Ethnicity and crime Flashcards
(44 cards)
What sociologists discuss discrimination in the criminal justice system?
- Anderson (colour coding)
- Hall (Scarman and McPherson rapport)
- Phillips & Bowling (over policed neighbour-hoods)
What does interactionist Anderson say about the police?
- Police assumed white people were middle class and trustworthy, and that black people were lower class and criminal.
- This ‘colour coding’ often worked to confuse race, age, class, and gender issues as well as ignoring individual behaviour.
- Police officers would stop/harass/abuse young black men when most didn’t deserve it. Some dressed differently to avoid suspicion, but most saw it as inevitable.
Who discussed ‘colour coding’ from the police?
Anderson
What were the two reports Hall discussed?
- The Scarman Report - response to racial violence and rioting.
- The McPherson Report - concluded the official inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the subsequent police investigation.
What did the Scarman Report recognise?
- Social and economic disadvantages faced by ethnic minorities could create a disposition towards violent protests.
- It highlighted the issue with policing such communities, endorsing more Racial Awareness Programmes.
What did Hall argue about the Scarman report’s outcome?
- The endorsed Racial Awareness Training programmes were only partially implemented and not fully supported by the Gov/police.
- Further riots followed and police tactics became ever more aggressive in dealing with them.
What was Hall’s response to the McPherson report?
- Hall welcomes the conclusion regarding Institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police force as a step forward in recognising and addressing some of the problems.
- However, he concluded that until individuals are held accountable for their actions, not much will change.
Who supports Hall’s conclusion of the McPherson report?
Phillips & Bowling
What does Phillips & Bowling argue about the McPherson report?
Despite its existence, ethnic minority neighbourhoods were still over-policed with military style methods.
What does institutional racism refer to?
Racism within the social processes and practices of an institution.
What is ‘police culture’?
A shared set of norms/values/attitudes/practices which develop among the police. This effects the way they carry out their duties.
Who discusses ‘canteen culture’?
Waddington
What is ‘canteen culture’?
Attitudes and values exhibited by the police in their off-duty socialising.
What sociologists highlight that police and canteen culture may include a normalisation of racist attitudes?
- Holdaway (racialisation)
- Bhilox (differential deployment/ methodological suspicion)
- Scraton (‘culture of resistance’)
What did Holdaway discuss when researching police culture?
- The ‘racialisation’ of policing, arguing routine and mundane police work and relationships can take on a racial ‘framing’ where people and events are seen in a way that prioritises race when it is not relevant, or ignores it when it is.
- Consequently, police officers may inadvertently act in racist ways without completely realising it.
What does Bhilox say about most policing?
- It is directed at the excluded in society, who are often young, poor, and black.
- The police deploy ‘differential deployment’ (concentrating policing on areas where the targeted reside) and ‘methodological suspicion’ (routinely suspecting only a limited proportion of the population).
- This may have a negative impact on ethnic minority communities, who may feel a sense of injustice which can lead to further conflict.
What two things do the police deploy according to Bhilox?
- ‘Differential deployment’- concentrating policing on areas where the targeted reside
- ‘Methodological suspicion’- routinely suspecting only a limited proportion of the population
What is differential deployment?
concentrating policing on areas where the targeted reside
What is methodological suspicion?
Routinely suspecting only a limited proportion of the population.
Who talks about how the police target the excluded?
Bhilox
How does Scraton see the police force?
- An occupying force imposed on working class and ethnic minority communities.
- They impose laws which reflect the ruling class interests, and black criminality is part of a ‘culture of resistance’ formed as a response to racism.
Who talks about how the police force imposes ruling class interests, and black criminality is part of a ‘culture of resistance’?
Scraton
What sociologists evaluate institutional racism?
- Waddington
- Glynn
What does Waddington argue when evaluating institutional racism?
- The higher levels of stop and searches of young black & asian males is not necessarily evidence of racism.
- They consider other factors like ‘availability’ of people from certain ethnic backgrounds in public places and age profile.
- His research suggests that black & asian males were not treated disproportionately since the amount of times they were stopped and searched was in line with the proportion of the ‘available population’.