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Criminology > Race, Crime and the Criminal Justice System > Flashcards

Race, Crime and the Criminal Justice System Flashcards

1
Q

What is the problem with ‘Race’?

A

Race has been discredited for having no biological basis, and has been deemed unhelpful and offensive, now use ‘ethnicity’ as more helpful and looser term

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2
Q

What historical context is behind the ethnic differences and discrimination in the UK?

A

1) problems with ideas of race and biology
2) Slavery and Colonialism - non-whites were considered lesser humans
3) high rates of immigration to the UK due to labour market shortages, and these migrants were highly discriminated against
4) structural disadvantages
5) social and cultural diversity
6) Terrorism and ‘New Suspect communities’

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3
Q

What is the general percentages of ethnicity in the UK from the 2011 Census?

A 
White - 86%
Asian British - 7.5%
Black British - 3.3%
Mixed - 2.2.%
Other - 1%
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4
Q

How much more likely are Black people and Asian people likely to be stop and searched?

A

Black 7x

Asian 2x

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5
Q

How much more likely are Black people likely to be arrested?

A

3 times

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6
Q

What is disproportionate about Black arrestees?

A

More likely to get charged, and less likely to be cautioned than white people

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7
Q

How represented are Asians in arrests?

A

Not overall overrepresented

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8
Q

Which ethnic group are the most overrepresented?

A

Black people across all of the CJS - and in all arrests across offence categories (including mixed race) - second to this is Asian people

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9
Q

What are the 3 possible explanations for disproportionate policing (briefly)?

A

1) Police discrimination
2) Demographic factors
3) Differential offending rates

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10
Q

Describe why police discrimination is an explanation for disproportionate policing?

A
  • Racist occupational culture
  • large amounts of discretion which can lead to more policing of suspect communities
  • Indirect discriminating by policing low SES areas more, which happen to be inhabited by ethnic minorities
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11
Q

What has been introduced to regulate discrimination in policing?

A

Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Enforcement Action 2010-11

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12
Q

Describe why demographic factors are an explanation for disproportionate policing?

A
  • Age: there is a large population of young ethnic minority males
  • Area of residence
  • ‘Available population’: available individuals about on the street such as unemployed
  • Social class: criminalising the lower classes not simply ethnic minorities
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13
Q

In the race-crime debate, what is David Smiths argument?

A
  • Crime stats are seen as reasonable and a representation of reality. They are key parts of available evidence
  • Stats show there is overrepresentation at all levels of the CJS, this isnt due to cumulative effect, but it is just evidence
  • The role of structural disadvantages is more important factor
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14
Q

What are the critiques of the race-crime debate by Bowling and Phillips? (7)

A

1) stats are social constructs, and shaped by discretion at every stage of the CJS
2) There is evidence of racial prejudice in policing
3) How can be rely on these stats and comparisons when there we do not know the ‘true’ level of crime
4) Ethnic categories are too broad and arbitrary therefore are meaningless
5) Too much focus on ethnic minorities being the ‘suspects’ not victims
6) Need to study the ‘lived experiences’ of ethnic minority groups
7) Official stats fail to capture what is really going on, and even worse is pseudo-science to support racist stereotypes (Gilroy)

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15
Q

What did Graham and Bowling’s self report study show?

A

Focused on young people and crime - Young black men reported similar levels of involvement in offending to white men, and less young Asian men were involved in crime - findings have been consistent with recent studies such as the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey 2003

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16
Q

What did the BCS 2003/4 find about the victimisation of ethnic minorities

A

little significant difference in overall crime risk, although mixed ethnicity showed slightly higher risks overall

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17
Q

What are the racial differences in the victimisation of violent crime?

A

Whites and Blacks 4%
Asians 3%
Mixed 7%

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18
Q

What are the racial differences in the victimisation of Household crimes?

A

Whites 17%
Blacks 18%
Mixed 21%
Asian 23%

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19
Q

What are the racial differences in the victimisation of murder?

A

Blacks are 5x more likely
Asians are 2x more likely
High levels of intra-ethnic murder

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20
Q

What fraction of victims of gun crime are black?

A

1/3

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21
Q

Who are significantly more likely to be a victim of racially motivated crime?

A

Black and Asian people!

