Ethnicity, Crime And Justice Flashcards
Give a statistic to demonstrate the over-representation of Asian people in the prison system
Asians make up 4.7% of the total population but 6% of the prison population
What are two important sources of statistics that provide information on ethnicity and offending
Victims surveys and self-report studies
What are victim surveys?
They ask individuals to say what crimes they have been victims of during the past 12 months
What do victim surveys show about a great deal of crimes?
They are intra-ethnic so take place within rather than between ethnic groups
What are some of the limitations of victim surveys?
They rely on victims’ memory, they only cover personal crimes and they exclude under 16’s
What are self-report studies?
They ask individuals to disclose their own dishonest and violent behaviour
According to Sharp and Budd, what sort of people are more likely to say they had committed a crime in self report studies?
Whites and those of ‘mixed’ ethnic origins
What do Philips and Bowling note about policing since the 1970s?
They note that since the 1970’s there have been many allegations of oppressive policing of minority ethnic communities
Who is more likely to be stopped and searched by the police?
Members of minority ethnic groups
How many times more likely are black people to be stopped and searched compared to white people?
7 times
What recent legislation has given police the power to carry out more stops and searches?
The Terrorism Act of 2000 gave police the power to stop and search persons or vehicles whether or not they have reasonable suspicion
What do Philips and Bowling note about the attitudes of members of ethnic minority communities?
They believe that members of these communities are more likely to think that they are ‘over-policed and under-protected’ and have limited faith in the police
What are the three possible reasons for the disproportionate use of stop and search against members of minority ethnic groups?
Police racism, ethnic differences in offending and demographic factors
Give a statistic to demonstrate the over-representation of Black people in the prison system
Black people make up just 2.8% of the total population, but 11% of the prison population
Give an example of police racism
The Macpherson report on the police investigation of the racist murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence
What do Philips and Bowling note about police racism?
They point out that many officers hold negative stereotypes about ethnic minorities as criminals which leads to deliberate targeting for stop and search
What is the ‘canteen culture’?
Negative stereotypes endorsed and upheld by rank and file officers
What are the differences in the arrest rate between Black and white people?
Figures for England and Wales show that in 2006/7 the arrest rate for blacks was 3.6 times that of whites
What makes it more likely that minority ethnic groups will be charged?
They are more likely to deny the offence which means they cannot be let off with a caution so are charged instead
What do studies suggest about the Crown Prosecution Service?
That they are more likely to drop cases against ethnic minorities
Who is more likely to be found guilty by the Crown Prosecution Service?
White defendants
What did Roger Hoods study find about sentencing?
He found that Black men were 5% more likely to receive a custodial sentence, and were given sentences on average 3 months longer than white men
How many times more likely are black people to be in prison?
Five times more likely than white people
What are the two main explanations for ethnic differences in official statistics?
Left realism and Neo-Marxism
