ethnicity + crime

Question 1

Ethnicity - Crime Stats

Answer 1

• Black ethnic minorities commit most crime (32%), White (10%), Chinese (12%)
• Black make up 3% of UK population but 13% of prison population
• Black are 8x more likely than white to be stopped and searched, 3.5x more likely to be arrested
• Asians until recently seen as law abiding
- post 9/11 fear young male Muslims as threat = increased stop + search

Question 2

Ethnicity - The Criminal Justice System - Stop + Search, Police Racism + eg, Demog factors - Phillips + Bowling

Answer 2

• Trends: Minority ethnic groups more likely to be stopped and searched
- Black 9x more + Asians 2x more than white
- Terrorism Act 2000 –> stop + search without reasonable suspicion

• Police Racism: Racist murder of Black Teenager Stephen Lawrance found institutional racism
- Many officers hold neg stereotypes about min ethnic groups = deliberate stop + search
- Because of canteen culture

• Ethnic Differences in offending - unfair stop + search reflected in crime stats
- Low discretion stops –> police acr on relevant info about offence
- High discretion stops –> police act without specific info

• Demographic Factors - Minority ethnic overrepresented in young, unemployed + manual workers - more likely to be stopped

Question 3

Ethnicity - The Criminal Justice System - Arrests and Cautions

Answer 3

• 2018/19 arrest rate for Black is 3x more than white
• Black + Asian arestees less likely than white to receive caution
- Not guilty

Question 4

Ethnicity - The Criminal Justice System - Prosecution + Trial - Phillips + Bowling

Answer 4

• CPS more likely to drop cases against minority ethnic - lack evidence

Question 5

Ethnicity - The Criminal Justice System - Convictions + Sentencing - Hood

Answer 5

• Black + Asian defendents less likely to be guilty
• Discriminatjkn in police bringing weaker cases against them
• Black’s 1% more likely to be imprisoned than white
• Asians 3.4% more

Question 6

Ethnicity - The Criminal Justice System - Prisons - stats

Answer 6

• 2021 –> over 1/4 of prison pop was ethnic minorities
- 5.5/1,000 blacks in jail
- 1.6/1,000 Asians
- 1.4/1,000 Whites
• Black over 4x more likely to be in jail than white

Question 7

Ethnicity - The Criminal Justice System - Evaluation

Answer 7

• Commission for Race + Ethnic Disparities –>
- UK is worldwide leader for anti-racism in police
- many disparities caused by geog + poverty not race
- Not due to racism but due to high levels of crime in black community

Question 8

Ethnicity - Explaining Crime Patterns - Neo-Marxists - Crime Stats are social Constructs - Gilroy, Bowling + Phillips

Answer 8

• Crime Stats are Constructs influenced by inequality + racism
• Criminal justice system is institutionally racist –> racism in practices - canteen culture

Question 9

Ethnicity - Explaining Crime Patterns - Neo-Marxists - Criminal acts are fights against inequality + racism - Gilroy

Answer 9

• Crime is a form of resistance against a racist soc
• Ethnic min from former British colonies fought in anti-imperialist struggles
• When experience racism in Britain, use same tactics criminalised by Britain

Question 10

Ethnicity - Explaining Crime Patterns - Neo-Marxists - Evaluating Crime as a fight against racism

Answer 10

• First gen immigrants more law abiding
• Most crime is intra-ethnic
• Right Realists–> differences in crime is caused by differences in socialisation + genetics
• Left Realists –> due to differences in relative Deprivation + marginalisation

Question 11

Ethnicity - Explaining Crime Patterns - Neo-Marxists - Minority groups are scapegoats for failing capitalism - Hall

Answer 11

• Moral panic over mugging served interest of capitalism
• Dominant ideas of soc are rc ideas
• When opposition of capitalism grows, rc use force to maintain control which needs to appearegitimate
• Policing the Crisis:
- 1970s media created moral panic around black mugger label
- created to distract wc from economic crisis
- Economic crisis pushes black youth into crime + unemployment

Question 12

Ethnicity - Explaining Crime Patterns - Neo-Marxists - Minority groups are scapegoats for failing capitalism - Evaluation

Answer 12

• Downes + Rock –> Black Street crime qas rising - no evidence economic crisis led to moral panic
• Left Realists –> media didn’t create moral panic, communities were worried about crime

Question 13

Ethnicity - Explaining Crime Patterns - Left Realism - Lea + Young - Marginalisation

Answer 13

• Crime Stats are accurate –> linked to relative poverty, subcultures + marginalisation
• Lea + Young –> ethnic minorities are more marginalised + suffer more relative Deprivation = more offending (Black 33% reoffend)
- Offending is survival strategy against poverty, pushing marginalised groups into gangs

Question 14

Ethnicity - Explaining Crime Patterns - Left Realism - Police Racism - Lea + Young

Answer 14

• Accept police often fo act in racist ways but doesn’t account for different crime rates
- Crime rate is related to higher levels of strain

Question 15

Ethnicity - Explaining Crime Patterns - Left Realism - Evaluation- Neo-Marxists

Answer 15

• Neo-Marxism –> Differences in rates of offending are social Constructs created by racism
- Asian arrest rates lower due to stereotypes but this changed since 9/11

Question 16

Ethnicity - Explaining Crime Patterns - Right Realists - Murray

Answer 16

• Inadequate socialisation of WC
- African mors likely to be lonely parent
- Children more likely yo commit crime due to lack of role model

Question 17

Ethnicity - Explaining Crime Patterns - Right Realists - Shaw + McKay - Social Disorganisation Theory (inner city move)

Answer 17

• Social Disorganisation Theory
- Inner city areas are transient communities (move lots) don’t dev social solidarity so less likely to self-regulate than rural communities

Question 18

Ethnicity - Victimisation - Intro - Racism

Answer 18

• Occurs when indiv selected as target due to ethnicity
• Racist incidents = perceived as racist by victim
• Racially aggravated offences = offence motivated by hostility to race

Question 19

Ethnicity - Victimisation - Extent + Risk - Stats

Answer 19

• Risk of being victim rises by ethnicity
- 2019: Mixed - 20%, Black - 14, White - 13%
• Stats don’t capture victims experience

Question 20

Ethnicity - Victimisation - Responses to crime against them

Answer 20

• Minority ethnic have arrived response
- situational crime prevention = fire proof doors
- Organised self defence campaigns aimed at physically defending neighbours
• Responses need to be understood in context of underprotection from police