Social Group Trends and Crime Flashcards
(17 cards)
Ethnicity and offending
Statistics show some ethnic minority groups are disproportionately involved in criminal offending.
Ministry of Justice report 2008 found Afro Caribbeans compared to whites were
- 3x more likely to be arrested
- 3x more likely to be cautioned
- more likely to be charged
- more likely to be found guilty and imprisoned
Asians to whites were
- 2x more likely to be stop and searched
- more likely to recieve custodial sentence
Explanations of Ethnic minority offending
Hall - policing the crisis
Gilroy - myth of black criminality
Murray and Wilson - right realism
Lea and Young - left realism
Racism and the criminal justice system - stats and reports
Policing - macpherson report found institutional racism in the police force with black people being 7x more likely to be searched
Arrests - ethnic minorities 3.6 times that of whites in 2006/7
Conviction - cases more likley to be dropped against ethnic minorities
Sentencing - in 2006/7 custodial sentences were given to a greater proportion of black offenders (68% compared to 55% for whites)
Class and Offending
Official stats show wc are more highly represented as offenders although reliability and validity can be questioned
why wc commit more
- merton strain theory
- cohen status frustration
- right realism the underclass
- left realism deprivation
Class and Offending - white collar crime (occupational and corporate)
Sutherland - crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation
Occupational - crime carried out at the expense of the company eg theft and fraud - Levi 75% of all frauds on banks in the 1980s were by their own employees
Corporate - crime carried out on behalf of an organisation eg tax evasion, pollution and selling harmful products
What causes white collar crime
- criminogenic capitalism
- edgework
- relative deprivation
- strain theory
- subordinate expression of masculinity
Why do white collar crimes go undetected
Hughes and Langan 4 main factors
- low visibility
- complexity
- diffusion of responsibility
- diffusion of victimisation
Gender and Offending - trends
Men are -
- 50x more likely to commit sexual offences
- 14x more likely to commit burglary
- 8x more likely to commit robbery or drug offences
- 5 x more likely to commit violence against a person
Why do females commit less crime - Heidenson patriarchy and crime
Suggests women have more to lose than men as they are double burdened if caught acting criminally. Once due to having committed a crime and second as they are acting in an unfeminine way.
Women are also more controlled,
- private sphere - at home with domestic duties and childcare so less opportunity
- public sphere - outside the home women are controlled by the threat of physical and sexual violence
Why do females commit less crime - Carlen Class/Gender Deal
Women dont turn to crime as they are controlled in patriarchal society by the class and gender deal. They only turn to crime if these break down.
Class deal - wc women are being controlled by the promise of being able to gain a reasonably paid job and buying consumer goods
Gender Deal - wc women are being controlled by the promise of having a decent relationship with a man and having children.
Why are women now committing more crime - Adler Liberation Hypothesis
Women are becoming increasingly liberated from patriarchy. Women have more opportunity, equality and this has changed womens roles. Women engage more in drinking, smoking, gambling and sexual promiscuity.
Support of Adler
Denscombe - masculinised ladette culture amongst younger women which features binge drinking, peer related violence and risk taking which is usually the domain of young men
Why are women committing more crime - Chivalry Thesis
The idea that the legal system is more lenient towards women. Pollak suggested that crimes committed by women are less visible because of their nature, he also suggested men dont like to accuse and punish women but also womens sneaky nature means they are more likely to get away with crime
Evidence for the Chivalry Thesis
Allen - evidence for leniency - 73% women and 54% of men found guilty, were given fines
Hood - women given 34% less custodial sentences to men
Evidence against the Chivalry Thesis
Box - re evaluated self report studies and found no evidence of leneincy
Smart - women have to establish their respectibality if they are to be believed in rape trials so the justice system is actually biased
Heidensohn - women are treated more harshly when they deviate from social norms.
Why do men commit more crime? - Connell and Messerschmidt
Connell suggests there is a dominant expression of masculinity in society that he calls hegemonic masculinity. Its characteristics include toughness, agression, competitiveness, breadwinning and the subordination of women
Messerschmidt suggested men alwasy try to construct their maleness and crime is a way of doing this.
Criticisms of Messerschmidt
- doesnt explain why all men dont commit crime
- hegemonic masculinity is outdated
- over generalises
