Social Distribution of Crime Booklet 2

Victim Surveys

Anonymous questionnaires that ask people to admit to committing crimes, whether or not they have been discovered.

Self-report Surveys

Anonymous questionnaires in which people are asked to admit to committing crimes, regardless of whether they have been caught.

Magurie (2002)

• Only 3% of crimes reported to the police end in conviction

AO3 Analysis of Ethnicity and Crime

• 2019– 12.3% of prison population were Black people and 8.1% were Asian. They make up 3.4% and 6.8% of the population respectively.

• Ministry of Justice (2008)-“Members of the Black community are seven times more likely than their white counterparts to be stopped and searched and three and a half times more likely to be arrested and five times more likely to be in prison”

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Hall

• Crisis of hegemony

• Myth of the Black Mugger

• Media creates scapegoats and folk devils to divert attention away from the problem of capitalism

• The police incorrectly respond to the Media’s position and begin over policing Black crime and thus find more black crime

Becker- Labelling theory

 “social groups create deviance by creating rules whose infraction (breaking) constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as ‘outsiders”.

 Cicourel (1968)

 Typifications and policing stereotypes lead to over policing of a specific type of crime e.g. utilitarian crimes and the W/C

 Gilroy (1982)

• Most Black and Asians in the UK originate from former British colonies, where anti-colonial struggles taught them how to resist oppression, e.g. through riots and demonstrations. Thus violence is deployed as a means of political action

AO3 Analysis for the Demonisation of Black Protest

• Teacher strikes are seen as acceptable

• BLM Protests 2020 seen as unacceptable

• London Riots (2011) unacceptable

Holdaway

• Found a canteen culture of racism used amongst the police

• Found evidence of racist language and attitudes amongst police officers

 Phillips and Bowing (2012): The CJS is institutionally racist

• Black men are 5-8 times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police

• Higher arrest rate and prison population of black men

• Unfair criminalisation of EMs

AO3 analysis of Phillip and Bowling

The murder of Stephen Lawrence (1993)

• Police were slow to act on evidence

• Assumed it was gang related

• Dwayne Brooks witness and friend was treated as a suspect

The MacPherson Inquiry- “the collective failure of an organisation to provide appropriate and professional service to people because of their skin colour, culture or ethnic group. It can be detected in attitudes and behaviours which amount to discrimination, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping”

Baroness Casey Report (2023): Despite efforts to change the police it remains institutionally racist

Reiner (2000)

• Canteen culture in the police

• “A distinct set of values amongst police officers which include a thirst for action, cynicism, suspicion, isolation from the public and racism.”

Waddington et Al

• Stop and search:

• Using CCTV footage and interviews with police about stop and search practices, they found:

• The main reason Ethnic minorities were more likely to be stopped and searched than white people as;

• They are young most common age of EMs in the UK= 18-24 yrs

• Live in urban areas

• Live in areas with larger police presence

Fitzgerald and Hough

• Based on the Policing of London Survey:

• Dissatisfaction with the police was highest among:

  • Young people

  • Black people

  • Deprived areas

Evaluation for the views that CJS is institutionally racist

• Winter of discontent is an outdated concept as capitalism hasn’t been overthrown and it evolved into post-industrial globalisation

• Lacks empirical evidence to support his claims

• Most crimes are reported by the police and not uncovered by the police, 90% of crimes are reported by the public

Lea and Young

 Even if the police are racist, it is unlikely for it to account for the statistical differences in crime and ethnicity.

Toney Sewell (2010) Triple Quandary Theory

• He blames this on 'black' culture and their family structures. 57% come from single parent families and therefore struggle to develop masculinity, resulting in them turning to their peers as a role model.

  • Black boys feel rejected by society- Cashmore: Black males are 8 times more likely to be stopped and searched- leading to crimes as trust for white society is gone

  • Black boys’ peers have also been rejected by society- resistance and sanctuary against racism causes them to form subcultures

  • Black boys use the media as a source of role models- MTV culture and the desire for bling overrides all else

He also argues that there are three risk factors for high levels of crime for African and Caribbean boys:

• Mainstream culture- constant symbolic violence with all agents of society

• Influence of media- crime is constantly glorified in the media they consume

• Family structure- 60% of Afro-Caribbean children live in single parent households, usually a mother. The fatherlessness leads to inadequate socialisation and a proclivity to crime

AO3 Analysis of triple quandary

2020-only 40% of black boys achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE (49.9% was average)

Sewell’s solution to Black crime

• Research Method: Experiment

• 25 black boys from failing schools

• STEM students

• Spent 3 weeks at russell group universities

• High GCSE attainment 3 got into Oxbridge, most went to russell group universities

AO3 Evaluation of The Triple Quandary

• Nightingale: Paradox of Inclusion: Consumerist society has goals and values to achieve and gain more material things

•  Merton’s Strain Theory-

  • Black boys are the most likely to experience strain

  • Respond with innovative means

  AO2: Supporting Nightingale- Sharp and Budd (2005)

  • Black men are more likely to be arrested

  • More likely to commit crimes where the victim can identify them

  • More likely to be excluded from school

 Crime among other minority ethnic groups

• Desai- Young Asian men were taking a more aggressive stance to defend their community from outside threats

• Bowling and Phillips- Bengali Bad Boy Image

AO3 Evaluation of Crime being high amongst EMs

• Alexander- Media representation of growing asian gangs is a myth

• Bhatti- Bad boy image can lead to excommunication from the family

Statistics on prisons based on gender

• Female prisons= 12

• Male prisons= 117

Statistics on Gender and Crime

• 80% of crime is committed by men.

