Ethnicity and Crime Flashcards
3 Main Stats - Ethnicity & Criminalisation
> OS
Victim Surveys
Self-Report Studies
OS - Ethnicity & Criminalisation
> BAME overrep in CJS, despite being lowest % of pop
> Black 7x + likely to be stopped & searched, 5x + likely to be in prison
Victim Surveys - Ethnicity & Criminalisation
> Crime often intra-ethnic
> Ask ppl to identify ethnicity of person who done crime vs them
> e.g. for mugging, black + likely to be identified
Criticisms of Victim Surveys
> Over identify black & only look @ personal crimes
> Exclude under 16’s - BAME contain + proportion of young ppl
> No focus on WCC
Ethnicity & Criminalisation - Stats (KS)
> Graham & Bowling (SRS)
> Sharp & Budd (SRS)
SRS - Graham & Bowling
> B&W had = rates of offending, asians had - rates
> Goes vs stereotype of B + likely > W to offend
Sharp & Budd (SRS)
> Those from mixed ethnic origins + likely to self-report crimes
> e.g. more M of MEO claimed to use drugs vs less B&W
Conclusion on Stats for Ethnic Differences in Crime
Inconsistent, OS & VS shows + rates of offending by B, but SRS don’t
Examples of Racism in CJS (KS)
> Phillips and Browning (Policing)
> Holdaway - Canteen Culture (Police Racism)
> Bowling - Canteen Culture (Police Racism)
> Bowling & Phillips (Prosecution)
> Hood (Sentencing)
> Hudson & Bramall (Pre-Sentence Reports)
Examples of Racism in CJS
> Policing > Stop & Search > Arrests & Cautions > Prosecution > Trial > Sentencing & Prison
Phillips and Browning - Policing
> EM are “over-policed & under protected & oppressed
> e.g. mass stop & search, surveillance etc.
> Fail 2 respond to racist violence
Criticisms of Phillips & Bowling
Targeting due 2 MP e.g. black muggers in 70’s based on actual criminality.
Stop & Search - Examples of Racism in CJS
> B + likely 2 be S&S > W, only need reasonable suspicion.
> But only few stops result in arrests, also + A due to Terrorism Act (2000)
Explanations for Patterns in Stop & Search
> Ethnic Diff in Offending
Police Racism
Demographic Factors
Holdaway - Canteen Culture (Police Racism)
PO, not racist themselves but when together can reinforce stereotypes then acted on duty.
Bowling - Canteen Culture (Police Racism)
> Among rank & file members, active racism in ppl making racist jokes
> Conducting police practices in racist way.
Macpherson Report - (Police Racism)
IR in police force in their handling of murder of Stephen Lawerence
Criticisms of Macpherson Report
> Recommendations implemented e.g. Racial Equality Scheme
> Recruiting + PO from EM - but crime rate 4 EM not -?
Ethnic Diff in Offending - Explanations for Patterns in Stop & Search
> Patterns due to fact some EM groups + likely to offend
> So police acting on relevant info about an offence e.g. LD stops & HD stops
Low Discretion Stops
PO act on intelligence e.g. description of offender
High Discretion Stops
PO act w/out intelligence so can use stereotypes, so discrimination + likely.
Demographic Factors - Explanations for Patterns in Stop & Search
> Young, unemployed, manual workers + likely to be stopped regardless of ethnicity
> Groups + prevalent among EM, so stopped more
Arrests & Cautions - Examples of Racism in CJS
> A - likely > W 2 get caution, as EM + likely > W to deny offence
> & use right 4 legal advice - can’t get cautioned + likely 2 be charged instead
Bowling & Phillips - Prosecution
> CPS + likely to drop cases vs EM > W
> Evidence given is often weaker & based on stereotypes of EM as criminals
Trial - Examples of Racism in CJS
> EM + likely to use trial in CC > in magistrates due to mistrust of their impartiality
> But CC can give harsher sentences
Convictions - Examples of Racism in CJS
> EM - likely to be found guilty, due to police/CPS discrimination police/CPS
Bring weaker cases vs EM, so thrown out by courts
Sentencing - Examples of Racism in CJS
> Jail sentences given to + B offenders > W\A
> W\A + likely 2 get community sentences
> Due to diff in seriousness of offence/prior convictions.
