Ethnicity and Crime Flashcards
What do official statistics say about ethnicity and crime?
Show what appears to be high levels of criminality among minorities. OR a racist justice system as well as a high rate of offending reinforce and feed off one another in a cycle of amplification.
Black people make up 4% of the population, but 12% of the prison population. Also 7 times more likely to be stopped/ searched and arrested.
Why would crime statistics be invalid?
Due to racism within the police force/criminal justice system.
Bowling and Phillips (statistics are INVALID):
Selective law enforcement rather than higher rates of criminality - institutional racism: ‘a hostile environment where racism is allowed to spread’ E.g: Mcpherson Report, Stephen Lawrence.
Reiner (statistics are invalid):
‘Canteen culture’ which includes macho values, racist stereotypes, etc. This leads to minorities being more likely to be stopped, searched and arrested, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Not more likely to offend.
Cicourel and Stuart Hall’s study (statistics are invalid):
- Black and Asian offenders more likely to be charged, given harsher sentences, etc than white people (negotiation of justice).
- Moral panics surrounding black people is a scapegoat to distract from true problems in society, such as capitalism. ‘Black mugger’.
Why would crime statistics be valid?
Black people do commit crimes at a higher rate due to various factors.
Left Realists, Lea and Young (statistics are valid):
Accept that black crime rates are higher, but argue that this is due to marginalisation, relative deprivation and membership of subcultures.
- More likely to suffer from poverty and social exclusion.
Waddington (statistics are valid):
- Used positivist methods such as official statistics to argue that crime figures are due to the proportion of minorities out at night compared to white people, rather than an ethnic bias.
- Arrested a high number of young white people too.
New Right, Murray (statistics are valid):
- Blame black families for large proportions of crime: form part of the underclass who socialise their children into different norms and values. E.g: single-parent families, Britain’s Teenage Drug Runners.
Explanations of ethnic differences - Marxism:
Working-class, black males are more likely to commit crime. This is a rational response to racism and inequality, alike to capitalism. E.g: Stuart Hall ‘Black Mugger’.
Explanations of ethnic differences - New Criminology:
Stereotype of ‘Black Mugger’ leads to institutional racism, where they’re more likely to be stopped and searched. Influences statistics.
Explanations of ethnic differences - Labelling Theory:
Racist bias due to labelling leads to racist stereotypes. Leads to self-fulfilling prophecy, deviancy amplification and master status.
Explanations of ethnic differences - Left Realism and Right Realism:
LR = Racism within society leads to marginalisation, join subcultures due to relative deprivation, gaining status.
RR = Black, single-parent families cannot socialise their children into the value consensus, so more likely to commit crime due to alternative values.
Explanations of ethnic differences - Subcultural theories:
More likely to feel status frustration (Cohen), risk of criminal subcultures. E.g: black men do the worst in education.
The British-Asian experience:
- Asians are more likely to have higher middle-class representation, therefore have lower crime rates due to better resources and opportunities. Moodod et al = higher education and job status.
- Seems unlikely that police would favour Asians over black people, especially if police discrimination is the reason for higher arrests amongst minorities.
- Moral panic: media creates fewer harsh stereotypes about Asian people, therefore fewer arrests.