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22
Q

How can victimisation be explained?

A

Socio-economic status, lifestyles, demographic factors, area of residence

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23
Q

How do right realists such as Murray and Hernstein explain disproportionate over-representation in the CJS?

A
  • Biological/Genetic implications
  • Subcultural theory of the ‘underclass’
  • More popular in the USA
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24
Q

How do radical analyses such as Gilroy and Hall explain disproportionate over-representation in the CJS? (5)

A
  • Moral panics and the scapegoating of folk devils
  • role of the police/politicians/media
  • The authoritarian state: more authoritarian policing
  • Marxist explanations: capitalism means we need to blame someone
  • Loic Wacquant race in the CJS is attributed to American capitalism
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25
Q

How do left realists such as Lea and Young explain disproportionate over-representation in the CJS?

A
  • Critical of conspiracy of left realists and their idealism, and focus on revolutions, for what can be done right now
  • Refutes right wingers
  • Emphasis on the reality of crime for working class people
  • Vicious circle of disadvantage-offending-labelling-disadvantage
  • propose reforms of police and crime justice system
  • Reducing social exclusion and wider racial inequality
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26
Q

What are the issues to bear in mind about race and the criminal justice system? (4)

A

1) Establishing discrimination
2) Controlling for ‘legally relevant’ variables
3) The role of socio-economic disadvantage e.g. social class
4) Ethnic minorities are over-represented in those social groups (e.g unemployed) and in those geographical areas (inner-cities) that have both elevated offending rates and are more likely to be caught and labelled by the CJS

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27
Q

What is cop culture and give the features of it?

A

“The way that police officers view their social world and their place in it” (Reiner, 2000)

  • Mission
  • Suspicion
  • Social Isolation
  • Conservatism
  • Group Solidarity
  • Machismo
  • Racial Prejudice
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28
Q

What urban conflicts have contributed to the problematic relationship between ethnic minorities and the police?

A

1970s - growing evidence of tensions between police and communities
1980s - Riots in London, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham
Early 2000s - Riots in Bradford, Oldham - tensions rising between the Asian community and the police
2011 - The English riots - black community and police tensions in Tottenham, then spread across the UK and became multi-ethnic

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29
Q

What are the problems with cop culture (as in defining/conceptualising)? (5)

A

1) Big difference between what is said and what is done in practice - Oral culture and concrete working practices - However Waddington to made this point is an ex-cop so considered bias and making excuses
2) Police culture is not homogeneous or universal - different depending on specialism, rank, geographic location, etc
3) Deterministic - Individual officers can resist and rework cop culture, they aren’t just ‘swallowed’ up by bad cop culture
4) Individual dispositions vs. Collective cultural phenomenon - does policing just attract a certain type of person or are does cop culture turn officers a certain way as a coping strategy?
5) Copculture is an outdated concept, defined over 30 years ago, it must have developed on since then!

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30
Q

What percentage of police are from ethnic minorities? Compared to the general population of ethnic minorities in the UK?
What about at senior levels?

A

5% compared to 7%

Senior levels: 3.7%

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31
Q

What was the target percentage for ethnic minorities recruited in the police force set by government? When by and has it been met?

A

7%
2009
NO

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32
Q

In which cities is there a huge disproportion between the ethnic minority community and the percentage of ethnic minorities police officers in that community? What percentage?

A
  • Greater Manchester, West Midlands, and West Yorkshire

- Ethnic minority officers make up less than a third of the local population

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33
Q

What was the percentage of ethnic minority officers in 1980?

A

0.7%

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34
Q

What percentage of ethnic minorities are PCSOs? And what about special constables?

A

10% PCSO

11% special constables

35
Q

What six bits of evidence has shown racist attitudes and language within the police force?

A

1) Academic studies
2) Inspection Reports
3) Industrial tribunal cases
4) Undercover journalists - the secret policeman 2003
5) Post McPherson research after Steven Lawerences murder
6) Lofus (2009) research showed underground racist views - less visible but still present - an enduring theme of cop culture

36
Q

Recruitment to the police force:
_% of applicants are BME
What is the rate of success for minority applicants? and what about white candidates?

A

4%

20% vs 25%

37
Q

Retention of BME within the police force:

How many white officers end up retiring compared to BME officers?

