ethnicity, crime and justice T9

Question 1

explaining ethnic differences in offending

Answer 1

• neo-marxists
• left realists

Question 2

explaining stop & search patterns

Answer 2

• police racism
• ethnic differences in offending
• demographic factors

Question 3

statistics on ethnic differences in crime

Answer 3

• BCS - black people 7x more & Asians 2x more likely to be stop & searched than whites
• Black people more likely than any other ethnic group to be involved n a taser incident - 18/10,000 compared to 6/10,000 for whites

Question 4

Philips & Bowling - stop & search

Answer 4

since 1970s may allegations f oppressive policing of minority communities - armed raids, violence, mass stop and search operations

Question 5

Macpherson Report 1999

Answer 5

found clear evidence of institutional racism in met police

Question 6

Philips & Bowling - police racism

Answer 6

police stereotype ethnic minorities = deliberate targeting

Question 7

ethnic differences in offending - explaining stop & search

Answer 7

higher rates of stop & search reflect rates of offending

Question 8

demographic factors - explaining stop & search

Answer 8

some ethnic minority groups more likely to be part of a demographic that gets stop and searched regularly e.g. young, unemployed, living in inner city areas

Question 9

canteen culture

Answer 9

Reiner - police develop distinct work values as a result of their job
‘thirst for action, suspicion, cynicism, macho values, racism’ - core characteristics of policing

Question 10

Neo-marxist response to OCS

Answer 10

reject - see as a social construction

Question 11

Gilroy (NM)

Answer 11

black criminality is a myth created by racist stereotypes - powerless groups overrepresented due to police bias
should be explained in terms of casual processes - political resistance to racist society

Question 12

criticism of Gilroy

Answer 12

Lea & Young - most crime intra-ethnic (victims & criminals have same ethnic background) = not an anti-colonial struggle against racism

Question 13

Hall et al (NM)

Answer 13

attempted to explain ‘black mugging’ (and Toxteth riots) moral panic in terms of causes and social construction factors

Question 14

Hall’s wider causes

Answer 14

marginalising effects of long term unemployment

Question 15

Hall’s immediate causes

Answer 15

police racism e.g. Mark Duggan

Question 16

Hall’s social construction factors

Answer 16

moral panic of ‘black mugging’ drew attention away from crisis of capitalism. divided w/c on racial grounds
stereotypes, selective law enforcement, canteen culture

Question 17

Fitzgerald - recent approach (NM)

Answer 17

statistical link between high crime levels and lone parent families (more common amongst African-Carribeans)
subculture developed that provided justification for crime (linked to school failure & alienation)
however - whites affected by same conditions likely to committ street crimes = ethnicity not a factor

Question 18

empirical evaluation of Neo-marxism

Answer 18

BCS shows black males 7 =x more likely to be stop and searched by white

Question 19

black feminist evaluation of Neo-marxism

Answer 19

Player - black women are treated more harshly by courts than white women
fail to consider issues surrounding black women

Question 20

left realist explanations for ethnic differences in offending

Answer 20

Young
- marginalisation
- relative deprivation
- subcultures

Question 21

positive evaluation of left realism

Answer 21

Jones et al’s local Islington crime survey found levels of victimisation & fear of crime high, especially amongst Asians

Question 22

Murray’s evaluation of left realism

Answer 22

• growth of underclass key cause of crime
• young black males turn to crime for status

Question 23

OCS extent of victimisation

Answer 23

• 54,000 racist incidents occur each year
• 42,600 racially or religiously aggravated offences

Question 24

reasons for racial incidents

Answer 24

• racism & discrimination
• relative deprivation downwards

Question 25

effects of victimisation

Answer 25

• psychological
• fear
• lack of faith