Ethnicity and Crime

Question 1

Rotherham

Answer 1

• 1,400 children sexually exploited by only Asian men.
• Police said they were afraid to do anything in fear of being labelled as ‘racist’.
• One of the men branded his victim a ‘white bitch’.

Question 2

Official statistics:

Answer 2

• White people are under-represented in prison.
• Black people are over-represented in prison.
• Asian men are over-represented in prison in comparison with Asian women who are under-represented.

Question 3

Victim surveys:

Answer 3

• CSEW done by the ONS.
• Found black people are significantly over-represented.
• Found crime is intra-ethnic, taking place within ethnic groups.

Question 4

Self-report:

Answer 4

• Bowling found similar rates of offending between black and white people.

Question 5

Policing (Philips and Bowling)

Answer 5

• Over-policing of ethnic minorities.
• E.g. Brixton riots.

Question 6

Stop and Search

Answer 6

• Police can use the power if they have ‘reasonable suspicion’.
• Black people are 9x more likely to be stopped and searched, Asian people are 2x more likely.
• Terrorism Act 2000 = can stop and search whether or not they have reasonable suspicion. Asian people are more likely to be stopped and searched because of this.
• Black people 5x more likely to be tasered than white people.

Question 7

Arrests and Cautions

Answer 7

• 2018/9 = arrest for black people over 3x the rate for white people.

Question 8

Prosecution

Answer 8

Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) more likely to drop cases against ethnic minority groups.
Bowling and Philips may be because evidence presented to CPS by the police is often weaker and based on stereotyping.

Question 9

Trial

Answer 9

• Black people more likely to request to be trialed in crown court because it is decided by the jury.
• The Magistrates court is decided by the Magistrate.

Question 10

Convictions

Answer 10

• Black and Asian defendents less likely to be found guilty.

Question 11

Sentencing

Answer 11

• Black men 5% more likely to receive a custodial sentence.

Question 12

Pre-sentence reports - Hudson and Bramhall

Answer 12

• A possible reason for harsher sentences is the PSR written by probation officers.
• A PSR intended as a risk assessment to assist magistrates in deciding on appropriate sentence.
• Hudson and Bramhall = argue PSR’s allow for unwitting discrimination.

Question 13

Prison

Answer 13

• 2021 - just over a quarter of the prison population were from minority ethnic groups.

Question 14

Neo-Marxists say…

Answer 14

• Ethnic differences are a process of social construction.
• Stereotypes ethnic minorities as inherintly more criminal than the majority of the population.
  Studies to support:
  Gilroy, Hall.

Question 15

Gilroy

Answer 15

• Argues that black criminality is a myth.
• In reality, these groups are no more criminal than any other.
• The police act on racist stereotypes and therefore they appear more in official statistics.
• Gilroy also believes that crime is a form of political resistance against a racist society.