Ethnicity and Crime

Victim surveys- CSEW

It asks individuals what crimes they have been victims of in the last 12 months. Victims are asked to identify the ethnicity of the person who committed the crime against them. ‘Mugging’ (robberies and some thefts from the person)- black people significantly represented among those identified by victims as offenders.

• Phillips and Bowling- evidence suggests that white victims may ‘over-idenitfy’ blacks (even when they weren’t).

• Only cover personal crimes (1/5 of all crimes)

Self-report surveys

These ask individuals to disclose their own dishonest and violent behaviour. Graham and Bowling- blacks (43%) and whites (44%) had very similar rates of offending. Indians (30%), Pakistanis (28%) and Bangladeshis (13%) had lower rates.

• Findings of self report studies challenge the stereotype of black people being more likely to offend then white people. They do support the widely view that Asian people are less likely to offend.

Ethnicity and offending

Evidence on ethnicity and offending is inconsistent, official stats and CSEW= higher rates of offending by black people. However, self-report surveys don’t support this.

Patterns of ethnicity and crime

Average custodial sentence lengths: Asian and black people received the longest average custodial lengths possibly associated with variations in offence types between ethnicities. Black people: 24 months, white people: 18 months, mixed: 21 months.

Convictions ratio: white offenders had the highest conviction ratio for indictable offences. Whites: 86%, blacks: 81%, mixed: 81%.

History/Background information

• 1950s-1970s- After WW2, we see mass migration of people from the ‘Commonwealth’ to the UK, after the government gives all Commonwealth citizens British passports. High numbers come to Britain from the West Indies and South Asia. The general consensus was that these groups have lower levels of offending than the white population.

• 1970s onwards- There begins to be increased conflict between the African Caribbean community and the police, leading to more hostility from the police. We see the beginning of higher arrest rates for black communities and ‘black criminality’ begins to be seen as an increasing problem.

  • 1990s onwards: Asian gangs begin to be seen as a problem with the increasing clashes with the police. 9/11 leads to more focus on Muslims and the fear of Islamist terrorist groups.

Key debate in ethnicity and crime- Sociologists disagree about whether ethnic minorities:

1. Commit more crime because of structural or cultural factors

2. Are criminalised more by a racist criminal justice system

3. Crime is a political response to racism within capitalism

Relative deprivation and marginalisation- Lea and Young- OS are broadly accurate

Lea and Young (left realism)- They argue that official statistics are generally accurate. Even if the police do behave in a racist way, it cannot explain the majority of ethnic differences in offending because 90% of crimes are reported to the police by the public. The police would have to be very selective in their racism- for example, against blacks but not Asians- in order for it to be substantial cause of ethnic differences in crime.

Lea and Young- marginalisation/Relative deprivation

They argue that racism has led to marginalisation and economic exclusion of ethnic minorities who face higher levels of unemployment, poverty and poor housing. The media’s emphasis on consumerism promotes a sense of relative deprivation by setting materialistic goals that many members of minority groups are unable to reach by legitimate means. One response if the formation of delinquent subcultures, especially by young unemployed black males. This produces higher levels of utilitarian crime such as theft and robbery. Because these groups are marginalised and have no organisations to represent their interests, their frustration can lead to non-utilitarian crime such as violence and rioting.

Eval of Lea and Young

Phillips and Bowling would argue that Lea and Young underestimate institutional racism in the criminal justice system.

Jock Young: Bulimic society- R.D and marginalisation (OS are broadly accurate)

He argues that contemporary society is a ‘bulimic society’, characterised by massive cultural inclusion but systematic structural exclusion. Citizens are encourages to ‘worship success, money, wealth and status’ but are systematically excluded from its realisation. He argues that the poorest and most deprived groups in society are more desperate for the trappings of consumer society and the least likely to attain them legitimately. This craving leads to crime.

• Individuals most likely to be perceived as anti-social or criminal actually consume greater quantities of cultural images through the mass media, not smaller quantities.

Eval of Young

This supports Lea and Young’s argument bout relative deprivation. However, it does not explain why some deprived groups, such as many Asian communities, have relatively low levels of recorded crime. Hirschi’s control theory may have an alternative explanation for this.

Culture masculinity and social control

Sewell and Hirschi

Sewell- OS are broadly accurate

There are risk factors that lead to crime- Triple Quandary Theory:

1. Single parent families, lack positive male role models.

2. Mainstream culture is racist, can’t relate to its as it’s working against their interests. They perceive teachers, police-officers, employers, etc to be racist and to be working against their interests. E.g stop and search.

3. Media influence and emphasis on ‘conspicuous consumption’- identity/status dependent on designer labels and jewellery.

He argues that they join subcultures/gangs where they can achieve status through hyper-masculine violence and material goods bought through crime. Gang life becomes a comfort zone, a way of being accepted when family and mainstream culture have rejected you.

Eval of Sewell

Commentators argue that Sewell shifts the debate from institutional racism and implies African-Caribbean family life is inadequate.

Hirschi’s control theory (OS are broadly accurate)

Young people commit crime because they lack social controls of attachment, commitment, involvement and belief. It has been argued that Asian crime rates are lower because Asian young people acquire these controls earlier. Asian families exercise stricter controls over young people which may limit their opportunity for crime. They are also more likely to be economically involved in some way ion their community and are therefore less likely to be economically marginalised or frustrated by racism.

• However there is evidence that Asian crime rates is rising. Since 9/11, the number of young Muslims stopped and searched has risen leading to accusations that the authorities are practising Islamophobia.

Eval of Hirschi

This explanation may romanticise Asian families and ignore structural racism highlighted by Phillips and Bowling.

