Ethnicity and crime

• Stats and typical offender

• Marxism

• Left Realism

• Interactionism

which theories can ethnicity be mostly applied to?

7-9 times. this correlates with the idea of the typical offender, interactionism and Cicourel (typification)

how many more times more likely are black people more likely to be stopped and searched? what idea does this link to?

states that as black people are treated with disrespect, this means that we do not have bonds to society

how does Hirschi’s control bonds theory link to this?

single-parenthood which is higher amongst black groups than others (50% of single-mothers are of black origin) and are matriarchal in nature, meaning that a lack of male role models causes criminality.

Tony Sewell

• 9.3% - Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh

• 4% - Black, Black British, Caribbean

• 2.9% - Mixed or multiple ethnic groups

• 2.1% - Other ethnic group

what is the percentage of the population from ethnic backgrounds?

in every regard in the criminal justice system, black people are significantly over-represented in crime statistics (e.g. stop and search has the greatest over-representation with 18% of cases originating from black criminals).

over-representativeness in criminal statistics

• Phillips and Bowling

• Stereotyping

• Gilroy’s “Myth of Black Criminality” - stereotyping

which 4 things make up the explanation of police targeting?

argue that ethnic minority groups are “over-policed and under-protected”. This over-policing often leads to higher rates of arrests and convictions among ethnic minorities, which can perpetuate a cycle of criminalisation and social exclusion

Philips and Bowling - police targeting

this refers to the stereotype that black people are inherently more criminal or prone to criminal behaviour which leads to discriminatory policing practices, such as racial profiling and stop-and-search operations

Gilroy’s “Myth of Black Criminality” - police targetting

The media and popular culture often portray black individuals as criminals, which reinforces negative stereotypes and biases, this can lead to discriminatory actions by law enforcement, such as racial profiling and harsher treatment of black suspects

what is stereotyping - police targeting

a British politician who is known for his work on ethnic inequality in the criminal justice system.

• In young offenders institutes, 41% of offenders are from an ethnic minority background.

• David Lammy suggested adopting an assessment of intellectual maturity before giving young people custodial sentences.

• Stated that the white working class were disadvantaged in prison systems.

David Lammy

Waddington et al

Locality theory

certain areas are more densely populated with ethnic minorities which explains higher stop and search statistics

• Links to Shaw and McKay

what is Locality theory - Waddington et al

ethnic groups innovate due to legitimate means being restricted by racism?

what is Strain theory - Merton?

• Holdaway - Canteen Culture

• Reiner - Characteristics of Canteen Culture

• MacPherson Report

which concepts link to the institutional racism explanation of ethnic inequality in crime?

this refers to the informal norms, values and behaviours shared among police officers, with a focus on racist components within the culture that can lead to discriminatory practices towards ethnic minority ethnic groups

what is Holdaway - Canteen Culture as an example of institutional racism?

the characteristics include authoritarian conservatism and suspicion against the law, and a glorification of violence. these characteristics can foster an environment where racial biases are normalised

what is Reiner - Characteristics of Canteen Culture as an example of institutional racism?

the report found that institutional racism led to ethnic inequality in the treatment of minority ethnic communities by the police after the murder of Stephen Lawrence

what is the MacPherson report as an example of institutional racism?

• Parmer - lack of socialisation

• Labelling theory

• Hall - moral panic

which social theories can be applied?

marginalisation and relative deprivation due to high unemployment and racism

how can subcultural theory (Lea and Young) be used as an explanation for ethnic inequality?

1. incidents which are seen by the victim or other person to be racist. 

2. offences where the offender is motivated by hatred of either race or religion.

3. Racist victimisation tends to be on going with periods of minor incidents and major ones like physical violence.

Ethnicity and victimisation

1. Racist incidents

2. Racially or religiously aggravated

3. What did Sampson and Phillips say?