• 96% of the prison population is men.

• 5% of domestic violence victims are men.

• 20% of cases of domestic violence are reported to the police.

• 90% of rape victims know the attacker.

• 5% of women are victims of incest.

• 1 child a week is killed by their parents in the UK

Hood (1992)

over 3000 court cases in which males and females were found guilty of similar types of crimes, but found that a third of women were less likely to be sent to prison.

Chivalry Thesis

The idea that women are treated more leniently by the criminal justice system due to a male-dominated system.

• Speed and Burrows- Shoplifting 30% men received as a custodial sentence compared to 15% of women.

• Carlen- Women’s role as a mother is taken into account by the CJS more than fatherhood for men.

AO3 Evaluation against Chivalry Thesis

• Klein- Chivalry Thesis is racist and classist

• Farrington and Morris- Mitigating circumstances are taken into account, the difference in sentencing between men and women are minimal

Heidensohn- Double deviance

The concept that women who commit crimes are seen as deviating from both societal norms and gender norms by committing crime

Biological Explanations

Explanations for the lower crime rates among women based on biological factors, such as women being less violent and aggressive than men.

• Pollak 1950’s– Women are more adept at hiding crimes. They are biologically predisposed to deceiving men– faking orgasms etc.

Psychological Explanations

Explanations for the lower crime rates among women based on psychological factors, such as hormonal influences like premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

• Eysenck 1970- Unmarried mothers are more likely to be deviant than married mothers 

Extroverts

More likely to be promiscuous and deviant.

Functionalists- Sex Role theory.

•  Parsons (1955)- Instrumental and expressive role

• Sutherland (1949)- Focuses on gender differences in socialisation

  • Girls= passive and quiet

Heidensohn (1996)

Control theory argues that male-dominated patriarchal societies control women more effectively than men, making it difficult for women to break the law.

Women are controlled in:

1. The Home

2. In Public

3. At Work

Smart (1976)

Girls face stricter socialization in the family than boys.

Lees (1989)

Girls are more likely to be labeled as a 'slag' if they deviate from their gender norms.

McRobbie (1976)

Bedroom culture - controlled and isolated.

Aqsa Mahmood

Radicalized from her bedroom and became a terrorist despite having tight restrictions and controls at home.

Carlen (1988)

The class deal:

• The work one does in the public sphere in exchange for money to be able to live comfortably and enjoy life.

• When broken utilitarian crimes are often committed e.g. theft.

The gender deal:

• Love, companionship & the work done in the private sphere in exchange for a partner and provisions i.e. a breadwinner.

• When broken violent crimes or retreatist crimes are committed e.g. drug abuse

When these rewards aren’t available, women turn to criminality to compensate

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Increase in poverty leading to a rise in female criminality.- 1/3 of children are raised in poverty

Liberation thesis- Adler (1975)

Women 'playing catch up' with men and more likely to commit crime.

Heidensohn and Silvestri (2012)

Ladette culture - binge drinking and fighting.

Geordie Shore, TOWIE

Sexual deviance and promiscuity practiced by both men and women.

Sharpe

Female crime seen as a problem by the criminal justice system.

AO3 Evaluation of Rise in Female criminality

• Sharpe- female crime is seen as a problem by the CJS.

• Women are caught more and there are more prosecutions

• Young- female gang members make up just 5% of total gang member

Messerschmidt (1993)

• Masculinity as a social construct- accomplishment which men have to constantly work hard to present

• Hegemonic Masculinity= dominant set of norms and values/ culture, working in paid labour market, subordination of women, heterosexuality, promiscuity, uncontrollable libido.

  • Accommodating masculinity- Adapted masculinity to maintain social status.

  • Oppositional Masculinity- Showing masculinity both inside and outside of school.

AO3 Evaluation of Hegemonic masculinity

• homosexual men are excluded from the study 

• Homosexual men commit more crime than heterosexual men.

• Doesn’t explain why men don’t commit crime

• Provides an explanation for middle-class crime.

Winlow

Masculinity in Postmodernity - decline of manual labor affects masculinity.

• Low status job- led to new ways to show masculinity- fighting, drug dealing, binge drinking. -filling the void deindustrialisation has created.

• Used their bodily capital 

Houchin (2005)

Strong relationship between living in deprived areas and being in prison.

AO3 Analysis for poverty and crime

• In Glasgow, no less than 60% of prisoners come from the most deprived council estates.