A

48% white officers vs. 9% BME

Higher rate of resignation, dismissal or forced to resign

38
Q

what does vertical segregation mean and what is the implications?

A 
'The glass ceiling' 
lower promotion rate 
less likely to apply
less likely to pass internal tests
Less likely to pass promotional boards
Takes longer to be promoted
39
Q

what does horizontal segregation mean and what is the implications?

A

Underrepresentation in elite squads e.g. CID

Overrepresentation in community relations role

40
Q

What issues do ethnic minorities face when working in the police force? (6)

A
  • Racism covered up as ‘banter’
  • Racial abuse from colleagues and the public
  • lack of support from mentors and the the discaplinary system
  • disproportionately investigated in internal misconduct investigations
  • restrictions on promotion/specialism
  • marginalisation/isolation
41
Q

What are the 4 main key decisions the magistrates have to make?

A
  • Bail or remand
  • Committal to the crown court or not
  • Verdicts - aquittal or convictions
  • sentencing decisions
42
Q

What evidence is there to show there is direct discrimination within the police force? And how valid are these claims?

A
  • Recruitment stage: however unlikely due to the pressure to employ more BME applicants, however does happen
  • Promotion stage: however difficult to prove
  • Other employment practices such as disciplinary practices
  • Employment tribunals: often does show direct discrimination
43
Q

What evidence is there to show there is indirect discrimination within the police force? Can be positive too

A
  • institutional discrimination e.g. height limit, helemets must be worn which conflicts with wearing a turban, etc
  • Dismissing/disciplining racist officers
  • Support for ethnic minority staff
  • Extra training
  • Equal opportunity policies
44
Q

What can be done in the police force to recruit more BME officers?

A
  • Targeted campaigns
  • Home Office Targets
  • Improving selection procedures
  • direct entry? radical idea of actively employing the BME over equal white counter-parts
45
Q

What can be done in police training to defeat problems of racism?

A

Community and race relations training - However, it is more complex than simply ‘training’ out

46
Q

What organisational practices can be introduced to combat racism in the work force? 2

A
  • Better stricter disciplinary codes

- More support networks/mentoring e.g. Black Police Association

47
Q

What wider context factors that surround policing can be changed to attract more BME applicants?

A
  • Police image among ethnic minorities needs to change

- Change patterns of policing e.g. stop and search, take hate crime seriously

48
Q

What are the five ways in which differential treatment can be seen at the level of prosecution?

A

1) The discontinuation rates are significantly higher for Black or Asian defendants possibly due to over arresting with a lack of substantial evidence
2) Objections to bail - higher remand rates for Black people
3) Plea bargaining - lower for black defendants - White defendants usually charged with a lesser charge (e.g. ABH than GBH) whereas black defendants more likely to give in and plead guilty
4) evidence of police bias at arrest/charge stage
5) Problems in local areas e.g. institutional racism in croyden

49
Q 
Representativeness in the CPS:
What percentage of CPS are from BME groups?
At senior level?
How representative is the CPS?
Judiciary staff level?
Senior level judges?
A 
15%
15%
More than most other levels 
4.2%
2.6%
50
Q

How can sentencing guidelines reduce discrimination?

A

Less discretion! and less opportunity for inconsistency!

51
Q

The first step of prosecution is to decide whether to bail or remand the defendant. Why is remand associated with a higher risk of conviction and custody?

A
  • Difficult to demonstrate employment
  • Personal appearance
  • Access to defence team, they have to work around visiting hours
52
Q

What is the bail/remand criteria? (4)

A
  • Seriousness of the crime
  • Obstruction of justice
  • Risk of not turning up for court
  • Risk to the public (are they going to reoffend)
53
Q

Black men are significantly more likely to be remanded in custody than similar white men. Why can we not conclude that there is direct discrimination going on here? (3)

A
  • Difficult to demonstrate/no clear proof of there being racial stereotyping
  • Based on legally relevant variables with the informal criteria based on social factors such as job, family, stability, etc
  • In practice the implementation of the equal legal criteria is not neutral and indirectly discriminates Black defendants (little consensus to how much, but generally low level indirect discrimination)
54
Q

The second step of prosecution is the ‘committal, conviction and sentencing decision’.
With committal to the crown court, who is more likely to go to crown court and whos decision?

