M4 Crime

• How much of the general population is black?

  3%
• How much of the prison population is black?

  13%
• How likely are young black men likely to be stopped and searched?

  7x more likely than a white person
• What is a victim survey?

  Individuals are asked to say what crimes they have been victims of
• What do victim surveys show about ethnicity and offending?

  • Shows a great deal of crime is intra-ethnic
  • Black people are significantly over-represented among those identified as offenders in case of muggings
• Limitations of victim surveys on ethnicity and offending?

  • Relief on the victims memories of events
  • Only covers personal crimes which make up 1/5 of all crime
  • Excludes crime against / by organisations so ignores white collar / corporate criminals
• Philips and Bowling - victim surveys?

  White victims may 'over-identify' blacks, saying the offender was black even if they weren't sure
• CSEW?

  Crime survey for England and Wales
• Self-report study?

  Surveys ask individuals to disclose their own violent / dishonest behaviour
• What do self-report studies show about ethnicity and offending?

  • 2003 Offending, Crime and Justice survey: white and mixed were most likely to admit committing an offence (40%), blacks 28%, asians 21%
• Institutional racism?

  Race based discrimination that occurs in institutions like schools, healthcare etc
• What did the Terrorism Act 2000 mean?

  Police can stop and search with or without reasonable suspicion
• Philips and Bowling - stop and search?

  Minorities more likely to think they are overpoliced and underprotected

  • Have little faith in the police
• Taser - stop and search?

  Taser incidents amongst blacks is 18 in 10,000

  Amongst whites is 6 in 10,000
• Crime statistics - arrests and cautions?

  • Arrest rate for blacks was 3x whites
  • Once arrested, Black / Asians were less likely to receive cautions than whites
• Prosecution and trial - ethnicity?

  • CPS are more likely to drop cases against ethnic minorities
  • Minority ethnic groups are more likely to opt for trial before jury
• Philips and Bowling - prosecution and trial?

  Evidence presented to CPS by police is often weaker and based on stereotyping ethnic minorities as criminals
• Convictions and sentencing - ethnicity and statistics?

  • Black and Asian defendants are less likely to be found guilty
  • Black offenders imprisonment rate is 3% higher and Asian 5% higher than white people
• Hood - convictions and sentencing?

  Black men are 5% more likely to receive a custodial sentence, and sentences three months longer than white men
• Gilroy - racism in the justice system?

  Myth of black criminality
• What is the myth of black criminality?

  • Myth created by racist stereotypes of African Carribeans / Asians
  • Police/justice system act on this, thus they appear in greater numbers
  • Ethnic minority crime can be seen as political resistance against racist society
• British imperialism on crime?

  • Most blacks / asians originated in former British colonies
  • their anti-imperialist struggles taught them how to resist oppression
• Criticisms of Gilroy?

  • First gen immigrants (50s/60s) were very law-abiding so its unlikely they passed down anti-colonial struggle
  • Most crime is intra-ethnic so cannot be anti-colonial struggle
  • Asian crime rates are similar to whites, for Gilroy to be right the police would have to be racist to only Blacks not Asians
• How does Hall explain ethnic minority crime?

  • Ruling class control the proletariat, but when capitalism is in crisis this falters
  • Moral panics: mugging in the 1970s despite no actual increase
• How does Hall explain the black mugger moral panic?

  • Black youth began to be associated by media / police / politicians
  • Culture wars are created to maintain capitalism
• Evaluations of Hall on ethnic minority crime?

  • Downes and Rock - argue Hall et al are inconsistent in claiming Black street crime wasn't rising, but also was due to unemployment
  • Don't show how the capitalist crisis led to moral panic, or evidence that the public were panicking / blaming crime on blacks
  • Left realists argue inner-city residents' fears about mugging are not panicky, but realistic
• Sharp & Budd - ethnicity and crime?

  Black offenders more likely than white to be imprisoned
• Racist victimisation?

  When an individual is selected as a target because of their race, ethnicity or religion
• Racist incident?

  Any incident that is perceived to be racist by the victim or another person
• RER aggravated offences?

  Assault / wounding / criminal damage where the offender is motivated by hostility towards members of a religious / racial group
• Who examined the role of neighbourhood in explaining black youths in robbery?

  FitzGerald et al
• Neighbourhood and crime?

  • Rates highest in very poor areas where poor black youths interact with affluents
  • Young blacks more likely to live in these areas
  • Whites were more likely to commit crime
  • Blacks more likely to live in poor areas because of racial discrimination in the housing / job markets
• Racial discrimination statistics?

  • 54,000 racist incidents in England and Wales in 2014/15
  • CSEW estimate this was actually around 89,000
  • 8,600 people were prosecuted/cautioned for racially aggravated incidents in 2014
• Responses to victimisation?

  • Ethnic communities are active in this, organising situational crime prevention measures
  • fireproof doors to organised self-defence campaigns
  • Accusations of under-protected by police, ignoring racist dimensions of victimisation
  • MacPherson enquiry concluded police response to Stephen Lawrence was marred with racism
• How much more likely are black people to be stopped and searched than whites?

  7 times
• Two problems using self-report studies to study ethnic differences in offending?

  • Black men are less likely to report offences already known to the police
  • Self-report studies don't typically ask about serious offences
• How do Lea and Young explain non / utilitarian crime amongst blacks?

  • Utilitarian crime: produced in delinquent subcultures suffering relative deprivation
  • Non-utilitarian crime: produced by frustration due to marginalisation
• In what way does Gilroy see ethnic minority crime as political?

  As a form of political resistance to racist capitalist society
• Two criticisms of Gilroy's views?

  • First gen immigrants tended to be law abiding
  • Most crime is intra-ethnic
  • Asian crime is lower than / similar to Whites
• According to Hall et al, how did the moral panic over mugging help capitalism?

  Creating culture wars distracts attention from capitalism being in crisis - dividing the working class on racial grounds stops revolution and provides opportunity to impose stricter laws