Ethnicity and Offending

What does the ethnicity status of the UK look like?

• 81.7% - white

• 9.3% - asian

• 4% - black

• 2.9% - mixed

• 2.3% - other

What did a 2005 study in Britain find about offending rates?

White individuals had the highest rate of committing crimes (42%) - also higher rates for more serious crimes

• compared to: 39% Mixed, 28% Black, 21% Asian

What was the only category in which black people had a higher rate of committing a crime?

Robbery - 2% VS 0.5%

• robberies only account for a small portion of overall crime

How do the statistics show a bias in the criminal system towards black people?

white individuals are more likely to commit a crime, yet black individuals were more likely to be arrested, convicted, and imprisoned

What does the 2012/13 survey show about the risk of being a victim?

being a personal victim of crime was higher for non-white groups

• 7.2%, in contrast to 5% for White individuals

From data collected from 2003 to 2011, what was the data on murder victimisation?

11% of murder victims were Black ethnic groups - 9% were from Asian groups

• percentages significantly exceeded their receptive proportions in the overall population

What did the 2012/13 Crime survey find about racially motivated crimes?

124,000 racially motivated incidents documented during 2012-13

• implies that ethnicity can be a contribution factor in specific criminal acts

What did the 2012/13 Crime survey find about fear of crime?

more prevalent among minority groups

• individuals from these backgrounds often experienced increased anxiety or concern about their safety in relation to crime compared to the general population

How are Black people over-represented in crime statistics?

TBC

What was the Lord Scarman report on?

Brixton Riots (1981)

What did the Lord Scarman report conclude?

‘bad apples’ in the police force - a small number of individual officers who behave badly

• spoil the reputation of the whole police force

What does Lord Scarman blame as a reason for these bad apples in the police force?

blames poor training and policing policies like the ‘sus’ laws (laws that permit police to stop and search people)

What idea does Reiner introduce as an explanation of Racism in the Police?

Canteen Culture

What is Reiner’s idea of Canteen Culture?

police officers develop a culture that can contribute to racial bias

What is the acronym for Reiner’s Canteen Culture?

Suspicion

Isolation

Cynicism

Conservatism

Macho Values

Racism

What is the acronym SICC MR for Reiner’s Canteen Culture stand for?

• Suspicion - rooted in racial bias, leads to racial profiling based on ethnicity

• Isolation - disconnect from communities hinders empathy and worsens disparities

• Cynicism - leads to mistrust of minority communities, results in aggressive interactions

• Conservatism - resist changes that address racial bias, perpetuating disparities

• Macho Values - encourage aggressive policing, particularly harmful when combined with bias

• Racism - institutional racism leads to discrimination, profiling, and a lack of officer accountability, deepening disparities

What was the Stephen Lawrence case?

racially motivated murder of Black British teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993

• initial police mishandling and allegations of institutional racism

What did the Macpherson Inquiry in 1999 find?

Metaropolitan Police Service to be institutionally racist

• systematic practices and attitudes that disadvantaged Black people - even if individuals did not hold racist views

What was the purpose of the Runnymede Trust in 2009?

review the situation within the police force to see if things had improved 10 years later

What did the Runnymede Trust find?

serious attempts to improve awareness and to change attitudes had taken place within the police force

• however, white-dominated police culture still existed - difficult to recruit officers from minority ethnic groups (4%)

What did Phillip and Bowling suggest about stop and search arrests?

made minority ethnic groups over policed and under protected

How were minority ethnic groups over police and under protected according to Phillip and Bowling?

black people faced near 5x the likelihood of being subjected to stop-and-search procedures

• Asian descent also experienced high rates of such encounters compared to the general population

Minority groups also have more invasive searches!

What did the Ministry of Justice data reveal about the over representation of Black people?

over representation of black people in arrests (8.3%) compared to their share in the overall population (3.3%)

• less likely than White people to exercise their rights to remain silent, seek legal advice, or deny the charges

What are the percentages to show the over representation of Black people in sentancing?

black people - 68% are more likely to get jail sentences compared to white (55%) or asian (59%) people

How does the nature of sentencing contribute to statistics?

white & asian people are more likely to recieve community service sentences

• decision could based on the nature and seriousness of the crime committed

How does Hood criticise the idea that the nature of sentencing is the reason for black people being over represented in prision statistics?

after taking the seriousness of an offence and previous convictions into consideration - black men were still almost 5x more likely to get jail sentences of about 3 months or more

• asian people were jailed an average of 9 months

• both longer sentences then White people get on average

What do Marxists tend to argue regarding Ethnicity and Crime?

ethnic minorities do not commit more crime than other ethnic groups - capitalism that makes it appear this way

Who are the two Neo-Marxist sociologists in explaining the link between Ethnicity and Crime?

• Gilory

• Hall et al

What does Gilroy’s anti-racist perspective propose?

idea of ‘black criminality’ is a myth

• recorded criminality is due to police stereotypes and racist labeling

How does Gilroy explain the reason for crime among Black British ethnic groups?

legacy of resistance against White dominance in former colonies like Jamaica

• disagrees with the notion that crime arises from relative deprivation and the pursuit of economic success

What did Gilroy suggest about the experience of Early Caribbean migrants and how this explains ethnicity and criminality?

