Topic 12 - Ethnicity & Crime

Subdecks (2)

Cards (26)

  • Graham & Bowling
    • White and black respondents had very similar rates of offending
    • 44% vs 43%
    • The notion that ethnic minorities commit more crime is a social construction
  • McPherson Report - result of Stephen Lawrence murder
    • Metropolitan police are 'institutionally racist'
    • 'Collective failure'
  • Casey Report 2023
    • 'Culture of bullying, racism, sexism, and misogyny' within the Metropolitan Police
  • Waddington
    • 'Canteen Culture' within police forces promotes racism and stereotypes and this becomes normalised
    • Trade 'war stories' to help cope with the stress of the job
  • Abbas
    • Previous stereotypes of Asians as passive and law-abiding are changing into a culture of islamophobia after 9/11 and the London 2001 bombings
    • Led to 'racial profiling'
  • Scarman Report
    • There were the occasional 'bad apples' in the Metropolitan Police who were racist
    • Unrealistic to expect otherwise - simply a reflection of the population at large
  • Scraton
    • Ethnic minorities do commit more crime, but do so out of a 'culture of resistance' to the media using them as scapegoats
    • Origins in anti-colonial struggles - political act, not criminal!
  • Scraton is criticised by Lea & Young who accuse him of 'romanticising' crime and ignoring the very real harm to victims. Focus should be on victims instead. Also, if crime is an 'anti-colonial struggle' then why is most crime intraracial?
  • Venkatesh
    • Crime is a type of 'outlaw capitalism'
    • Economic exclusion has forced gangs into alternative ways of seeking success
  • Carlen
    • Sociologists have failed to research the relationship between women, ethnicity, and crime.
    • Ethnic minorities are more disadvantaged than other women so commit more crime due to radically impaired life chances.
  • Murray & Herrnstein
    • Low intelligence is linked to unemployment and welfare dependence, which they argue is more common in black families
    • Black people commit more crime due to the link between low IQ and crime.
  • Murray & Herrnstein were widely criticised for using IQ tests which favour white ethnic groups, and they have ignored the evidence that official statistics show social construction due to a racist justice system.
  • Glynn
    • Ethnic minorities do face racism but this racism does create a defiant reaction among some black males.