Ethnicity and Crime

What do official stats say about rates of offending between ethnicities ?

black people commit more crime

What did Sharpe and Budd find in their self report studies ?

27% of mixed ethnicity males used drugs in the past year compared to 16% of black and white males and 5% of Asian males

What did Philips and Bowling say about police and ethnic minorities?

they have subject EM to racism since the 70s through mass stop and search, excessive surveillance, police violence and deaths in custody 

How many more times likely are black men to be stopped and searched?

7x

How many times more likely are Asian people to be stopped and searched?

2x

How much more likely are ethnic minorities to be arrested?

3.5x

What did the Macpherson report find?

institutional racism in the police, and the police was incompetent when investigating the Stephen Lawrence case

What did Stephen and Bowling find about police officers?

they held negative stereotypes about EM

What are low discretion stops?

acting on specific information about a specific offence

What are high discretion stops?

without specific intelligence which can be affected by discrimination

Which groups are more likely to be stopped?

young, unemployed, manual workers and urban dweller

In 2014/2015 what were the arrest rates for black people?

3x what it was for whites

Why are ethnic minorities less likely to receive cautions?

they are less likely to admit to an offence

What are CPS more likely to drop cases against EM according to Philip and Bowling?

evidence they have is weaker and the person was arrested based on stereotypes

What did Hood find about black men in prison ?

5% more likely to receive a custodial sentence and sentences are on average 3 months longer

What are pre-sentence report?

risk assessments that help magistrates determine sentences

What did Hudson and Bramall find about PSRs?

they allow for discrimination and reports on Asian defendants were less comprehensive and suggested they were less remorseful

What percentage of the prison population are EM?

27%

What percentage of the UK population is an EM?

18%

How many more times likely are black people to be in prison compared to white people?

4x

What did Graham and Bowling find in their self-report study?

43% of black people had committed a crime compared to 44% of black people

What are the 3 main factors which cause crime according to Lea and Young?

marginalisation, relative deprivation and subcultures

Why do left realists believe black people commit more crimes?

they face more marginalisation & relative deprivation

Why may black people commit more non-utilitarian crime?

they have more status frustration and have unequal employment opportunities

Why do left realists believe that OS are accurate?

90% of crimes the police know about are reported by the public, and Asians are also face racism but they commit less crime

Why may black people still appear to commit more crime in victim surveys?

people are more likely to say an offender was black even if they are not sure

What do neo-Marxists believe about OS?

they are inaccurate are EM being criminal is a social construct

What does Gillroy believe as the reason for black people appearing to commit crime?

protesting against discrimination against black immigrants was criminalised meaning that all black crime became political rebellion against racism

What are the criticisms of Gilroys’s theory?

ignore that a lot of crime is black on black, ignores impact on victim, first black immigrants were very law abiding (Lea + Young), many Asian people also came from colonies but they commit less crime than white people

What was Hall et al’s theory for black people appearing to commit more crime?

black people are placed as a scapegoat for societies crime, dividing the working class and making them weaker and allowing for more authoritarian forms of policing, but also the marginalisation of young black men may have resulted in them turning to crime

Which contemporary example reflects what Hall is saying?

immigrants and Southport attacks

What is the eval of Hall et al?

Downes + Rock - Hall claimed that crime wasn’t rising but also the reason crime is rising is because of unemployment and marginalisation, Left realists argue that fears about mugging are legitimate

What did Sewell find in 2020-21?

claims that the criminal justice system is institutionally racist are exaggerated and not supported by evidence

What does Sewell believe is the cause of black people committing more crime?

Triple Quandary - lack of male role model, medias emphasis on conspicuous items, being unable to relate to mainstream culture

What is some evaluation of Sewell’s view?

consistent evidence of police racism, Marxists argue it ignores the impact of poverty

What is racist victimisation?

individual is selected as a target due to their race, ethnicity or religion

How many hate crimes were recorded in the year ending March 2025?

115,990

Why is the number of hate crimes likely larger?

under reported due to mistrust, shame, fear of retaliation etc.

What is included in hate crimes?

incidents which are racially motivated or aggravated offences including harassment, assault, wounding or criminal damage

Which group of people are at highest risk of victimisation?

mixed race, 27.9% according to CSEW

Why are ethnic minorities more likely to be victims of crimes?

more likely to be young, male and unemployed + racism

What are situational crime prevention measures?

ways of preventing crime

What are some examples of situational crime prevention measures?

fire proof doors, learning self defence, more community policing