Sociology - C&D - Social distribution - ethnicity

Question 1

What does Hall look at?

Answer 1

Policing the crisis

Question 2

What does Holdaway (1996) look at?

Answer 2

The racialisation of policing

Question 3

Philips and Bowling (2002)

Answer 3

Issue of race and crime became an issue in the 70s due to an over-representation of African/caribbean people causing people to question whether they are more criminal than other ethnic groups or is the criminal justice system nore discriminatory towards them.

Question 4

Stephen Lawrence murder 1993

Answer 4

racist attack whereby white youths stabbed a young black man to death, setting up the Macpherson Inquiry and the police force were blamed for institutional racism

Question 5

What led to “black criminality” being seen as a problem?

Answer 5

Increased conflict occurred between the police and the African Caribbean communities. Higher arrests were recorded for African Caribbeans for robbery and theft

Question 6

What did Hall research?

Answer 6

Policing the crisis: Mugging

Question 7

What did Hall find?

Answer 7

Black people are more likely to be labelled as criminals and some officers are deemed as racist, responsible for creating a moral panic about the crime of mugging. British transport police were suspicious of African Caribbean youths, labelling.

Question 8

What is a disadvantage of the research by Hall?

Answer 8

• Gilroy argued against Hall and Philips and Bowling stating black criminality is a myth - Left realists would argue most crime committed by black people is against black people. - Gilroy challenges the idea of Afro-Caribbeans committing crime -

Question 9

What is an advantage of the research by Hall?

Answer 9

+ Marxists would support + Interactionists would support

Question 10

What did the Policy Studies Institute find in the Metropolitan police?

Answer 10

There was powerful racism within lower ranks of the police force and a proportion of racist police officers and racism was normal in policing.

Question 11

What are the disadvantages of the policy studies institute?

Answer 11

• they can’t be 100% racist - contradictory evidence

Question 12

What are the advantages of the policy studies institute?

Answer 12

Research by Smith and Gaskill, Smith (1997), Bowling and Philips (2002) and Lea and Young

Question 13

Smith and Gaskill

Answer 13

Supported PSI research, 30% of black people viewed the police as good or very good compared to 60% of white people the black community held negative views about the police, even if they had not individually had an experience with the police themselves. However, it was found that stop and search rates conducted by the police were equal for young black and young white people in inner city areas (no bias).

Question 14

Smith (1997)

Answer 14

supported the findings from the PSI. He has stated that there is evidence of bias against black people at various stages of the criminal justice system

Question 15

Bowling and Philips (2002) on the PSI

Answer 15

cumulative discrimination in the criminal justice system has led to black people being over represented in prisons. Therefore the criminal justice system is racist and this could be due to stereotyping and labelling of black people as more “criminal” and therefore they might be stopped and searched more often and therefore arrested. Labelling

Question 16

Lea and young on the PSI

Answer 16

Unemployment leads to increasing crime rates in inner cities (London) and the police begin to adopt a more military style of policing which includes stop and search. The police might decide to stop and search young black males more (due to stereotyping and labelling), and therefore more young black males get stopped and arrested.

Question 17

Lea and Young (1984)

Answer 17

Criticise Gilroy and Hall’s work, it’s not a myth that some crimes are committed more by ethnic groups and don’t believe the police are racist.

Question 18

What statistics do Lea and Young (1984) use to back up their criticism of Gilroy and Hall’s work?

Answer 18

Only 8% of crimes are discovered directly by the police (92% from the public reporting) so police cannot really be racist

Question 19

Why do Lea and Young criticise the idea that African Caribbeans are facing a political struggle due to colonialism?

Answer 19

Most are second gen immigrants and born in the UK and law abiding. This ideology had been passed on from parents.

Question 20

What studies did Bowling and Philips look at when investigating British Asian Crime?

Answer 20

Desai (1999) and Mawby and Batta (1980)

Question 21

Mawby and Batta (1980)

Answer 21

examined British Asian crime in Bradford where the majority of British Asians were poor, working class and lived in inner city areas. These factors might suggest that a high crime rate might prevail; however, it was found that few crimes were committed by British Asians, and the few crimes that were discovered were only trivial. “Izzat” or “Family honour” encouraged conformism amongst British Asians, and therefore they were reluctant to commit crime.

Question 22

What did Alexander (2000) study!

Answer 22

The asian gang and moral panics

Question 23

How did Alexander (2000) conduct his research?

Answer 23

He conducted ethnographic research of young Asian males in South London

Question 24

Overall, what did Alexander (2000) find in his study?

Answer 24

Young Bangladeshi and Muslim males were viewed as being most likely to be part of an Asian gang in response to Islamophobia that had become prevalent

Question 25

What did Alexander (2000) find about the media image of the Asian gang?

Answer 25

It’s a myth, the media greatly exaggerated the violence and started a moral panic about Asian Gangs

Question 26

What are potential reasons for moral panics escalating about asian gangs?

Answer 26

Gulf war in 1990 so hostile attitudes towards middle east, 1993 documentary about Muslim ghetto culture, Riot in Bradford where asian youths were unhappy

Question 27

Why did Alexander (2000) state the asian gang was a myth?

Answer 27

few encounters, mainly just school scruffles. Made up of bangladeshi males, loose knit and more of friends. Conflict wasn’t racial.

Question 28

What did Alexander (2000) conclude about the Asian gang?

Answer 28

That it is a myth and not based on race/ethnicity but more about locality, friendship and misrepresentation by the media. Race/ethnicity wasn’t a core part of the gang.