Ethnicity - Crime and Deviance

Question 1

Stop and Search

Answer 1

British crime survey (2006/7) black people 7x more likely to be stopped and searched than whites
Asians 3x more likely
Phillips and Bowling - members of the communities believe they’re ‘over policed and under protected’
European court made it harder for stop and searches - ethnic groups still targeted

Question 2

Stop and Search Patterns

Answer 2

Macpherson Report concluded institutional racism within police
Phillips and Bowling - stereotypes reinforced by canteen culture
4.4% of police are ethnic minorities
Alternative - stop and searches reflect ethnic differences in offending

Question 3

Arrest, prosecutions and convictions

Answer 3

Custodial sentences given more to black offenders (68%) than white (55%) and asian (59%)
Crown Prosecution service more likely to drop sentences against ethnic minorities with weak evidence and stereotyping
Black and Asian defendant less likely to be found guilty showing discrimination

Question 4

Sentencing

Answer 4

Hood - black people 5% more likely to recieve a custodial sentence

Question 5

Left Realism

Answer 5

Lea and Young - ethnic differences reflect real differences in the level of offending and believe racism led to poverty and marginalisation amongst minorities
Afro-carribeans higher level of criminalisation than asians would mean police selective in racism
Eval - police stereotypes exists and 9/11 increased criminalisation of asians

Question 6

Neo-Marxism

Answer 6

Ethnic differences don’t reflect reality but stereotypes ethnic minorities as more criminal
Gilroy - crime is continuation of colonial strugles as black immigrants excluded from british life - counter discrimination through political statement

Question 7

Anomie

Answer 7

Cashmore - black youth have their goals blocked which leads them to turning to illegitimate means

Question 8

Cultural Factors

Answer 8

Parmar - some asian groups experienced high levels of deprivation but still less likely to be convicted of offences
Webster - high rates of single parenthood in Black ethnic groups means boys more likely to offend because of the lacking of a male role model
Asian ethnic minorities have more stable family structures therefore protected against offending

Question 9

Eval - Parmer

Answer 9

Dangerous to generalise family structure
differences in offending likely linked to social and economic inequalities
Racism and stereotyping in cjs likely to play major part in differences

Question 10

Ethnicity and Victimisation

Answer 10

risk of personal victim of a crime higher for non white groups (7.2%) than white ethnic (5%)
Phillips and Bowling - higher risk of victimisation result of high proportion of ethnic minorities living in cities where victimisation is higher
Newburn - fear of crime higher in ethnic minority groups and respond through campaigns for police protection