Ethnicity and Crime

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  • Created by: chichi2
  • Created on: 29-03-17 09:20
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  • Ethnicity and Crime
    • Ethnic groups are labelled as more criminal
      • Neo - Marxist
        • Labelling
          • Left Realists
    • Ethnic groups are more criminal
      • Functionalist
        • Merton - inability to achieve socially approved goals through legitimate means = deviance
        • Subcultural
          • Ethnic minority subcultures eg. Rastafarians - subject to racial discrimination - subcultures = support system against it + lead to deviance - peer pressure
            • Parmer - they look at BME groups as a whole + ignores differences between Afro-Caribbean and Asian rates, even if they are classified as being in same ethnic group
              • All are too deterministic - assume that certain norms and values will always lead to certain outcomes
          • New Right
            • Murray - Afro-Caribbean groups - more likely to be unemployed, in lone parent families (no father figure) etc. = deviance
              • All are too deterministic - assume that certain norms and values will always lead to certain outcomes
    • Statistics
      • Ministry of Justice 2011
        • Compared to white people, black people are:
          • 3 1/2 times more likely to be arrested
          • If arrested, more likely to be remanded in custody + face court proceedings than get a caution
          • Graham and Bowling - blacks + whites = similar rates of offending
        • Compared to white people, Asian people are:
          • More likely to receive a custodial sentence + for longer term
          • Lacks accuracy - dark figure eg. CSEW - self report studies - asks about violent/ dishonest behaviour
    • Criminal Justice System
      • Racist Policing
        • Stop and Search
          • Black/Asian fit police stereotype of troublemaker so are targeted - heavier policing
            • Phillips and Bowling - stop and search - contributes - criminalisation - ethnic minorities and can cause resentment towards police - one sparks behind London riots 2011. Can also lead to self-fulfilling prophecy - act out stereotypes given by police
              • Changes made to stop and search - now must have reasonable suspicion - subjective but now police wear body cameras - check
        • Canteen Culture
          • Reiner - amongst police there is suspicion macho values and racism. Leads to racist stereotypes and mistrust of those from non-white background
  • New Right
    • Murray - Afro-Caribbean groups - more likely to be unemployed, in lone parent families (no father figure) etc. = deviance
    • Paul Gilroy - crime by black people eg. 1970's was a form of political action + resistance against inequality and police racism.
      • Neo - Marxist
        • Labelling
          • Left Realists
    • Becker - crime stats are socially constructed. Stats are result of discrimination against Blacks/Asians by CJS. Creates false impression that Black people more likely to be offenders.
      • Stan Cohen - moral manic developed and the "Black mugger" became folk devil symbol for society's problems + helped justify heavy + aggressive policing in inner city areas, mainly where Black people live
        • More recently - media turned attention to different ethnic groups - immigrants from countries such as Syria + Irag - so role of media in encouraging aggressive policing (due to moral panic) is less significant
    • Lea + Young - Black crime, for some offences eg. street robbery, is higher than for White population - 3 reasons for this
      • Subculture  -may form in response to marginality and relative deprivation that ethnic groups are more likely to face - they provide peer group support for young Black males. May involve violence/ street crime - response to the resentment and status frustration they feel.
        • They look at BME groups as a whole + ignore differences between Afro-Caribbean and Asian rates, even if they are classified as being in same ethnic group

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