ethnicity relationship with offending Flashcards
pre-key areas
1 - statistical analysis into patterns of offending according too ethnicity
- impact of the criminal justice system on ethnicity and offending 1 - statistical analysis into patterns of offending according too ethnicity
- impact of the criminal justice system on ethnicity and offending
statistical analysis into patterns of offending according too ethnicity
black ppl were stopped and searched over x4 more than white ppl across London in 2017/18
asian ppl were searched x2 more than white ppl
Chinese or other backgrounds were searched at a much lower rate
Afro Caribbean
1. x2 more likely to be cautioned by the police
- x3.5 more likely to be arrested; if arrested - more likely to be charged and arrested
- x5 more likely to be in prison
Asian
- x2 as likely to be stopped and searched
- more likely to be charged and face court proceeding than to receive caution
- more likely to receive a custodial sentence is found guilty and for a longer term
- of the 80,000 in prison approx 74% are white, 15% Afro Carib., 7% asian
- of the 7,000 women in prison 70% are white, 21% Afro Carib, 5% mixed etc
- the ethnic minority prison population has doubled in the last decade
stat from men and crime : by age 40 32% of men have a criminal conviction
Impact of the Criminal Justice system on ethnicity and Offending
canteen culture - Reiner
- police have developed a culture in response to the pressure and danger of their jobs - canteen culture
- this culture is characterised by cynicism and suspicion
- Smith and Grey - this lead them to stop and search Afro-Caribb youth more than whites
Lord Scarman - after inquiring into inner-city riots argued the police are a reflection of society - thus, they may gain some racist recruits
McPherson Inquiry (after the murder of Stephen Lawrence) looking into the murder by the police
it found that the police force was characterised by racism (e.g making racist assumptions)
Waddington - the police stop a proportionately higher number of blacks compare to whites
however, there are more ethnic min youths out at night in inner cities - thus they are more likely to be stopped as there is more of them
Sharp and Budd - black offenders were most likely to have contact with the criminal justice system in their lifetime and were likely to be arrested (despite low levels of offending compared to white people)
black and asian offenders are more likely to be charged rather than cautioned in comparison with white people
key areas
- left realism
- poverty, social Exclusion and the Search for an identity
- Triple Quandary theory
- Policing Crisis
- The Myth of Black criminality
- Cultures and resistance
- exclusion and alternative economie
- statistical artifice approach
left realism
lea and young - there are racists practices by the police yet official stats do signal higher crime rates for street robberies and other ‘personal crimes’ by Afro Caribb. youths
institutional racism in the police = unjust criminalisation of some ethnic min groups. Yet, discrimination doesn’t explain difference in stats as 90% of all known crimes are reported - although police may be discriminatory, it is unlikely this can account for all ethnic differences in stats
Br. society is racists - thus, young, working class, ethnic min Male are like to experience economic exclusion and marginalisation + blocked opps.
these groups are more likely to suffer from relative deprivation, and with an increase in individualism they will –> join delinquent subculture groups
as these groups are marginalised –> no organisational representation –> build up of non-unitarian crime e.g rioting
left realism eval
Lea and Young - criticised by Interactionism for views about police racism - higher rates of Asian crime may be lower than blacks, NOT because they are less likely to offend by because of a result of police stereotypes and labelling of the two groups differently (e.g effects of 9/11 in increasing stereotypes)
Back - media more likely to say rioting rather than uprising as that would suggest a legitimate grievance
poverty, social Exclusion and the Search for an identity
Bowling and Phillips - higher robbery by black people –> linked to poverty/social exclusion –> more likely to be suffered from in black communities
crime can offer status + a sense of powerful black identity which would otherwise would be blocked
poverty and social exclusion also affect Asian ppl (esp. Pakistani), lower crime rates may be explained due to cultural differences e.g clearer identity and stronger controls within communities
Triple Quandary theory
Sewell’s 3 key ‘risk factors’ responsible for high crime rates amongst African Caribb. boys
- Racism - they believe they cannot achieve mainstream goals as they think people (teachers, police) are racist who disadvantage them
- Media - these people are influenced by the media’s attention of status achieved through consumption. Thus, designer goods have a higher value and are synonymous with a high status
- Family - Afro Caribb boys are often brought up in a single parent family - absent father lead to a search for gender role socialisation on the streets and also a role model –> leading to anti-social behaviour
these 3 quandaries create anxiety for boys - resolved by constructing subcultures or gangs –> gain status through violence
society should take responsibility for racism and should take blame for exaggerating material needs through the media
Triple Quandary theory eval
- However, Sewell can also be criticised for implying black people need to take more responsibility for their own actions
Capitalism in Crisis
Stuart Hall - Neo Marxist
- study of ‘mugging’ focused on street crime and relates to a Neo-marxists approach
official crime stats showing high rates of criminality are socially constructed by repressive, racist states for ideological reasons
1970s was a period of economic unrest etc - threatening hegemonic ruling capitalist class dominance which causes states to use coercive force
this needs an effective scapegoat e.g idea of ‘mugger’ in which there was not an actual increase in mugging –> this was used to create a ‘moral panic’ (focusing on specifically ‘black’ crime)
crucial ideological functions for capitalist ruling class:
- divided the working class by encouraging racist attitudes as the media encouraged white people to view black people as the problem –> distracting the working class from the real cause of oppression –> false class consciousness - divided
- the media reporting of the moral panic lead to justification of more aggressive forms of policing and increased stop and search powers which could be used against other
capitalism in crisis eval
Halls research failed to look into the motivations and thinking of young African Caribbean males - all based on presumptions
Hall indicated that Black street crime was not rising - however, it was rising due to unemployment - Downes and Rock note that this is an inconsistent argument - under thatcher it reached 3 mill
myth of black criminality
Gilroy
The idea black criminality is a myth created by racist stereotypes of African Caribbs and Asians (in reality they are no more criminal than any other group) - the CJS creates racist stereotypes - role of the CJS being racist –> more ethnic mins in stats –> crime is motivated in a political sense by ethnic min unequal position in society
Black street crime is a conscious decision and is a deliberate reaction and resistance to the anger of young black Britons at the way white society has historically treated black people
myth of black criminality eval
Gilroy’s argument lacks any empirical evidence to support the view that young African Caribb males crime is politically motivated
1950s/1960s first generation immigrants were very law-abiding which therefore argues against the tradition that anti-racist or anti-colonial struggle has been passed down to their children
Asian crime is very similar or lower than whites, therefore if Gilroy was correct then the police are only racist to blacks and not Asians
cultures of resistance
Scraton and Gordon - Marxists
- media and political debates all see the issue of ‘race’ as being a problem
- min ethnic groups have been facing discrimination since migrating - left them significantly worse (economically and socially)
in response to this, ‘culture of resistance’ have emerged, where crime is a form of organised resistance that has its origins in anti-colonial struggle - When young ethnic min groups commit crimes, they are doing so as a political act rather than a criminal act
cultures of resistance eval
Lea + Young argues that the majority of crimes have been ‘intra-racial’- Therefore, this cannot be reflective of a political struggle
Scraton + Gordon ‘romanticise’ crime and criminals and ignore the real harm crime does to the victim
