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
How do left realists explain ethnic differences in the statistics?
They argue that the statistics represent real differences in rates of offending
How do Neo-Marxists explain ethnic differences in the statistics?
They argue that the statistics are a social construct resulting from racist labelling and discrimination in the criminal justice system
What do left realists such as Lea and Young argue?
They argue that ethnic differences in the statistics reflect real differences in levels of offending by different ethnic groups
What do left realists see crime as a result of?
Relative deprivation, subculture and marginalisation
How do ethnic minorities respond to feelings of relative deprivation and marginalisation, and what does this lead to?
They form delinquent subcultures which produce higher levels of utilitarian crime, such as theft and robbery
What do Neo-Marxists such as Gilroy argue about black criminality?
He argues that the idea of black criminality is a myth created by racist stereotypes of African Carribeans and Asians
According to Gilroy, what can ethnic minority crime be seen as?
A form of political resistance against a racist society
How do Lea and Young criticise Gilroy?
Most crime is intra-ethnic so it can’t be seen as an anti-colonial struggle against racism and Asian crime rates are similar to or lower than whites
What do Neo-Marxists such as Stuart Hall et al argue?
They argue that the 1970’s saw a moral panic over black muggers that served the interests of capitalism
According to Hall, what came to be associated with black youths by the media, police and politicians?
Mugging
What did the myth of the black mugger serve as, and what did it symbolise?
A scapegoat to distract attention from the true cause of problems such as unemployment, and it began to symbolise the disintegration of the social order
How do Downes and Rock criticise Hall et al?
They argue that they are inconsistent in claiming that black street crime was not rising, but also that it was rising because of unemployment
When does racist victimisation occur?
When an individual is selected as a target because of their race, ethnicity or religion
Information on racist victimisation comes from two main sources - what are they?
The crime survey and police-recorded statistics
How many racist incidents were recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2006/7?
61,000
Who has the highest risk of being a victim of crime?
People from mixed ethnic backgrounds
What sort of factors are strongly linked with victimisation?
Being young, male and unemployed
What is the problem with using statistics to investigate victimisation?
They do not necessarily capture the victims experiences of the crime