A

Higher committal rates for BME offenders
Higher request by BME offenders for a jury trial
Magistrates decision

55
Q

The second step of prosecution is the ‘committal, conviction and sentencing decision’.
In the magistrates court, where can discrimination be seen in sentencing decisions?

A
  • Acquittal rates are higher for BME groups
  • Pre-sentence reports suggest evidence of racial stereotyping
  • Little bias was found in custody decisions and length of sentence
  • Some evidence of bias in non-custodial sentences as black defendants are more likely to get more restrictive community sentences
56
Q

The third step of prosecution is/can be the crown court.
What are the acquittal rates at crown court for Black, Asian and White defendants?
Who is more likely not to plea guilty?
What can be the sentence discount it take a plea bargain?

A

Higher acquittal rates for ethnic minorities (Barclay and Mhlaga, 2000)
Black 22%
Asian 26%
White 20%
Ethnic minorities (particularly black people) are less likely to plea guilty
Sentence discount can be 25-30% reduction

57
Q

What did Matravers and Tonry (2003) say about the differential outcome of sentencing?

A

They argue that racial bias is a major factor in differential sentencing

58
Q

What did Roberts (2015) say about the differential outcome of sentencing?

A

Discriminating and disproportionate treatment of ethnic minorities throughout the CPS and CJS leads to disproportionate and unequal sentencing

59
Q

Researching racial bias in sentencing:
What did Hood (1992) found on average that black and Asian defendants received longer sentences that similar white offenders. How? and how can this be explained?

A
  • Looked at detailed sentencing decisions
  • 70% explained by the nature of the crime
  • 23% explained by other factors (e.g. criminal history, social circumstance, etc)
  • Therefore 7% is unexplained which is therefore possibly direct discrimination!
60
Q

Researching racial bias in sentencing:

What did Flood-Page and Mackie (1998) find?

A

They found that, once all legally relevant variables are controlled for, there is little racial bias in sentencing

61
Q

Researching racial bias in sentencing:

What did the Ministry of Justice (2010) find?

A

Found SUGGESTIONS of bias - some unexplained ethnic differences in different offence categories and controlling for guilty plea discounts e.g. ABH, Class A drug possession, etc

62
Q

What ways can the CPS move forward and away from discriminating against ethnic minorities in terms of ….. sentencing policy responses??? (4)

A
  • Restricting judicial discretion e.g. guidelines, mandatory sentences, etc
  • Social Adversity mitigation (controversial as suggests they are less culpable than the white people)
  • Representative juries/sentencers
  • Reduced use of prison overall
63
Q

What ways can the CPS move forward and away from discriminating against ethnic minorities in terms of ….. Policies outside sentencing? (3)

A
  • Drug enforcement: medical issue vs. criminal issue?
  • Disparity audits for guilty plea discount, use of social factors
  • Tackle social exclusion and radical disadvanatge
64
Q

What ways can the CPS move forward and away from discriminating against ethnic minorities in terms of ….. Further research? (2)

A
  • Research the deliberation of juries which is currently illegal to research
  • Researching the sentencing process
65
Q

Which part of the CJS is the most representative?

A

CPS

66
Q

What are the responsibilities of the probation service? (4) and How has this changed over the recent decade?

A

1) provide pre-sentence reports once defendant is found guilty
2) Deliver punishment - probation is a sentence in itself
3) Responsible for managing offenders
4) Work with offenders in prison with issues that need addressing

Use to be a social work, care-based career, but now it is a punishment/management role

67
Q

How representative is Probation staffing? Overall and at a senior level?
Also the clients of probation, what percentage are BME offenders?

A
  • More representative than all other areas except the CPS
  • 14.1% overall
  • 8% senior level
  • BME offenders 14% - overrepresented!
68
Q

How has there been differential treatment within probation? (3)

A

1) Pre-sentence reports - Sociological studies have shown that in these reports for BME offenders there is the construction of the ‘other’ (Hudson and Bramhill, 2005)
2) Culturally insensitive/inappropriate offender programmes - Even HM inspectorate has said this! - e.g. lingustically, culturally, etc
3) ‘Colour-Blind’ vs anti-racist approaches - However it is found that BME offenders prefer colour-blind approaches as they wish to be treated the same as everyone else (Calvery et al, 2004)

69
Q

What has Martin Narey say about the treatment of BME offenders within the prison service?

