Ethnicity, Crime And Justice Flashcards
Give some statistical data that show that black and Asian people are over represented in the UK criminal justice system
-black people make up just 3% of the UK population, but 13% of the prison population
-asian people make up just 6.5% of the population, but 8% of the prison population
How can we argue that the official statistics on ethnicity and criminality tell us nothing about how much more likely to commit crime one ethnic group is over another?
They only tell us which ethnic groups are more likely to be involved with the Criminal Justice System.
What are the 2 sources of statistics except from official statistics that sociologists look at to try and determine which ethnic groups are more likely to offend?
1) victim surveys
2) self-report studies
What patterns do victim surveys show regarding crime and ethnicity?
CSEW - In the case of ‘mugging’, black people are significantly over-represented among those identified by victims as offenders. Also shows that crime is intra-ethnic.
What does it mean for crime to be intra-ethnic (victim surveys)? Give some evidence.
Crime often takes place between members of the same ethnic group. In 2007 the CSEW found that in 90% of crimes where the victim was white, at least one of the offenders was also white.
give 2 general weaknesses of victim surveys
-exclude corporate crimes + white collar crimes
-only cover personal crimes which account for only 1/5 crimes.
-rely on the memory of the victim: Bowling&Phillips found that white victims may over identify black people as the offender.
-exclude under 10s, and very few include under 16s, however minority ethnic groups contain a higher proportion of young people
What patterns do self-report studies show regarding ethnicity and crime?
-ask individuals to disclose their own behaviour (criminality). Graham & Bowling used sample of 2500 ppl. Found that black + white people had similar rates of offending. Asian people least likely to offend
Give 2 general weaknesses of self report studies
-evidence is inconsistent
-raise many questions: can you assume the respondent is being truthful? Have individuals understood the questions correctly ?
What do all 3 sources (official statistics, victim surveys, self-report studies) all consistently show as a pattern regarding crime + ethnicity?
All 3 sources show that Asian individuals are the least likely to offend
What is individual racism? Define it
When an individual’s beliefs, behaviours and actions discriminate against certain ethnic groups.
What is institutional racism? Define it
When the systems, structures and policies of an organisation discriminate against certain ethnic groups. For example, racist policies/procedures within the Criminal Justice System.
Name 4 stages of the criminal justice system process that sociologists investigate for racism
-policing
-stop&search
-arrests&cautions
-prosecution&trial
-convictions
-sentencing
-pre-sentence reports
-prison
Explain patterns regarding policing and racism
-there are allegations of over-policing of ethnic minority groups, as well as policing of these groups being aggressive in nature.
-including: mass stop/search operations, armed raids, excessive surveillance, police violence, failure to respond effectively to racism etc
Explain patterns regarding stop&search and racism
-ethnic individuals are more likely to be stopped + searched by police. black and Asian ppl are over twice as likely to be stopped compared to white ppl.
-ethnic minority individuals report that when stopped, police are rude and unfair
Identify the 3 possible reasons that sociologists suggest for the over representation of Black + Asian people in stop & search patterns.
•police racism
•real ethnic differences in offending
•demographic factors
What is a caution?
Can be given after an arrest. Its a warning that you can be given, instead of continuing through the criminal justice system. But you can only be given a caution if you admit guilt for the offence.
Explain patterns regarding arrests/cautions and racism
arrest rate for black individuals is approximately 3 times higher than the rate for white individuals. However, once arrested, black + asian individuals were less likely to receive a caution, possibly due to them not admitting guilt to offences.
Explain patterns regarding prosecution/trial and racism
Crown Prosecution service is more likely to drop cases brought against ethnic minority individuals as there is often little evidence to support the case. This may be due to the original only having taken place due to stereotyping.
What decision does the Crown Prosecution Service get to make regarding police cases?
Decides whether or not a case brought by the police should be prosecuted in court. This depends on whether or not they think there is a good enough chance of conviction or if the cases of public interest.
Explain patterns regarding convictions/sentencing and racism
Interestingly comment black and Asian defendants are less likely to be found guilty in 2007 60% of white defendants were found guilty, compared to 44% of Asian defendants and 52% of black defendants. This suggest stereotyping at the police level leads to more arrests, but with a lack of evidence for convictions.
Explain patterns regarding sentencing and racism
Custodial sentences are more likely to be given to black offenders, than white or Asian people, who are more likely to receive community service. Hood argues that even when comparing like for like cases, black men were still 5% more likely to be given custodial sentences and on average were given sentences three months longer than white men.
What are pre-sentence reports?
Written by probation officers. Used during the sentencing decision. They act as a risk assessment to assist magistrates in deciding the appropriate sentence for an offender.
Explain patterns regarding pre-sentence reports and racism
Hudson and Bramha argue these reports are discriminative. Reports for Asian offenders showed less remorse and were more of a risk. They argue that this is connected to the demonising of Muslims following 9/11.
Explain patterns regarding prison and racism
Black people are five times more likely to be in prison than white people. Black Asian offenders are more likely than white offenders to be serving sentences of four years plus. All minority ethnic groups are less likely to be granted bail than white offenders.
