ETHNICITY AND CRIME

Question 1

what do statistics show about ethnicity and crime?

Answer 1

• members of minority groups are more likely to be stopped and searched
• in 2020, black people were 9 times more likely to be stopped and searched, however only a small proportion were arrested.
• macpherson report 1999 concluded that there was instituitonal racism within the metropolitan police
• black and asian defendants are less likely to be found guilty
• in 2021 5.5 per 1000 black people were in jail compared to 1.4 per 1000 white people.

Question 2

what resources of statistics can be used to understand ethnicity and criminalisation?

Answer 2

• victim surveys: can only tell us about ethnicity of a small proportion of offender, unrepresentative of offenders in general
• self report studies:

Question 3

what is gilroy’s myth of black criminality theory?

Answer 3

it is result of racist stereotypes. in reality ethnic minority groups aren’t more criminal than other ethnic groups however as result of racist policing and criminal justice system, their criminality appears higher. in his view, minority ethnic group crime can be seen as a politicla resistance in response to earlier british imperialism.

Question 4

what is hall et al’s policing the crisis?

Answer 4

they examined the moral panic over mugging in the 1970s. selective and stereotypical reporting presented young black men as potential muggers. it wasn’t actually dramatically increasing. hall argued the moral panic was created to distract people from economic problems and divide the working class to weaken opposition to capitalism.

Question 5

single parenting and crime

Answer 5

in 2007 almost 1/2 of british black children had no fathers. rates of teenage motherhood were higher among black women. this may lead to black boys being more likely to offend due to lack of a male role model. however mothers were closely connected to their communities and often had a partner who played the role of a father.w

Question 6

what is Sewell’s triple quandary theory?

Answer 6

absence of a role model leads to lack of discipline. young black men develop a negative attitude towards white culture including education. they become influenced by media and street culture and grow concerned about how they are perceived. street gangs become their comfort zone.