A

The prison service is institutionally racist which reflects our institutionally racist white society. It is not a cop out or an excuse but we must face up to the fact that there is pockets of direct discrimination

70
Q

Prison population:
BME offenders: ?%
BME British nationals: ?%

Whats the difference with gender?
However, what is the problem with ‘BME’ categorisation?
Also what has happened to prisoners identifying as muslim?

A

26%
20%

  • Very similar, although Very low levels of Asian women
  • Too broad and arbitrary, for example there is an over-representation of black offenders, but very low numbers of Chinese offenders
  • doubled from 1990s to 2008
71
Q

Representativeness of prison staff:
Overall staff:
Prison officers:
Governor grade staff:

A

6%
6%
4%

72
Q

In what ways do ethnic minorities within prison experience discrimination/differential treatment? (9)

A

1) Racial violence and harassment - Huge problem of inmate racism and violence e.g. murder in Felton Prison by neo-nazi
2) Prison Officers attitudes -Leeds prison staff were investigated
3) Initial assessments and security categorisation - BME are generally considered more risky and put in more serious wings
4) Dispersal decisions - put in prisons further away from home
5) Prisoner status: incentives and Earned Privileged Scheme - Black offenders tend to get less incentives
6) Disciplinary procedures and formal adjudications - more likely to have sentence extended and less likely to get early release
7) Job allocations/opportunities - get shitter jobs
8) Prison services - better new food dietary issues are met
9) Prisoner perceptions - feel like they are treated differently

73
Q

What is the ‘direct discrimination’ explanation for differential treatment within the prison service? (3)

A
  • Violence and abuse by staff and inmates
  • High amounts of discretion allows for discrimination e.g. job allocations, etc
  • Prisoner perceptions, they feel they are being directly discriminated against
74
Q

What has been put in place to combat ‘indirect discrimination’ of BME offenders within the prison service? (3)

A
  • Staff discipline and training has tried to tackle discrimination in discretion
  • improved services for prisoners e.g. mosque
  • Informal criteria shaping discretionary decisions - based on risk, IEP level, etc
75
Q

What did the commission of racial equality (2003), following the felton prison murder, find concerning BME inmates in prisons?

A

There were pockets of unlawful direct and indirect discrimination at HMP parc, HMP Brixton and Feltham YOI

76
Q

What prison did they find an offensive and racist report from one of the officers?

A

Wandsworth prison

77
Q

What did the Judicial enquiry (2006), following the felton prison murder, find concerning BME inmates in prisons?

A

Found unlawful institutional racism and racial and religious intolerance

78
Q

What can done within the prison service ‘staffing’ to reduce racial discrimination? (4)

A
  • Recruitment, retention and promotion
  • improve training
  • tighten up internal staff discipline
  • Limiting discretion by imposing strict guidelines
79
Q

What changes can be implemented to change ‘internal decision-making’ to reduce racial discrimination within the prison service? (2)

A
  • Intense way of reviewing decisions to make the process highly visible and transparent
  • Crack down on violent offenders and who BME offenders may be housed with
80
Q

What external pressures to the prison service are there affecting the treatment of BME offenders? (3)

A

1) Race relations (amendment) Act 2000
2) CRE formal investigations
3) Austerity and huge cuts

81
Q

What is the either-or debate in BME and the CJS?

A
  • Higher offending rates vs. cumulative racism throughout the system
  • Dualistic argument is over-simplified and inaccurate
82
Q

What are some of the complex sequences of interactions that arise out of the CJS which may result in BME offenders being treated differently?

A
  • Structural racial inequalities
  • Socio-economic disadvantage
  • Involvement in crime and disorder
  • Police over-policing/targeting
  • Sentencing disparities
  • prison experiences
  • resettlement and the revolving door
83
Q

What is meant by the CJS having an ‘amplification effect’ on wider racial inequality?

A

The CJS is not the cause of racial inequality but it is at work at every step, therefore it amplifies the inequalities in society

Criminology (12 decks)

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