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Flashcards in Ethnicity and crime Deck (49)
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1
Q

whats percentage of ethnic groups make up the UK population?

A

white - 87%
black - 3%
asian - 7%
other - 3%

2
Q

what percentage of ethnic groups make up the convictions in the UK?

A

white - 73%
black - 8%
asian - 5%
other - 14%

3
Q

what is the average custodial sentence for different ethnic groups in the UK in months?

A

white - 15.9
black - 23.4
asian - 22.4
other - n/a

4
Q

what can be suggested from the statistics about ethnic differences and crime?

A
  • black are the minority of the total pop but have the longest custodial sentences
  • white have the highest amount of convictions but lowest custodial sentence rate
5
Q

what don’t statistics tell us?

A

whether p’s from one group are more likely to commit an offence in the first place

6
Q

what are 2 alternative sources of statistics?

A
  • victim surveys (p’s asked if they’ve been a victim and to what)
  • self report studies (p’s asked if they’ve committed a crime)
7
Q

what stats are there about black p’s involvement with the police?

A
  • 7x more likely to be stop and searched
  • 4x more likely to experience police force
  • 3.5x more likely to be arrested
  • 5x more likely to be imprisoned
8
Q

what are the findings of victim surveys?

A
  • black p’s are over represented among offenders

- shows a lot of crime is intra-ethnic

9
Q

what are the findings of self report studies?

A
  • blacks and whites had similar rates of offending

- asians had a much lower rate of offending

10
Q

what are the strengths of self report studies and victim surveys?

A
  • looks at unreported crime
  • avoids police bias
  • anonymous: more likely to be truthful
  • surveys can be reused (reliable)
  • preferred by positivists
11
Q

what are the weaknesses of self report studies and victim surveys?

A
  • rely on p’s being truthful
  • self reports might use deception, unethical
  • aren’t live, out of date, low temporal validity
  • p’s can interpret questions differently
12
Q

according to Bowling and Phillips what are the stages of the CJS?

A
  1. stop and search
  2. arrests and cautions
  3. prosecution and trials
  4. convictions
  5. prison
13
Q

what are the differences in ethnicities with stop and search?

A
  • more likely ethnic minorities
  • black 7x more likely than white
  • asian over 2x as likely as white
  • asians more likely to be stopped under terrorism act than white
  • blacks more often involved in taser incidents
14
Q

what can cause ethnic differences in stop and search?

A
  • selective policing
  • demographic factors
  • police racism
  • stereotypes fueled by media
15
Q

what are the ethnic differences in arrests and cautions?

A
  • 3x more blacks than white (2014)
  • black and asian less likely to receive cautions
  • black / asian more likely to get custodial sentence
  • EM more likely to deny charges and request legal advice
  • white criminality is invisible compared to EM criminality
  • EM more likely to commit crimes that raise visibility to authority
16
Q

what ethnic differences are there in prosecution and trial?

A
  • CPS more likely to drop cases against EM
  • when EM cases go ahead, EM more likely to elect for trial in front of a jury
  • jury’s are normal people
  • less chance of institutional racism
17
Q

what are the ethnic differences in convictions and sentencing?

A
  • asian / black defendants less likely found guilty
  • when found guilty they serve longer sentences
  • usually 4+ years
18
Q

what is the ethnic differences in prison?

A
  • 1/4 of prison pop is EM (2014)
  • black 4x more likely to be in jail than white

among british nationals in jail:

  • 5.5 per 1000 black
  • 1.6 per 1000 asian
  • 1.4 per 1000 whites
19
Q

what was ethnic differences and crime like in 1970’s?

A

general agreement that EM had lower crime rates than white

20
Q

what was ethnic differences and crime like in mid 1970’s?

A
  • increased conflict between police and african carribeans
  • higher arrest rates for street crime
  • increased black criminality
21
Q

what was ethnic differences and crime like in the 1990’s?

A
  • crime by asian is viewed as a problem
  • concerns about growth of ‘asian gangs’
  • 9/11 confirmed fears of asians specifically muslims as the enemy within
22
Q

what are the 2 explanations for ethnic differences in stats?

A
  • left realism

- neo marxism

23
Q

how do left realists describe ethnic differences in stats?

A

lea and young:

  • black crime for some offences is higher than white
  • due to marginalisation and discrimination
  • relative deprivation = legitimate routes blocked
  • these create subcultures mainly in young black males which increases street crimes
24
Q

how does left realist approaches explain utilitarian crimes?

