ethnicity and crime Flashcards
trends :
black people make up ___% of the population but __%of the prison population
black people make up3% of the population but 13% of the prison populatio
trends :
asian people make up __% of the population but __% of the prison popualtion
asian people make up 6.9% of the population but 8% of the prison popualtion
alternative sources of data - victim surveys AO1
such as Crime Survey for England and Wales
ask individuals to say what crimes they have been victims of.
ask them to identify the ethnicity of the person who committed the crime against them
show crime is intra-ethnic - takes place within rather than between ethnic groups
alternative sources of data - victim surveys AO3 - memory
rely on the victims’ memory of events. evidence suggests white victims may over-identify black suspects saying the offender was black even if theyre not sure
alternative sources of data - victim surveys AO3 - limited application
only cover personal crimes which make up only 1/5 of all crimes
exlcudes crimes by and against organisations so they tell us nothing about the ethnicity of white collar and corporate crimes
alternative sources of data self-report studies AO1
ask individuals to disclose their own dishonest and violent behaviour
alternative sources of data self-report studies AO2
sample of 2,500 people
white and black rates of offending were very similar 44% and 43% but indian 30%, pakistani 28% rates were much lower
alternative sources of data self-report studies AO3 - challenge stereotypes
findings of self-report studies challenge the stereotype of black people as more likely than white people to offend
alternative sources of data self-report studies AO3 - inconsistent
evidence is inconsistent
ethicity and the criminal justice system: the stages - 1. policing
- policing
oppressive policing of minorities
ethicity and the criminal justice system: the stages - 2. stop and serach
police can use the power if there is reasonable suspicion.
only a small proportion of stops results in arrests
under the terrorism act, police can stop and search whether or not they have reasonable suspicion = Asians more likely to be stopped
minority ethnic groups more likely to think they’re over-policed and under-protected
blacks 4x more likely to have force used against them
ethicity and the criminal justice system: the stages - 2. stop and search AO2
compared with white people, black people 9x more likely to be stopped and searched and asians 2x more likely
ethnicity and the criminal justice system: the stages - explaining stop and search patterns - police racism
police racism:
AO2 study: Stephen Lawrence
institutional racism within the metro police
many officers hold negative stereotypes about minority ethnic groups leading to deliberately targeting of stop and search
ethnicity and the criminal justice system: the stages - explaining stop and search patterns - demographic factors
. minority ethnic groups are over represented in the groups who are more likely to be stopped such as the young, unemployed, manual workers
more likely to be stopped regardless of ethnicity
ethnicity and the criminal justice system: the stages - arrests and cautions
arrest rate for black was over 3x the rate as white people
black and asian less likely to receive a caution than white
ethnicity and the criminal justice system: the stages - prosecution and trial
CPS is more likely to drop cases against minority ethnic groups may be because evidence presented is weaker and based on stereotyping of minority groups
ethnicity and the criminal justice system: the stages - convictions and sentencing
black and asian less likely to be found guilty
ethnicity and the criminal justice system: the stages - prison
over a quarter of prison population were from minority ethnic groups
black 4x more likely to be in prison than white
minority are less likely to be granted bail
2 explanations for ethnic differences in statistics
left realism - statistics present real differences in rates
neo marxism - the statistics are a social construct resulting from racist labelling
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - left realism AO1
Lea and Young
ethnic differences in statistics reflect real differences
see crime as a product of relative deprivation and marginalisation. racism has led to the marginalisation of minority ethnic groups who face higher levels of unemployment, poverty. media’s emphasis on consumerism promotes sense of relative deprivation.
a response is formation of delinquent subculture especially by young unemployed black males = higher rates of utilitarian crime to cope with relative deprivation.
police act in racist ways but dont believe this fully explains the differences.
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - left realism AO2
90% of crimes known to the police are reported by the public. so it’s unlikely police racism can account for difference in statistics
black people have higher criminalisation rate than asian so police would have to be very selective in their racism.
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - left realism AO3
Arrest rates for asian people may be lower than black people not because they’re more likely to offend but because police stereotype the groups differently
blacks = dangerous
asians = passive.
but since 9/11 police now regard asian too as dangerous - this explains the rising criminalisation rates of asians
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - neo-marxism - Gilroy - AO1
differences are the outcome of social construction
Gilroy
black criminality is a myth created by racism stereotypes of african caribbean and asian people. when in reality these groups are no more criminal than any other.
as a result of police acting on these racist stereotypes minority ethnic groups come to be criminalised and so appear more on official statistics
minority ethnic group crime can be seen as a form of political resistance against a racist society e.g WC crime is a political act of resistance to capitalism
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - neo-marxism - Gilroy - AO2
WC crime is a political act of resistance to capitalism
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - neo-marxism - Gilroy - AO3 - romanticises
lea and young argue Gilroy romanticises street crime as somehow revolutionary
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - neo-marxism - Gilroy - AO3 - simialr crime rates
asian crime rates are simialr if not lower than for whites
if gilroy was right then the police are only racist towards black people and not asians which seems unlikely
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - neo-marxism - Hall et al AO1
1970s media driven moral panic of the growth of a new crime ‘mugging’ - was just a new name for an old crime of street robbery.
when actually there was no evidence of an increase
mugging was soon associated by the media and police with black youth
it arriving at the same time as the crisis of capitalism was not a coincidence as the black mugger served as a scapegoat to distract attention from the true cause of problems such as unemployment (capitalism)
it served to divide WC and weaken opposition to capitalism
crisis of capitalism marginalised black youth and drove them into crime
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - neo-marxism - Hall et al AO3 - realistic
left realists argue residents fears about mugging are not panicky but realistic
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - neo-marxism - Hall et al AO3
Hall et al are inconsistent in claiming black street crime was not rising but also was rising because of unemployment
explanations for ethnic differences in statistics - alternative explanations - can be used as AO3 or conclusion - neighbourhood
rates were highest in very poor areas and also where deprived young people came into contact with more affluent groups
but
white people affected by these factors were also more likely to commit street crime
so
ethnicity was not a cause
however
black people are more likely to live in poor areas
extent and risk of victimisation AO2 - police recorded ____ racist incidnets in england and wales
54,000
responses to vicimisation
organised self-defence campaigns aimed at physically defending neighbourhoods from racist attacks