Demography and social geography

Fitzgerald and Waddington

Fitzgerald- OS are broadly accurate

Fitzgerald compared the rate of ethnic minority street crime in London to socio-economic data. He concluded that ethnic minorities suffered four major variables:

1. Lived in areas lacking community cohesion

2. Young males made up a disproportionate number of West Indians

3. Statistical link between crime and single parent families

4. Subcultures promoting crime linked to educational failure

Ethnicity itself was not the cause; black people were more likely to live in poor areas due to racial discrimination in housing and job markets.

Eval of Fitzgerald

His explanation may describe correlation rather than causation. It does not explain why some deprived individuals do not offend. Self-report studies suggests offending rates are similar across ethnic groups, which raises questions about whether demographic concentration alone explains official statistics.

Waddington

He argues that the police stop a proportionately higher number of blacks compared to whites. However, he argues that there are more ethnic minority youths out at night in inner cities and that the police simply target those in high risk areas. If the areas if disproportionately represented by young black males they are more likely to be stopped and searched- because of where they are rather than their ethnicity.

Eval of Waddington

This explanation may underestimate structural racism. Waddington may describe the mechanism of policing but not deeper structural causes behind demographic concentration.

Institutional racism and CJS bias

Phillips and Bowling, Hood, Macpherson Report, and Reiner. These explanations argue OS reflect policing bias rather than higher offending

Phillips and Bowling- OS reflect policing bias rather than higher offending

They argue that the UK criminal justice system is racist. Evidence includes:

• Stop and search rates 5-8 times higher for black men

• Higher arrest rates

• Higher imprisonment rates

Under the Terroism Act, Asians were three times more likely to be stopped and searched. Ethnic minorities feel ‘over-policed and under-protected’. Black and Asian defendants are less likely to be found guilty. This also suggests discrimination in police and CPS in bringing weaker cases to trial.

Hood- OS reflect policing bias rather than higher offending

His study of 5 Crown Courts found that even when factors like seriousness of the offence were taken into account, black men were 5% more likely to receive a custodial sentence and were given sentences on average 3 months longer (and Asian men 9 months) longer than white men.

Eval of Hood

Based on data from five Crown Courts; critics may question national generalisability. Does not fully explain why sentencing bias occurs (requires institutional culture explanation such as Reiner).

MacPherson Inquiry (1999)- argues OS reflect policing bias rather than higher offending

Institutional racism= the policies/procedures have a negative effect on ethnic minority groups. The Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist in investigation of the murder of Stephen Lawrence. He was killed by a gang of white youths whilst he was waiting at a bus stop with a friend. The police assumed Stephen Lawrence was a victim of black on black (intra-ethnic) crime and treated his friend as a suspect rather than a witness. They ignored information given by the public identifying the killers, causing a delay which enabled the killers to get rid of evidence.

Reiner- OS reflect policing bias rather than higher offending

Developed the theory of canteen culture. To fit into the police force, new recruits had to hold politically conservative, sexist and racist view. Other characteristics include a ‘Us Vs Them’ Mentality- A strong distinction between the police (the in-group) and the public (the out-group), leading to higher levels of internal solidarity. It influences how the police exercise their authority, sometimes leading to prejudicial or discriminatory practices (e.g, in stop-and search).

Eval of Reiner

Based on earlier policing research; policing culture may have changed. Does not provide quantitative evidence linking canteen culture directly to sentencing disparities.

Media labelling and moral panic- Hall and Alexander

OS reflect policing bias rather than higher offending

Hall- Policing the Crisis (Neo-Marxist)

Hall claims that a moral panic was constructed in the early 1970s around the street crime of mugging which effectively labelled the African-Caribbean population as a criminal threat to the white population. In the 1970s the British state faced both an economic crisis and a crisis of hegemony (the authority of the state and ruling class is challenged- the capitalist state was declining), there was mass unemployment and race riots.

• Mugging became a source of tensions, even though there was no legal definitions of this crime, which was reinforced by media amplification and exaggeration.

• Black men were labelled and became symbols of the threat of violence, and more young black males were stopped, searched and arrested.

Eval of Hall

Left Realists argue that Hall’s theory is difficult to prove and overly conspiratorial. It proves a strong historical explanation of race-crime narratives.

Alexander- The Asian Gang

Challenge the cultural explanation. She found that the Asian gang’, was largely a social construct created by the media and police labelling rather than organised criminal behaviour. The young men formed loose friendship networks, often for protection against racist harassment. Alexander argues that many conflicts were defensive rather than aggressive and that group identity was shaped by racism and exclusion.

Eval of Alexander

Alexander supports labelling and institutional racism explanations and challenged cultural deficit theories. However, as a scale ethnography, her findings may lack generalisability.

Crime is a political response to racism- Gilroy (N-M)

Crime committed by young African-Caribbeans is political because it is frequently motivated by their interpretation of their position in British society. Many young Black people are angry at the way white society has historically treated black people via slavery and colonialism and the instiutional racism of everyday life. Street crime is a conscious and deliberate political, even revolutionary reaction to this racism.

• The frequent rioting or uprisings in areas with majority black populations are a political response to the military style repressive policing of black people.

Eval of Gilroy

The first-generation of immigrants had the lowest levels of crimes, and experienced both colonialism and racism first-hand but did not turn to crime to make their protest. Doesn’t explain intra-ethnic crime.

Overall evaluation

Ethnic differences in crime can be explained in three main ways:

1. Structural inequality and marginalisation

2. Institutional racism and criminalisation

3. Political responses to racism

Self-report studies challenge official statistics, while stop-and search data supports institutional racism explanations.