Ethnicity and crime

Question 1

official statistics on ethnic differences in offending/convictions etc…

Answer 1

Ethnic minorities 3x more likely stop and searched

Black people makeup 13.1% of prison population

EM more likely to be given a custodial sentence

Question 2

Explanations for stop and search

Answer 2

• police racism (Stephen Lawrence, deeply ingrained attitudes)

Question 3

Victim surveys + self report studies

Answer 3

Victim surveys= ask individuals what crimes they have been victim of
- however rely on memory, only personal crimes, exclude white collar

self report= disclose their own violent behaviour whites/ blacks similar rates of offending (44/43%)
- however inconsistent unreliable evidence

Question 4

Lea and Young’s explanation of ethnic minority offending rates (left realist)

Answer 4

Cause of deprivation is:
- Marginalisation (excluded)
- Relative deprivation (media to blame)
- Subcultures (collectivist)

Question 5

Gilroy’s explanation of ethnic minority offending
rates (neo marxist)

Answer 5

“Myth of Black Criminality” – Stereotypes= Police focus on EM more likely to be stopped and searched or arrested compared to white

Question 6

Hall et al’s explanation of ethnic minority offending rates

Answer 6

Myth of the black mugger:
distract attention from cause (unemployment, capitalism)
- present black youth as a threat, divide the WC
- however not all black crime due to labelling

Question 7

Relationship between ethnicity and victimisation

Answer 7

Racist victimisation, selected as a target due to their ethnicity
2 main sources=
- racist incidents
- racially aggravated offences

Question 8

Extent of victimisation

Answer 8

• police recorded 54,000 racist incidents in England (2014-15)
• many go unreported, estimated 89,000
• mixed ethnic victims (28%) black (18%) white (16%)

Question 9

Response to victimisation

Answer 9

• self defence campaigns protect neighbourhoods
• change in racist attitudes