Ethnicity, Crime and Justice

Question 1

How much more likely are black people to be stopped and searched than whites?

Answer 1

7 Times.

Question 2

Identify two problems in using self-report studies to study ethnic differences in offending.

Answer 2

Black males are less likely than other ethnic groups to report offences already known to the
police; self‐report studies do not usually ask about more serious offences; self‐report studies do
not include prisoners, among whom blacks are over‐represented. All these factors affect the
representativeness of the results.

Question 3

How do lea and Young account for (a) Utilitarian and (b) Non-Utilitarian crime among blacks?

Answer 3

(a) Utilitarian crime is produced in delinquent subcultures suffering from relative deprivation; (b)
non‐utilitarian crime is produced by frustration due to marginalisation.

Question 4

In what way does Gilroy see ethnic minority crime as political?

Answer 4

It is a form of political resistance to a racist capitalist society.

Question 5

Suggest two criticisms of Gilroy’s views.

Answer 5

First‐generation immigrants tended to be law‐abiding; most crime is intra‐ethnic (within the
same ethnic group); the level of Asian crime is lower than or similar to that of whites.

Question 6

According to Hel et al, how did the moral panic over mugging help capitalism?

Answer 6

At a time of crisis in capitalism, the focus on mugging served to distract attention, to divide the
working class on racial grounds and to provide the opportunity to impose stricter laws.

Question 7

What is meant by the term ‘ Institutional racism’?

Answer 7

Discrimination on racial grounds that is built into the pervading values of an organisation such as
the police, businesses or housing authorities.

Question 8

Identify two social characteristics of ethnic minority groups that make them more likely to be victims.

Answer 8

Higher rates of poverty and unemployment; higher proportion of young males.