Ethnicity & Crime Flashcards
Lea & Young
• Left realists
• Whilst there is some convincing evidence that black males in particular may experience discrimination in the CJS, there may also be higher rates of criminality amongst this group
The interactionist concept of labelling can be applied to explain the high levels of arrest and conviction rates for black males.
Anderson
- Studied policing in a neighbourhood of Philadelphia
- Argued that the police tended to assume black people were lower-class and criminal
- This ‘colour-coding’ often worked to confuse race, age, class, and gender issues as well as ignoring individual behaviour
- Police officers would harass young black males on the street on a regular basis
- The responses of the black males varied
- Some went to lengths to dress differently to try to avoid suspicion, but most saw it as inevitable and just part of life in their neighbourhood
Hall
- Considered the issue of policing and race relations in the two decades between the Scarman Report of 1982 and the McPherson repot of 1999
- The Scarman Report was the official response to racial violence and rioting in some British cities in the early 1980s
- The McPherson Report concluded the official inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 and the police investigation that followed
- Hall argues that these were not fully supported by the government or police
- However, he concludes that until individuals are held accountable for their actions, not much will change
Phillips and Bowling
• Argued that despite the McPherson Report, ethnic minority neighbourhoods were still over-policed with military style methods
Institutional racism
• Refers to racism within the social processes and practices of an institution, which has been widely applied to the police
Police culture
- Sometimes referred to as ‘police occupational culture’ or ‘cop culture’.
- This refers to a set of shared norms, values, attitudes, and practices which develop amongst the police, affecting how they carry out duties
Smith and Grey
• Their report for Policy Studies Institute highlighted the explicit and accepted racist language of the officers they were observing
Holdaway
- Began his research into police culture as a serving officer in the 1970s
- He discusses the ‘radicalisation’ of policing, arguing that routine and mundane police work can take on a radical ‘framing’
- This is through which people and events are seen in a way that prioritises race when it is not relevant or ignores race when it is
- Consequently, police officers may inadvertently act in racist ways without completely realising it
Chan
• Argues that inappropriate use of discretion has led to the over and under policing of particular types of both offenders and victims
Bhilox
- He states that most policing is directed at the excluded in society, who are often young, poor and black
- The police pursue policies of ‘differential deployment’ (concentrating policing on areas where the targeted reside) and ‘methodological suspicion’ (routinely suspecting only a limited proportion of the population)
- This can have a negative impact of ethnic minority communities, who may feel a sense of injustice which can lead to further conflict
Scraton
- Sees the police as an occupying force imposed on working class and ethnic minority communities
- They impose law which reflects ruling class interests
- Black criminality is a ‘culture of resistance’, formed as a response to racism
Palmer
- Feels there is too little emphasis on racial discrimination in the CJS
- Studied black residents of an inner-city London neighbourhood, and found they felt they were treated unjustly
- She also refers to the lack of discipline within families, and being let down by their community, education, and wider society
Fitzgerald and Sibbitt
- Believe this has masked different crime patterns within these groups
- Crime amongst young, Asian males has been increasing in significant years.
- This could be due to socio-economic factors
Bowling, Parmar and Phillips
- Believe stereotypes of Asians, particularly Muslims, have altered
- The old stereotypes that saw Asians as ‘law abiding citizens’ with strong community, family and religious values has gone
- This has been replaced with Asian youth being linked to criminal and deviant activity
Abbass
- The stereotype of the ‘passive Asian’ has given way to a society of ‘Islamophobia’, following 9/11
- Evidence shows that stopping and searching Asians has increased significantly
- Current concerns about ‘radicalisation’ have led to claims about the targeting of young Muslims by the police and harsher punishments being issued by courts.
