
left realism
neo marxism
what do left realists say about ethnic differences offending
Believe that ethnic differences in statistics, reflect real differences in offending behaviour by different ethnic groups
The media portrays unrealistic goals that people try to achieve
Racism has led to ethnic differences in housing, job opportunities
One response to relative deprivation is the formation of delinquent subcultures. This produces higher levels of utilitarian crime as a means of coping with it. Furthermore, these groups are marginalised and have no organisations to represent their interest. This leads to frustration which is expressed through non-utilitarian crime.
