Gender, Ethnicity and crime

Question 1

Which sociologists argue that the police are racist?

AO1/2

Answer 1

• Hall: during the ‘winter of discontent’ in the 1980s (grave diggers and refuse workers went on strike, economic recession, and The Troubles) there was a crisis of hegemony. The media amplified existing deviancy and created a moral panic - ‘the myth of the black mugger’. This made the police target more black people thus causing them to be overepresented in crime statistics
• Becker: the police are institutionally racist moral entrepeneurs - they actively choose to target specific groups and label them as deviant
• Cicourel: police use typifications to find ‘typical’ delinquents - young, WC, ethnic minority, boys

Question 2

How can we analyse the police being racist?

AO3

Answer 2

• In 2019 12.3% of the prison population was black despite being only 3.4% of the population

Question 3

What is Gilroy’s view?

AO1/2

Answer 3

• Most Black and Asians in the UK originate from former British colonies, where anti-colonial struggles taught them how to resist oppression, e.g. through riots and demonstrations
• Ethnic minorities have been historically mistreated in the UK e.g. ‘no dogs, no blacks, no Irish
• Their crime is a response to racist society e.g. 2011 London Riots

Question 4

How can we analyse Gilroy?

AO3

Answer 4

BLM Riots: response to institutionsl police racism - tearing down Edward Colston statue in Bristol to express anger at racist white society

Question 5

What sociologists say the way the CJS handles matters is racist?

AO1/2

Answer 5

• Philips and Bowing: black men are 5-8x more likely to be stopped and searched than white men. They were also more likely to be arrested. This is because of overpolicing in inner city areas
• Reiner: ‘canteen culture’ - the police fosters ideas of racism, cynicism, suspicion and contempt for the public

Question 6

What is an example of the CJS handling matters in a racist way?

AO2

Answer 6

1993 Stephen Lawrence murder:
- Police tried to treat it as a gang fight rather than an unprovoked racist attack
- Dwayne Brodes, friend of Stephen, was treated as a suspect rather than a witness
- It took until 2012 for just 2 of the 5 murderers to be arrested
- 1999 MacPherson Inquiry: coined the idea that the policee were instituionally racist

Question 7

How can we analyse the CJS being institutionally racist?

AO3

Answer 7

• 2022 Baroness Casey Report: there is still institutional racism in the police force
• Graham and Bowling conducted self-report studies on their own dishonest and violent behaviour and found that out of the sample of 2,500 people blacks (43%) and whites (44%) had similar levels of crime - suggests black people are just more likely to get caught
• Asian people are 3 times more likely to be stopped and searched due to the Terrorism Act of 2000 which gave police the right to do so
• Black men are 7 times more likely to be stopped and searched

Question 8

How can we evaluate the CJS being institutionally racist?

AO3

Answer 8

• Waddington et al: conducted a content analysis of CCTV footage and interviews with police and found that stop and search was NOT racially biased. Ethnic minorities are more likely to be stopped and searched as they live in inner city areas which have more crime and police presence. They also tend to be younger and younger people are more likely to be stopped and searched
• Fitzgerald and Hough: in their 2001 Policing for London Survey found that disatisfaction with the police was highest among young people, black suspects, and those in poor areas
• Current society is not experiencing a crisis of hegemony in the way Hall’s was when he was writing. However, there is now a new crisis: inflation >10%, teachers and doctors are on strike, and migrants on small boats are being used as scapegoats
• Gilroy is imposing his own interpretations of the meaning of black crime

Question 9

What is Lea and Young’s view?

AO1/2

Answer 9

• While there may be institutional police racism, it is too minimal to account for the statistical differences in crime across ethnicity
• EMs commit more crime as they’re more likely to experience relative deprivation, marginalisation, and join criminal subcultures
• Given our ‘bulimic society’ EMs have more pressure to consume now than ever
• But they are less likely to be able to consume, this increasing feelings of relative deprivation and so causing them to turn to crime
• Also the media EMs tend to consume e.g. rap, grime, drill promotes wealth drug taking and violence which increases criminality

Question 10

What is Sewell’s theory?

AO1

Answer 10

Triple Quandry:
1. Black boys feel rejected by white society e.g. teachers and police directly targetting them. E.g. 4x more likely to be excluded and 7x more likely to be stopped and searched
2. Black boys peers feel the same way. This leads them to form criminal subcultures with their own criminal norms and values which reinforce their views on white society
3. Black boys also use the media as a source of role models. The media promotes an ‘MTV culture’ of a ‘bling lifestyle’ based upon money, misogyny, and drugs. They turn to crime to achieve this lifestyle

Question 11

What are the risk factors for black male crime according to Sewell?

AO2

Answer 11

1. Mainstream culture working against their image
2. The influence of media promoting criminal lifestyles and/or unattainable lifestyles
3. Family structure: 60% of them live with one parent, usually the mother. This means they lack male role models, are more likely to experience poverty, and are easier targets for gang leaders

Question 12

How can we analyse Sewell?

