ethnicity and crime

3 main sources:

1. official stats - blacks are 10x more likely than whites to be stopped and searched and 5x more likely to be in prison

2. victim surveys - black people are significantly more likely to be identified as offenders - victim surveys show a lot of crime is inter-ethnic - black on black

problems with victim surveys:

• rely on victims memory of events
• only cover personal crime
• excludes under 16s

3. self report studies - ask individuals to disclose crimes they have committed - graham and bowling found that blacks and whites had almost identical rates of offending 

1. neo marxist explan.

paul gilroy - black criminality = a myth created by racist stereotypes

• EM = form of political resistance to inequality, racism in white culture, police typifications, harrassment and oppression
• denies there is greater criminality among black people than whites

criticisms

• lea and young - most criminals are inter racial 

2. left realist explan.

lea and young - EM at a disadvantage compared to other groups

• youths have much higher levels of unemployment because they are marginalised and alienated from society
• join gang culture culture to recieve peer group support

criticisms

• stereotypes are a social construct and change over time