A
  • p’s lack access to materials
  • commit crime for monetry gain
  • gain material illegitimately
25
Q

how does the left realist approach explain non utilitarian crimes?

A

To gain acceptance / reinstate masculinity / status they lose from society, they re gain it in subcultures through crime

26
Q

what do Lea and Young say about police and racism?

A
  • police often act in racist ways
  • this results in unjustified criminalisation
  • however this can’t fully explain ethnic differences as 90% of crimes are reported by public
  • stats show real differences caused by real differences in marginalisation and relative deprivation
27
Q

what does the neo marxist Gilroy say about stats?

A
  • do not reflect reality

- they’re socially constructed to stereotype EM as criminal

28
Q

what does neo marxist Gilroy say about black criminality

A
  • myth of black criminality
  • created by racist stereotypes
  • police and CJS act on these stereotypes
  • EM then make up more stats and seem more criminal
29
Q

according to neo marxist Gilroy what was black crimes caused by?

A
  • 1970’s: black crime was political action
  • represented a culture of resistance to inequality and oppression
  • EM crime is political resistance against racism
  • resistance originated against British imperialism
  • EM carry the weight of historical violence e.g slavery
30
Q

what happened when EM experiences racism in Britain according to neo marxist Gilroy?

A
  • they adopted an anti-imperialistic form of resistance to defend them self
  • their political struggle was criminalised by British state
31
Q

what examples can you support neo marxist Gilroys idea of political resistance to?

A
  • black lives matter movement

- rose parks

32
Q

whats the weaknesses of neo marxist approach?

A
  • first generation immigrants (1950’s and 60’s) were law abiding
  • unlikely they passed down anti-colonial attitudes to kids
  • most crime is intra-ethnic
  • can’t be seen as anti-colonial struggle against racism
33
Q

what did neo marxist Hall state happened in the 1970’s?

A
  • british capitalism faced a crisis of hegemony due to political and economic issues
  • high inflation and rising unemployment = protests, strikes and conflict in northern Ireland
  • media driven moral panic about the growth of ‘mugging’
34
Q

describe neo marxist Hall’s idea of the black mugger

A
  • media, politicians and police associated mugging with black youth
  • black mugger was a scapegoat to distract attention from unemployment
  • black mugger symbolised disintegration in social order
35
Q

what did the idea of the black mugger cause in britain according to neo marxist hall?

A
  • appeared british life was under threat
  • moral panic divided w/c on racial grounds
  • weakened opposition to capitalism
  • created hostility between CJS/ police and EM
36
Q

what did neo marxist hall say the crisis of capitalism created?

A
  • increasingly marginalised black youths through unemployment
  • this led to hustling and petty crimes
37
Q

what were the wider origins of the deviant act - ‘policing the crisis’

A

britain faced a crisis of hegemony due to political and economic problems

38
Q

what was neo marxist halls theory?

A

policing the crisis

39
Q

what were the immediate origins of the deviant act - ‘policing the crisis’

A

moral panic

40
Q

what was the act itself - ‘policing the crisis’

A
  • street crime
  • mugging
  • robbery
  • violence
41
Q

what was the immediate origins of the social reaction - ‘policing the crisis’

A
  • marginalisation
  • segregation
  • police racism
42
Q

what are the wider origins of the social reaction - ‘policing the crisis’

A
  • disintegration of social order

- british life under threat

43
Q

what were the effects of labelling ‘ ‘policing the crisis’

A
  • increased hostility and marginalisation
  • hustling and petty crimes
  • self fulfilling prophecy
44
Q

what are the strengths of the neo marxist approach?

A
  • shows the micro and macro approaches
  • not outdated
  • proves bougeoisie uses ideology to manipulate masses
45
Q

what are the weaknesses of neo marxism?

A
  • stop and search can be good, it can stop future crimes

- Hall claimed black crime wasn’t rising, then contradicted and said it was due to unemployment

46
Q

what is a more recent approach than neo marxism?

A

fitzgerald (2013):

- neighbourhood factors could explain the higher reporting of black crime

47
Q

what is racist victimisation?

A

occurs when p is selected as a target because of their race, ethnicity or religion

48
Q

what evidence is there about racist victimisation?

A

2015 - Dylan Roof killed 9 African american during bible study in texas

brenton Tarrant - killed 51 in christchurch shooting in new zealand

49
Q

what are the chances of ethnic groups facing racist victimisation?

A

mixed ethnic background - 27.9%
blacks - 18%
asians - 15.8%
whites - 15.7%