• Omolade- carried out a study on 2171 adult prisoners imprisoned in England and Wales in 2006 and 2007 and found that 43% had no educational qualifications and only 6% had a degree or equivalent, 36% had been unemployed and 60% were claiming benefits. 

• Prison reform Working Group (PRWG)- 67% of prisoners were unemployed prior to imprisonment compared to 5% in the whole of the population being unemployed, 32% were homeless (compared to 0.9% of the whole population) and 27% had been raised in care (compared to 2% of the whole population). 

• Reiner- 74% of the prison population are drawn from the poorest 20% of the population. 

Merton (1968) deviance a result of structure and culture of society

• Strain Theory and criminal responses to strain e.g. innovation, rebellion, retreatism 

• Working-class people are most likely to experience the strain.

• Unequal opportunity structure in society, meritocracy- winning is more important than the rules.

• Too much individualistic strain causes anomie. 

AO3 Evaluation of Merton

• Taylor et Al- The theory doesn’t account for the reasons behind non-utilitarian crime e.g. violence and vandalism

Chambliss (1975)

• Capitalism is based on competition, greed and selfishness

• This leads to bourgeois exploitation, leads to precarious employment AO3, analysis: 0 hour contract, agency work.

• Working-class crime primarily appears in crime statistics, distracting from middle-class crime i.e. white-collar crime. 

• Working-class crime becomes a natural response to an individual’s exploitation 

• ‘Dog eat dog society’ 

Cohen

• ‘status frustration’, joining gangs to gain status in the world

• Create a criminal lifestyle for economic gain 

 Cloward and Ohlin ‘illegitimate opportunity structure’

• Criminal subcultures- Mafia, Yakuza

• Conflict subcultures- Crips and Bloods, postcode gangs

• Retreatist subcultures- Hippies

AO3 Analysis Cloward and Ohlin

  Hobbs ‘Bad Business (1998):

• Interviewed professional criminals 

• Added weight to cloward and Ohlin’s point and found it’s possible to live an entire life though the crime structure all you need is opportunities and the right personality 

AO3 Evaluation of Cloward and Ohlin

• Miller focal concerns: not a product of status frustration but a reflection of their emotional attachment to other ‘working class culture’ 

Gilroy

Crime as a form of protest against generational oppression and symbolic violence.

• CCCS- working-class boys form subcultures e.g. spectacular subcultures as a form of resistance against capitalism e.g. the Teddyboys

• As they were young, they were at the weakest link of capitalism- thus they were the most free to protest. - AO3: Cohen’s status frustration 

Labelling Theory

Jock Young's 'Marijuana in Notting Hill' - over-policing leads to marginalization and deviant careers.

Lewis et al

London riots sparked by anger at deprived status and desire to consume.

Clarke

Working class women commit crimes because they are more likely to suffer from the effects of poverty since they leave with low qualifications and weak attachments to family. This leads to women committing more utilitarian crimes because the rational conclusion for a decent living is to commit crimes.

Murray

• underclass, low moral character, rife single parenthood, poverty=crime 

• Chemical castration

AO3 of New Right

• Mooney: ‘there’s not a single scrap of evidence to suggest there is a link between single parent families and crime.’ 

Rational choice theory

According to Clarke, individuals, particularly working-class women, commit crimes as a rational response to the effects of poverty, low qualifications, and weak attachments to family. This theory suggests that individuals weigh the costs and benefits of committing crimes to achieve a decent living.

Hirschi- Control theory

This theory posits that individuals, especially those from working-class backgrounds, have fewer social controls in their lives, making the costs of committing crimes lower than for middle-class individuals. It identifies four bonds that pull people away from crime:

1. Commitment

2. Attachment

3. Belief

4. Involvement

AO3 Evaluation of Control Theory

• Example: Dr Harold Shipman- Dr Death killed over 200 patients, Lucy Letby, Dr Donald Cline

Slapper and Tombs (1999)

• Capitalism is criminogenic with its continued emphasis on making large profits

Pearce (1976)

-White collar crimes and corporate crimes are crimes of the powerful

Reiman (2009)

• Rich get richer and the poor get prisons- capitalist society is shaped to benefit the rich

Snider (1999)

• The rich shape the laws and laws that threaten the profits of capitalists rarely get passed or enforced. 

• White collar crime is more deviant than blue collar crime as white collar crime costs the government 20 times more than blue collar crime.

Sayer (2015)

• The rich shape the law 

• Governments create loopholes so that people can escape the consequences of their crimes e.g. tax havens- places where governments and large companies and rich individuals can store their money tax free.

• Panama Papers- David Cameron’s Father

• Paradise Papers- Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III

Ford Pinto Case

• Ford Pinto car advertised in the 1970s as the car ‘that gave you a warm feeling’

• Later found the car has a fault which meant it would erupt in flames in rear end collisions

• Continued to be produced for 8 years before fault was fixed

• 500-900 people died/burned

• Leaked memo showed it was cheaper to pay out to victims ($50 million) than to fix the problem ($121 million)- Wasn’t seen as Breaking the Law shows loopholes.