Which GROUPS (sociological theories) give the two main explanations for the differences between ethnic groups in the criminal justice system process?
• left realism
• neo-Marxism
Which sociological theory argues that the official statistics represent real differences in rates of offending meaning ethnic minorities? Do commit more crime?
Left realism
Which left realist sociologists argue that ethnic minority individuals do commit more crime?
Lea + Young
How do Lea + Young explain ethnicity and utilitarian crime?
Racism has led to the marginalisation + economic exclusion of ethnic minorities. One response is the formation of delinquent subcultures especially by young unemployed black males. Produces higher levels of utilitarian crime such as theft as a means of coping with relative deprivation
How do Lea + Young explain ethnicity and non-utilitarian crime?
These marginalised groups have no organisations to represent their interests, their frustration is liable to produce non-utilitarian crime like violence
What do Lea + Young conclude regarding ethnic minorities committing more crime
they acknowledge that the police often act in racist ways. However they dont believe that discriminatory policing fully explains the differences in the statistics. (Ethnic individuals do commit more crime)
Do neo-Marxists agree that ethnic minorities do commit more crime?
No. They believe that the official crime statistics are a social construct resulting from racist labelling
Which neo-Marxist theorist comments on crime and ethnic minorities?
GILROY
Why does Gilroy (neo-Marxist) suggest that ethnic minority crime is political?
Ethnic minority crime = a form of political resistance against a racist society. This resistance has its roots in earlier struggles against British Imperialism. Most blacks/Asians in UK originated in the former British colonies, where anti-imperialist struggles taught them how to resist oppression. When they resist racism in the UK now, they are criminalised by the British state.
How can the neo-Marxist view regarding ethnic minority crime as a problem of political struggle be criticised?
•Asian crime rates are similar to or lower than whites.
•First-gen immigrants in the 50s/60s were very law-abiding so it’s unlikely they passed down tradition of anti-colonial struggle to their kids.
•Most crime is intra-ethnic. Gilroy romanticises street crime as revolutionary, when it is not.
NAME the case study for the neo-Marxist approach to ethnicity and crime. (racism and political resistance)
Stuart Hall - Policing the Crisis (1978)
Summarise Stuart Hall’s Policing the Crisis study
-applies the neo-Marxist approach to the moral panic over black muggers in the 1970s UK. Young black males were seen as a problem. But they were used as a skip go to distract the public from issues like unemployment and economic struggles. Media negatively labelled these boys, caused moral panic. Reinforced racism and created more deviance.
Give a positive of Stuart Hall’s Policing the Crisis study
It is a fully social theory of deviance
Give negatives of Stuart Hall’s Policing the Crisis study
• he was just looking at the UK in 1970s. Outdated
• subject bias - the researchers earned backgrounds, experiences and political viewpoints could’ve impacted the conclusions
NAME the two other recent approaches to crime and ethnicity
• Neighbourhood - by Fitzgerald
• Getting Caught - by Sharp&Budd
Summarise the neighbourhood explanation for the correlation between crime and ethnicity
Fitzgerald found that rates of street robbery were higher in areas where deprived youths are likely to come into contact with affluent groups. Young black people are more likely to live in deprived areas/poverty, Racial discrimination in housing/job market is the more direct cause of crime as it leads to more black people living in these areas
Summarise the getting caught explanation for the correlation between crime and ethnicity
Some ethnic groups run a greater risk of getting caught black offenders were more likely than white offenders to have been arrested, because they are more likely to commit offences whether the victim can easily identify the offender (eg robbery). They are also more likely to have been excluded from school + associate with known criminals which raises their visibility to police.
What is racist victimisation?
Occurs when an individual is selected as a target because of their race, ethnicity or religion
How many police recorded resistance incidents were there in England/Wales in 2014/15? And how many is there estimated to have really been? (Many go unreported)
54,000 recorded. Estimated to have been 89,000 racially motivated incidents in 2014/15.
Which ethnic group is at most risk of being a victim?
People from mixed ethnic backgrounds have a higher risk of becoming a victim of crime following by blacks then Asians then whites.
What factors other than ethnicity may contribute to the likelihood of being a victim?
For violent crime, factors such as being young male + unemployed are strongly linked with victimisation
What does Sampson and Phillips note regarding ethnicity and victimisation?
Racist victimisation tends to be ongoing over time with repeated minor instances of harassment into Wervin with periodic incidents of physical violence. The resulting long-term psychological impact needs to be added to the physical injury.
Which case study symbolises racist victimisation?
The racist murder of Stephen Lawrence 1993
Summarise the murder of Stephen Lawrence
Stephen was 18, waiting for a bus with his friend. Killed in a resist attack by a gang of white men. At that time there was a strong white feeling against immigration.
Summarise the findings of the MacPherson report 1999
The Metropolitan police were institutionally racist. The police did an investigate Stevens case effectively. Racism was embedded in the places policies and culture.