AO3

Answer 12

In 2020 only 40% of black boys got a grade 5 and above in English and Maths when the average was 49.9%

Question 13

What was Sewell’s solution?

AO2

Answer 13

Generating Genius programme:
- Started in 2006 and is still ongoing
- 25 black boys from failing schools were selected to spend 3 weeks working with scientists at top universities
- They got great GCSE resultss and 3 went on to Oxbridge

Question 14

How can we evaluate Sewell?

AO3

Answer 14

• Very small sample of only 25 boys - can’t conclude that this is the issue/solution for all black boys as findings are unrepresentative and ungeneralisable
• White working class underachievement is currently worse that black WC so his explanations for black WC can’t be that valid as these boys also experience relative deprivation and many come from broken homes but aren’t overrepresented in crime statistics in the same way as black people are
• Ignores black girls
• Deterministic - consuming media doesn’t mean you’ll take on its values

Question 15

What is Nightingale’s theory and how does it link to Merton?

AO1/2/3

Answer 15

Paradox of Inclusion:
- Today’s society has a huge focus on consumerism and people want to keep up with the latest trends
- People are judged for not keeping up
- To avoid judgement black boys innovate illegitimate opportunities to be able to consume and so be accepted by white society
- Paradox = makes them more likely to be arrested thus leaving them more excluded

Link to Merton: these black boys fall under the group - innovators who use illegitimate means to achieve society’s goals

Question 16

What about Asian crime?

AO1/2

Answer 16

• Crime has risen for Asian people due to the declining importance of religion in young Asian boys
• Asian boys want to assimilate into White British culture which is secular - they now feel less religious pressure to obey the law
• Hirschi: They now lack the control of belief leading to more crime
• Desai: Young Asian men were taking a more aggressive stance to defend their community from outside threats. Some were cultivating a ‘Bengali Bad Boy Image’

Question 17

How can we analyse Asian crime?

AO3

Answer 17

Rotherham child grooming gangs: majority Asian group that resulted in 90 convictions between 2010-2017

Question 18

How can we evaluate ethnic minorities commiting more crime?

i.e scholars that say the CJS is NOT institutionally racist

AO3

Answer 18

• Alexander: The ‘growing problem’ of Asian gangs is a myth
• Explains black on black crime - which is the majority of black crime - if the CJS were racist black on white crime would be what’s overrepresented in stats
• Ignores biases in the CJS e.g. canteen culture (Reiner)

Question 19

What are the general stats on gender and crime we can use as analysis?

AO3

Answer 19

• 80% of crime is committed by men
• 96% of the prison population is men
• Hood: a third of women are less likely to be sent to prison than men for similar crime

Question 20

What is Pollack’s theory and his evidence?

AO1/2

Answer 20

• Chivalry Thesis: A male dominated CJS means women are treated more leniently than men
• Home Office: women are half as likely to be sentenced to immediate imprisonment for the first offence
• Carlen: This is because a woman’s role as a mother is more likely to be taken into account in sentencing than a father’s
• Speed and Burrows: men are twice as likely to receive a custodial sentencing for shoplifting

Question 21

How can we evaluate Pollock?

AO3

Answer 21

• Farrington and Morris: when mitigating circumstances are taken into account e.g. weapons, remorse, violence sentencing are equal between genders
• Klein: Chivalry thesis is classist and racist - only applies to MC white women

Question 22

What are the biological explanations for gender differences in crime?

AO1

Answer 22

• Lombroso: in the 19th Century he suggested that women deviants were ‘evolutionary throwbacks’ - had literally devolved
• Scott: PMS has been used as a defence in court cases
• Pollack: Women are more adept at hiding crimes - they are biologically predisposed to deceiving men e.g. faking orgasms

Question 23

What is the psychological explanation for gender differences in crime and how do they relate to the new right?

AO1/2

Answer 23

Eysenck:
- Unmarried mothers are more likely to be deviant than married mothers
- Such ‘extroverts’ were more likely to be promiscuous and deviant - prostitution
- However ‘introverts’ are more associated with serial killers

New Right: Nuclear family is the only functional family type - living in a broken home leads to crime

Question 24

What is the functionalist explanation for gender differences in crime?

AO1

Answer 24

Parsons:
- Women = expressive role, men = instrumental role
- Therefore men are more likely to be away from home
- Thus boys develop status anxiety from their fathers being away and overcompensate by acting more aggressively and performing their masculinity

Sutherland:
- Girls are socialised to be more passive and obedient
- Boys are socialised to be aggressive risk-takers which is channelled into delinquency

Question 25

How can we analyse and evaluaete the functionalist explanation for class differences in crime?

AO3

Answer 25

ANALYSIS:
- Especially relevant to black boys - not because parents are working but because 60% have absent fathers
- Not relevant today - laws like Equality Act 2010 promote females working - 72% of women now work
- Many parents now practice gender neutral socialisation

EVAL:
- Determinsitic - children can resist socialisation
- Outdated - Chester: dual earning neo-conventional families are now the norm

Question 26

What is Heidensohn’s theory?

