Ethnicity Patterns of Crime Flashcards
What are the three main sources of statistics on ethnicity and crime?
Official statistics
Victim surveys
Self-report studies
How do stop and search rates for black and asian people compare to those for white people?
Black people - 7x more likely to be stopped and searched
Asian people - 3x more likely
True or false: the Crown Prosecution Service is less likely to drop a case against ethnic minorities than white people
False - this is true. More cases involving EMs have weaker evidence than white cases
How much more likely is a black person to be arrested compared to a white person?
3.5 times more likely
What are the 3 explanations of ethnic minority crime?
There are ethnic differences in offending
Ethnic differences are socially constructed
More recent approaches (e.g. connecting EM crime to class issues)
What is the left realist argument for why there are REAL differences in offending?
The causes of crime (relative deprivation, subcultures, and marginalisation) affect EMs more than white people, leading them to commit more crime
How can we evaluate the left realist argument?
Ethnic minorities make up a high proportion of the people likely to be stopped and searched regardless of ethnicity (e.g. they are young, unemployed, and live in urban areas) so ethnicity may not be the defining factor
What is Gilroy’s argument for why ethnic differences in crime are SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED?
EMs originate in former British colonies where they used riots and demonstrations to resist oppression, but those actions have been made illegal/criminalised by British society
What is a social construction?
An idea that is created by humans and varies between different societies
How can we evaluate Gilroy’s argument?
First generation immigrants to the UK were generally law-abiding so it is unlikely that they continued/passed on anti-colonial struggles
What is Hall et al’s argument for why ethnic differences in crime are SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED?
In the 1970s, black muggers were the folk devil in a moral panic about mugging, used to distract the public from the cause of unemployment (Capitalisn)
How can we evaluate Hall et al’s argument?
Left realists would argue that these concerns are legitimate and realistic, EM crime is rising
What is Fitzgerald’s explanation of ethnic differences in crime rates, which instead based them on class/neighbourhood?
Crime rates are highest in very poor areas, and where deprived young people come into contact with other groups. Young blacks were more likely to live in these areas and be poor
How can we evaluate Fitzgerald’s argument?
SUPPORT: white people living in these areas were also more likely to commit crime, suggesting ethnicity was not a cause