Hood - Sentencing
> Even if seriousness of offence & prior convictions are considered
> B men 5% + likely to get jail sentences longer > W men
Hudson & Bramall - Pre-Sentence Reports
> Harsher sentences due 2 PSR written by probation officers, allows 4 discrimination
> Reports on A - comprehensive & - remorseful > W
> Bias due 2 demonising of muslims, due 2 9/11
Prison - Examples of Racism in CJS
> B 5x + likely to be in prison > W & B&A usually serve + sentences
> EM - likely to be granted bail
Explanations for Statistical Differences in Offending (KS)
> Lea & Young (Left Realism)
> Gilroy (NM, Myth of Black Criminality & EM crime as Political Resistance)
> Hall et al (Policing the Crisis)
> Fitzgerald (Neighbourhood Factors)
> Waddington et al (Locality Theory)
> Sharp & Budd (Getting Caught)
> Sewell (Triple Quandary)
LR - Explanations for Statistical Differences in Offending
> B + CR due 2 alienation & marginalisation & RD
> Diff vs B&A S&S figures, implies police selective in racism - unlikely
> Racists unselective, so due 2 real diff in rd, marginalisation etc
Criticisms of Left Realism
> Rates for A’s lower due to police stereotypes of B’S as aggressive & A as passive
> Stop & search for asians + est 9/11
NM view on OS
Don’t reflect reality, social construction, stereotypes EM’s as more criminal
Gilroy - Myth of Black Criminality - NM
> B not more criminal > other groups, but CJS act on racist stereotypes, so + likely to be criminalised
Gilroy - EM crime as Political Resistance
> B in UK originate in former british colonies & anti-colonial struggles taught them to resist oppression e.g. riots & demonstrations
> When facing racism in UK, they used same means to defend themselves
> But political struggle was criminalised by state.
Lea & Young - Criticisms of Gilroy
> But 1st gen immigrants were law-abiding, colonial struggle wasn’t passed down, most crime is intra-ethnic
> Romanticises crime as revolutionary, but it’s not
> A crime rates are - or = as W, seems police are only racist towards B & not A - not true
Hall et al - Policing the Crisis (Capitalism causing crime & distraction)
> Eco recession in 70s + unemployment, led to civil unrest e.g. mass strikes
> So Capitalism appeared to be failing gov needed a scapegoat to divert attention away from this
> Recession leads to further eco marginalization of B youth leading to + in robbery
Hall et al - Policing the Crisis (Role of Media)
> Led to new moral panic on robbery by media, done by B youth
> Response was to put police in areas w/ + CR lead to + arrests, causing more panic reported by media
> So attention is only on black criminality, not problems of capitalism, causing crime in 1st place
Downes & Rock - Criticisms of Hall
> Contradictory, claims B crime is exaggerated, but also says it’s bound to rise due to unemployment
> If crime rates + it’s not moral panic but a real event
General Criticisms of Hall
> Association w/ criminality & B youth continued est eco crisis of 70’s
> So unclear this is ultimate cause of moral panic
Fitzgerald - Neighbourhood Factors
> Street robberies + in poor areas & when deprived young ppl come into contact w/ affluent groups
> Young B were + likely to live in poor areas, but poor W in these areas were also + likely to do street crime
> Ethnicities not a cause
Waddington et al - Locality Theory
> Some areas + densely populated w/ EM explaining stop & search stats
> Also live in areas of transition, where CR are + due to lack of social cohesion
Criticisms of Waddington et al
True for 1st gen immigrants but many EM move out of areas of transition after 1/2 gens & assimilate into majority culture.
Sharp & Budd - Getting Caught
> B were + likely > W to be arrested, as they’d done crimes where V’s can identify them e.g. robbery
> & being + likely to be excluded from school & association w/crimianls raised visibility to police
Triple Quandary - Sewell
> Young B boys usually live in LPF, so lack M role model, so join gangs
> Negative exp of white culture e.g. school & policing
> Media instils desire for status through designer clothing & hyper-masculinity based on violence & sex
Criticisms of Sewell
>
- of positive black role models
> No causality between LPF & criminality
Racist Victimisation w/ example
> Individual selected as target, due to race, ethnicity or reg
> e.g. racist murder of Stephen Lawerence & Macpherson Report
What 2 aspects do CSEW & Police Stats cover?
> Racist Incidents
> >Racially or Reg aggravated offences
Racist Incidents
Incident perceived as racist by V
Racially or Reg aggravated offences
e.g. Assault by someone motivated by hostility vs race/reg
Extent & Risk of Victimisation
> Police recorded 54K racist incidents in UK in 2015, but much is underreported
> BCS estimates their were 89K, but only small NO of ppl are prosecuted
> EM @ + risk of being V’s of crime
Reasons for Diff in Stats for Victimisation
> Also due to being young, M & unemployed
> If more of these ppl are in EM = + chance of victimisation
Responses to Victimisation
> EM active in responding to victimisation
> e.g. fireproof doors, letterboxes, SD campaigns etc
> Due to under protection by police e.g. Lawerence case found evidence of incompetence, IR & failure of leadership
