ethnicity and crime

• trends in ethnicity and crime

  Prison statistics:

  • black people make up 3% of the population but 13.1% of the prison population
  • Asian people make up 6.5% of the population but 7.7% of prison population
• trends in ethnicity and crime

  Police statistics:

  • ethnic minorities are 3% more likely to be stopped and searched by the police
• trends in ethnicity and crime

  Court statistics:

  • ethnic minorities are more likely to be given a custodial sentence then those of the ethnic majority
• Demographic explanations of ethnicity and crime statistics

  MORRIS

  • BAME groups contain a disproportionate number of young people compared to the white ethnic majority - higher ethnic minority criminality as young people are more likely to commit crime
• Demographic explanations of ethnicity and crime

  MORRIS - AO3

  • statistical illusion: impossible to determine if it is the age of the offenders that causes the higher rates of their ethnicity
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  • police targeting
  • locality theory
  • institutional racism
  • socio and cultural theory
  • subcultures
  • political protest
  • triple quandary
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  police targeting -

  • PHILLIPS AND BROWNING - ethnic minorities are over-policed and under-protected
  • GILROY - "myth of Black criminality" - stereotyping

  Police focus on ethnic minorities and therefore they are more likely to be stoped and searched or arrested compared to the white majority
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  police targeting - AO3

  • targeting could be caused by moral panics such as the Black muggers in the 1970s and therefore based on actual criminality
  • can cause chicken and egg scenario where the targeting leads to higher ethnic minority criminality which leads to more targeting
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  locality theory

  • WADDINGTON - certain areas are more densely populated with ethnic minorities which explains higher stop and search statistics
  • Ethnic minorities live in the zones of transition where crime rates are much higher due to the lack of social cohesion
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  locality theory - AO3

  • this may be the case for first-generation immigrants but many ethnic minorities have moved out of the zone of transition after 1 or 2 generations and tend to assimilate into the majority culture
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  institutional racism

  HOLDAWAY - canteen culture - police officers in themselves are not racists but when together they can reinforce stereotypes which are then acted on duty

  MCPHERSON REPORT - result of Stephen Lawrence murder which highlighted racist policies within the police force
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  institutional racism - AO3

  • since the publication of the Mcpherson report the police force has been actively changing policies to deal with institutional racism - recruiting more officers from ethnic minorities
  • crime rate amongst ethnic minorities has not decreased
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  social and cultural theory -

  • HIRSCHI - young people regardless of their ethnicity commit crime due to lack of social controls of attachment, commitment, involvement and belief in their lives
  • asian families - stricter controls over young people which could explain the lower rates of criminality amongst Asian communities
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  Subcultures

  • Left realists: LEA AND YOUNG - ethnic minorities suffer from marginalisation and relative deprivation
  • ethnic minorities form subcultures which help to alleviate feelings of marginalisation but these can take deviant forms and lead to higher rates of criminality
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  social and cultural theory - AO3

  • this is not limited to ethnic minorities and is more of an explanation for age differences in criminality than ethnic minority
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  subcultures - AO3

  • not all ethnic minorities join a subculture and not all subcultures are criminal in nature
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality -

  political protest -

  • GILROY - ethnic minorities (Black men) often feel alienated by everyday experiences of racism and what they perceive as a racist police force
  • crime = form of protest
  • Street crimes = forms of resistance against white oppression (crime of the Black panthers)
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  political protest - AO3

  • this doesn't account for the fact that most crime is committed within ethnic minority groups - majority of victims of black crime are black themselves which undermines Gilroys theory
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  triple quandary

  • SEWELL - three risk factors which are responsible for the high levels of crime among black boys

  1. lack of a father figure - single mother families means boys look to community for role models - gang leaders
  2. negative experiences of white culture - school, policing and employers racism
  3. media influences - hip-hop and rap stars: acquire status through designer clothing and construct hyper-masculine identity (violence)
• reasons for ethnic minority criminality

  triple quandary - AO3

  • the rise of positive role models - Obama
  • no causality established between single parenthood and criminality
  • black crime - victimise black people