crime ethnicity

• According to official statistics, there are some significant ethnic differences in the likihood of EM being involved with the criminal justice system.

  Black ppl are overrepresented in the system, making up 13% of the prison population despite being only 3% of the UK population. By contrast, white people are underrepresented in all stages of the criminal justice system.
• However such stats dont tell us whtether some ethnic groups are actually more likely to commit crime, just their involvement with the system.

  EG Black people are 7x more likely to be stopped and searched which may be due to differences in policing stratagies or discrimination
• Victim surveys cann be an alternative to stats. They show that actually a great deal of crime is intra-ethnic rather than inter-ethnic.

  While victim surveys are useful in identifying patterns of offending, the rely on a victims memory, which is unreliable. Studies suggest that white people 'over-identify' black people.

  • However they exclude crimes against organisations, so they tell us nothing about the ethnicity of white collar & corporate crime.
• Another alternative is self report studies, which ask individuals to anonomously disclose their own dishonest and violent behaviour. This has found that blacks & whites have almost identical rates of offending, with asians having the lowest

  • The nature of self reports means it produces useful data about anti-social behaviour and petty crime, however not valid as as people are unlikely to reveal much about more serious crimes
• Black people are 7x more likely to be stopped and searched than white people, and now Asians are the most likely follwing the terrorism act 2000. Therefore its unsuprising that EM have little faith in the polcie, believing that theyre 'overpoliced' and 'underprotected'.
• Neo-marxist: Stats are a social construction resulting from the racist labelling & discrimination from the criminal justice system. Hall & Gilroy
• Hall: One of the ways the bourgeoisie controls society is through the media. They use 'moral panics' to control the public. The 1970s was a time of crisis for capitalism, with political unrest, an economic recession, industrial strikes, & unemployment. To distract from this, panic over 'black mugger' (young black carribean man), creating divisions between the working class over racial tensions (rather than between the working & ruling), demonising them in the eyes of the public. This moral panic justified the increased police on the streets acting in a repressive manner towards black people.
• Gilroy: describes a 'myth of black criminality, which is created by police stereotyping & racist labelling. He sees most crime by Black ethnic groups as political, their 'criminality' being a resistance to white rule from former white colonies in countries such as Jamaica.
• Criticisms of neo marxists

  • Gilroy: most crimes is intra-racial so cant be resistance to racism. LR see Gilroy as romaticising crime and criminals, thereby ingoring the very real harm crime has on its victims.
  • Hall: Criticised for making no effort into researching the thinkings & motivations of Young black caribbean males
• Left Realists: Crime stats show real differences in offending. Crime is the result of relative deprivation & a subculture of marginalisation. Racism has lead to the marginalisation & economic exclusion of EM groups, who face higher levels of unemployment, poverty, & poor housing. They medias emphasis on consumerism sets materialistic goals that EM groups are unable to achieve throug legitimate means.

  • Both white & black caribbean ppl have similar levels of poverty.
• Black ppl having high rates of offending & Asians having low suggests theres a cultural factor. Webster: Black ppls high rates of lone parent mothers means theyre more likely to offend bc their behaviours not 'governed' by fathers'. Asian ppl have more stable & larger family structures which may increase the monitoring, control, & household responsabilites thereby protecting them from offending.

  • Overgeneralising. Most black families dont have lone parents & single parenthood in Asian families are rising.
  • Difs maybe be bc social/economic factors. School?
• Police is institutionally racist. Mcpherson report of Stephen Lawrence.
• Evidence suggests that EM are more likely to remain silent & seek legal advice than white ppl (probably bc theyre aware of the polices racist preconceptions). However this is more likely to suggest that theyre suspicious/ guilty.