AO1/2

Answer 26

Control Theory: male dominated patriarchal societies control women more effectively than men thus making it more difficult for them to commit crime.
Women are controlled in 3 ways:
1. The home: have more household commitments e.g. childcare, cooking, cleaning. Duncombe and Marsden: triple shift
2. In public: girls are less likely to be out at night or travel alone. Media also perpetuates double standards that make public scrutiny an added reason for women not to commit crime
3. At work: glass cieling restricts access to white collar crime, harrassment keeps women in fear

Question 27

What sociologists support Heidensohn theory?

AO2/AO3

Answer 27

• Smart: girls face stricter socialisation e.g. what they wear, earlier curfews
• Lees: girls are more likely to be labelled as ‘slags’ if they deviate from certain gender norms
• McRobbie: Bedroom culture - girls are socialised into being in their rooms more whereas boys have more freedom especially to leave the house

Question 28

How can we analyse control theory?

AO3

Answer 28

Even if women are controlled in the home this doesn’t make crime inaccessible. Many girls are becoming ‘bedroom radicals’ due to bedroom culture e.g. Aqsa Mahamood

Question 29

What is Carlen’s theory for women in poverty committing crime?

AO1/AO3 for Heidensohn

Answer 29

• Heidensohn is partly correct - women are the ‘guardians of domestic morality’ - responsible for the behaviour of everyone in the home
• But WC women are more likely to commit crime as their controls are weaker - the pros of commiting crime outweigh the cons
• The class deal is broken for them as they are unable to afford goods/services - leads to theft
• The gender deal is broken too - not receiving love and affection from husband for their domestic work - leads to crimes like drug abuse

Question 30

How can we analyse Carlen?

AO3

Answer 30

We are currently experiencing an increase in female crime at the same time we are experiencing an increase in female poverty

Question 31

How can we evaluate Carlen?

AO3

Answer 31

Only had 39 PPs - all of whom either had histories with drug abuse or were victims of domestic violence - skews results towards these conclusions

Question 32

What is Adler’s theory?

AO1

Answer 32

Liberation Thesis:
- Women are now ‘playing catchup’ with men and are now more likely to commit crime
- Women have been liberated by laws like the Equality Act 2010, 1970 Sex Discrimination Act which have given them more opportunities to be in criminal positions e.g. more likely to be out late at night, white collar crime is now accessible

Question 33

How do Heidensohn and Silvestri add too Adler?

AO2

Answer 33

Liberation thesis is evidenced by the widespread media portrayal of the ‘ladette’ - female binge-drinkers, drug-takers who go out late at night and fight

Question 34

How can we analyse liberation thesis?

AO3

Answer 34

• Geordie Shore depicts British ladettes
• More current examples include Baddies

Question 35

How can we evaluate liberation thesis?

AO3

Answer 35

• Sharpe: female crime is seen as a growing problem by the CJS - we are starting to see more female prosecutions - women have already caught up
• Heidensohn and Silvestri: male and female ratios of crime are broadly the same - men still commit more crime
• Young: only 5% of gang members are female

Question 36

Why does Messerschmidt believe men commit more crime?

AO1

Answer 36

• Hegemoic masculinity = dominant form that males strive for - based on misogyny, heterosexuality, working, sexual desire
  3 Types of men find this hard to obtain:
• White MC boys have had to be subordinate to teachers throughout their education - no chance to show off their masculinity. Overcompensate outside of education by bingedrinking, drug taking, vandalism, etc
• White WC boys have less chancesof educational success and so perform masculinity inside and outside of school - based on misogyny and aggression
• Black lower WC boys feel rejected by society due to lower opportunities for them in school and the workplace - perform masculinity by joining gangs and subcultures

Question 37

What are some statistics on class and crime?

AO3

Answer 37

• Houchin found that there was a strong relationship between living in the most deprived wards of Scotland and being in prison. The imprisonment rate of the 27 most deprived wards was around quadruple of what it was in Scotland as a whole
• Reiner: 74% of the prison population are drawn from the poorest 20% of the population
• Prison Reform Working Group (PRWG) found 67% of prisoners were unemployed prior to imprisonment compared to 5% in the whole of the population being unemployed, 32% were homeless (compared to 0.9% of the whole population) and 27% had been raised in care (compared to 2% of the whole population)

Question 38

What was Hobbs study?

AO2

Answer 38

• Interviewed successful career criminals
• Found that a career in crime was possible if individuals are given the right opportunities

Question 39

What case study is an example of Snider’s ideas?

Answer 39

P&O Ferries 2022:
- Fired 786 British crew members over zoom
- This was so they could replace them with agency staff who could be paid maritime wages of as low as £1.80 an hour
- Law requires companies to inform the gov if they will fire over 100 staff
- The firm have admitted to breaking the law but still have faced no consequences