c&d - ethnicity and crime

What do OS show? What is a reason for these stats?

Show significant ethnic differences in the likelihood of involvement in crime. Black people are over-represented, and to a less extent, Asian people. EG:

-          Black people make up just 3% of the population, but 13% of the prison population

-          Asian people make up 6.9% but 8% of the prison pop.

One reason for this is because Black and Asian offenders are less likely to be granted bail, and are often serving longer sentences.

What is a criticism of OS about ethnicity and crime?

don’t tell us whether members of one ethnic group are more likely than members of another to be involved in crime – rather, they tell us about the actions of social control agencies such as the police.

What do victim surveys show?

eg, the Crime survey for England and Wales show that a great deal of crime is intra-ethnic -> that is, it takes place within rather than between ethnic groups.

How are victim surveys criticised?

• Rely on memory of events – evidence suggests that white victims may ‘over-identify’ black suspects, by saying they were Black even if they’re uncertain.

• They exclude crimes by and against organisations, so they tell us nothing about the ethnicity of white collar and corporate criminals.

What do Philips and Bowling note since the 1970s?

there’s been many allegations of oppressive policing of ethnic minority communities, including mass stop and search operations, police brutality and deaths in custody.

what do Philips and Bowling say on stop and searches?

Members of minority ethnic groups are more likely to be stopped and searched by the police. Compared with white people, in 2020 black people were 9 times more likely to be stopped and searched, and Asian people over twice as likely. Data from the CSEW indicate similar patterns, with only a small number of stop and searches resulting in an arrest.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, police can stop and search people or vehicles whether or not they have reasonable suspicion. Stats show that Asian people are more likely to be stopped and searched than other people under the act.

It’s therefore unsurprising that members of ethnic minority groups are less likely to think the police stopped them fairly. As Philips and Bowling note, members of these groups are more likely to think they’re ‘over-policed and under-protected’ and have little faith in the police.

What does Grierson say on the use of force?

in 2019/20, black people were 4 times more likely to have force used against them by Metropolitan police officers than white people, and 5 times more likely to have taser-like devices used against them.

what are the possible explanations of stop and search patterns?

There are three possible reasons:

1.      Police racism: Philips and Bowling -> many officers hold negative stereotypes about minority ethnic groups as criminals, leading to deliberate targeting (link to Cicourel typification’s).

2.      Ethnic differences in offending: disproportionality in stop and searches simply reflects ethnic differences in levels of offending. (link to cohen – status frustration).

3. Demographic factors: Minority ethnic groups are over-represented in the population groups who are most likely to be stopped, for example, the young, the unemployed and manual workers. These groups are all more likely to be stopped, regardless of ethnicity, but they’re also the groups with a higher proportion of ethnic minorities in them, and so minorities get stopped more.

What are stats on arrests and cautions? What is a reason for this?

Black people are more likely to be arrested compared to White people, and are less likely to be found guilty. However, black and asian’s are more likely to receive a caution than white arrestees.

One reason for this - members of minority ethnic groups are more likely to deny the offence and to exercise their legal rights – possibly out of mistrust.

What does Hood find on convictions and sentencing?

study of five Crown Courts by Hood found that Black men were 5% more likely to receive a custodial sentence and were given longer sentences than White people – black men = 3 months longer, Asian men = 9 months longer.

info on convictions and sentencing:

Black and Asian = less likely to be found guilty. This suggests discrimination, in that the police and CPS may be bringing weaker or less serious cases against members of minority groups to the courts.

What is a possible reason for the harsher sentences?

the pre-sentence reports written by probation officers – intended as a risk assessment.

However, Hudson and Bramhall argue that pre-sentence reports allow for discrimination – finding that reports on Asian offenders were less comprehensive and suggested that they were less remorseful than white offenders.

what is the timeline linking ethnicity to crime rates?

1950s = Large-scale migration from the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent began. There was a general agreement that the minority ethnic communities had a lower rate of offending than the White population.

From the mid-1970s = increased conflict between the police and the African Caribbean community and higher arrest rates for street crime meant that ‘black criminality’ increasingly came to be seen as a problem.

Since the 1990s, Asian people also came to be seen as a ‘problem’, with media concerns about the growth of ‘Asian gangs’.

How do left-realists explain the differences between ethnic group criminality?

Lea and Young argue that the stats represent real differences in rates of offending. Crime = the product of relative dep, marginalisation and economic exclusion of minority ethnic groups.

Relative dep = ethnic minorities face higher levels of unemployment (WOODS STUDY) and poverty. Media sets up materialistic goals that they feel unable to achieve (MERTON – STRAIN).

Subcultures = in response they can form delinquent subcultures. Resulting in higher levels of utilitarian crime.

Marginalisation = they feel they’re ‘outsiders’ and don’t feel represented or protected. So they can also express frustration by non-utilitarian crime (feminist sociologist on male crime / cohen status frustration).

How do neo-marxists explain the differences between ethnic group criminality?

Gilroy argues that the idea of Black criminality = a myth created by racist stereotypes of African Caribbean and Asian people. In reality, these groups are no more criminal than white people.

He claims that minority ethnic group crime can be seen as a form of political resistance against a racist society (link to cultural defence), and this resistance has its roots in earlier struggles against British imperialism (link to Chambliss’ study). Holds a similar view to critical criminologists – Taylore et al – which argues that w/c crime is a political act of resistance to capitalism.

What does Hall look at?

Hall also takes a neo-marxist approach. He looks at how the media created a moral panic around mugging, which served to maintain social order during a time of economic instability. He argues that the portrayal of Black youths as ‘muggers’ diverted attention away from the economic crisis (link to Althusser: ISA). This moral panic disproportionally target Black youths. This racialisation of crime served to justify increased policing and surveillance in Black communities.

Hall’s study is relevant in today’s understanding of moral panics, such as those surrounding knife crime.

What have sociologists recently taken an interest in?

racist victimisation of minority ethnic groups.

= when an individual is selected as a target because of their race, ethnicity or religion. It’s nothing new, but was brought into greater public attention after the racist murder of the Black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

– LINK TO FOLK DEVILS?

what does the CSEW find on the extent of victimisation?

2019/20 = 76000 race hate crimes.

However, most go unreported. CSEW estimates there were around 100,000 racially motivated incidents that were unreported in 2019/20.

What does the CSEW say about the risk of being a victim?

the risk of being a victim of any sort of crime – not just racist crime – varies by ethnic group. 2019/20 – people from mixed ethnic backgrounds had a higher risk than Black, White or Asian.

responses to victimisation:

Responses have ranged from situational crime prevention measures such as fireproof doors, to organised self-defence campaigns aimed at physically defending the neighbourhood from racist attacks.

This demonstrates Philips and Bowling’s statement of a feeling of ‘over-policed and under-protected’ by the police.