Early Caribbean migrants to Britain faced discrimination and hostility

• tradition of anti-colonial struggle to develop cultures of resistance against white-dominated authorities

• e.g. rioting

What does Gilroy conclude about why black people commit crime?

most crime by Black ethnic groups are essentially political and part of the broader resistance to white rule

What did Hall et al’s examination of mugging find?

‘mugging’ panic in the 1970s - capitalism crisis characterised by industrial unrest, recession, unemployment, and political violence

• media highlighted surge in muggins - young Black men in London

This focus on a negatively perceived group diverted attention from the economic crisis, making young Black male scapegoats - moral panic & justified and increased police presence

What does Hall et al’s capitalism in crisis conclude?

• mugging problem was largely fabricated by the police and media

hegemony - powerful ruling groups justified their dominance by scapegoating Black youth, distracting from capitalism’s failures, and maintaining the system

How does Chapman criticise the Neo-Marxist approach to ethnicity and crime?

crisis of hegemony has waned - but conflict between police and minority ethnic groups persist

• credit crunch and banking crisis in late 1990s - heightened media focus on crime among newer immigrant groups

How is the Neo-Marxist approach to ethnicity and crime successful?

provides a social context for understanding crime - emphasising social change in a specific place and time

What does the Neo-Marxist approach successfully avoid when describing ethnicity and crime?

making sweeping generations

How can the Neo-Marxist approach to ethnicity and crime be questioned?

if crime is seen as a political act and a form of resistance - why does interracial crime exist?

Who are the Left Realist sociologists in explaining ethnicity and crime?

• Lea and Young

• Fitzgerald et al

What are the 2 explanations that Left Realists use to reject the Marxist explanation for ethnicity and crime?

• 90% of crimes known to the police are reported by the public - police discriminatory practices would not affect the reports

• black people have higher rates of criminalisation than asian people - selective racism

What is Lea and Young’s explanation of Relative Deprivation as an explanation for ethnicity and crime?

sense of relative disadvantage can lead to frustration and criminal behaviour as a means of address perceived injustice

What evidence does Fitzgerald et al produce to support the explanation of Relative Deprivation?

rates of street robbery were highest in very poor areas - young deprived people came into contact with wealthier groups

• black people more likely to live in these areas and be poor - more likely to commit more crimes

How could Fitzgerald et al’s evidence to support the explanation of Relative Deprivation be criticised?

white people who lived in these poor areas were also more likely to commit street crime

• ethnicity wasn’t the cause!

black people were just more likely to live in poor areas due to racial discrimination in housing and job markets

What is Lea and Young’s explanation of Marginalisation as an explanation for ethnicity and crime?

ethnic minority groups may face social and economic marginalisation, limiting their access to legitimate opportunities

• exclusion can drive some individuals towards criminal activities to overcome their disadvantaged status

excluded - feel like police don’t stand up for them against racism and hate crimes

What an example of Social and Economic Marginalisation which inherently disadvantages young black men?

e.g. young black men are more likely to be unemployed - don’t have trade union who can stand up for their interests

How can Left Realism’s idea of relative deprivation of ethnic minorities be criticised?

fails to address the structural and systematic factors that contribute to the over representation of ethnic minorities

• focuses too much on the individual and community factors

How is Left Realist explanations of ethnicity and crime praised?

praised for its ability to addressing the fear of crime

How is Left Realist explanations of ethnicity and crime be accused of?

accused of creating a stigmatisation of marginalised communities

Which sociologists introduce the cultural explanations for ethnicity and crime?

• Webster

• Sewell

What is Webster’s argument on ethnicity and crime?

Family structures - high rates of single parenthood in Black ethnic groups meant that boys from these groups were more likely to offend

• behaviour was not governed by fathers and they lacked male role models

Why did Webster argue that Asian people were less likely to be in crime statistics compared to Black people?

Family structure - Asian ethnic groups generally have more stable family structures

• “increased the monitoring, social control and household responsibilities thereby acting as protective factor against offending”

How can Webster’s argument on family structure be supported by Lupton?

Lupton - discipline in Asian families where children are expected to respect adult authority is similar to that found in schools

• “protective factor against offending”

What is Sewell’s argument on ethnicity and crime?

Black Caribbean boys often face significant peer pressure to conform to an ‘urban’ or ‘street subculture’ - prioritizing disruptive behavior over academic success

• gang culture provides role models for young black men who feel isolated without a strong father figure who can provide the ‘tough love’ needed

In 2003, why did Sewell argue that Black Carribean boys failed in education?

despite opportunities available - many black boys failed to seize them

• prevalence of anti-school peer pressure among Black males - results in diminished educational attainment

• finding social capital in other ways - deviant career

What is a major criticism of Sewell that the sociologist Driver introduces?

Single British Caribbean parents are far from isolation - Caribbean single mothers are often well-connected to other people in their communities; networks existed

• British Caribbean communities have strong family connections!

What is a major criticism of Sewell that the sociologist Reynolds introduces?

many single Caribbean mothers are in a long-term relationship with a man who doesn’t live with them, but visits every day and plays an active role in childcare