Sociological Explanations of Ethnic Differences in Crime Flashcards
Which sociologists are behind the LR ideas of ethnicity and crime
Lea and Young
What do LR Lea and Young say about ethnicity and crime
Ethnic minorities are committing more crime
Racism increase the chance of ethnic minorities experiencing unemployment
Marginalisation: (lack of organisations representing interests)
Relative Deprivation: Ethnic minorities more likely to be in poverty (economic exclusion)
Encouraged to consume due to media in late modern society (cultural inclusion)
What is the response to Marginalisation or Relative Deprivation according to LR
Deviant subcultures:
Causes utilitarian crime to cope with deprivation
Non-utilitarian crime out of frustration from lack of support
What other thing do LR acknowledge about ethnicity and crime
That the police act in racist ways and need reform
What do LR say that the police being racist cannot explain
That 90% of crime reported by the public
Unlikely police to be selectively racist against Black people but not Asian people (as seen in stats)
What are two evaluation points for the LR explanation for ethnic differences in crime
It is possible for police to be selectively racist - see Black people as more dangerous -> these stereotypes have changed since 9/11 as police labelled asian people as dangerous too
Black people do not commit more crime, but the crime they commit is more likely to be visible = caught
Who are the Neo-marxists behind the explanation of ethnic differences in crime
Hall and Gilroy
What do marxists believe about the statistics
Institutions/ statistics dont relect reality - are a product of socially constructed stereotypes and historical experiences of colonialism
What is the Myth of Black Criminality - Gilroy
Black people are not more inherently criminal, they commit crime due to the CJS racist stereotypes and historical experiences of colonialism
They are experienced with ways of resisting racism from colonial times. There resistance to a racist society (riots) to defend themselves - but there actions are criminalised
What are three critisms of the Neo-marxist explanations of ethnic differences in crime
First generation immigrants were law abiding so unlikely they passed down anti-colonial struggle to their children
Romaticises street crime as a revoluntionary struggle against racism - not the case as most crime is intra ethnic
Unlikely that police are only racist towards black and not asian people
What is Hall et al - Policing te crisis
Capitalism, the media and police labelling which make it appear as young Black boys commit more crime
What was the moral panic about blacm muggers in the 1970 said to serve (Hall et al)
Police and media pretended that it was a ‘new’ crime done by black youths and it served as a scapegoat to distract the attention from the real problem - capitalism and the strikes
Divided the WC movement against capitalism on racial grounds and marginalised black youths turned to crime
What are three criticisms of Hall et al - Policing the crisis
Contradictory - argue black street crime was not rising ( result of labelling) but it was rising (due to unemployment)
They do not explain how capitalist crisis lead to moral panic or evidence the public were panicking about black youth crime
Realists argue fears about mugging are not panicking but realistic
What is racist victimisation
When someone is choosen as the target of crime because of their race/ ethnicity
What were the stats for 2023/24 for racist victimisation
race hate crime = 98,799
Religion hate crime = 10,484
Most incidents go unreported
