Ethnicity and crime (explanations for differences)

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AS level Sociology (Crime and deviance) Mind Map on Ethnicity and crime (explanations for differences), created by daisy jones on 15/11/2017.
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Mind Map by daisy jones, updated more than 1 year ago
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Ethnicity and crime (explanations for differences)
  1. In 2008, the Ministry of Justice reported that, compared to white people: Afro Caribbean people were more likely to be arrested for robbery, 3 x more likely to be cautioned, 5 x more likely to be in prison etc.. Asian people were: 2 x as likely to be stopped and searched, more likely to receive a custodial sentence if found guilty etc..
    1. Neo Marxist ideas (Gilroy) -young black people are targeted by the media and the police, however black crime is different because it is against colonialism etc. it is political and potentially revolutionary, a political response to inequality and discrimination
      1. 2 main strands of thought
        1. structionalist view: they are more criminal
          1. social constructionist: the justice system is unfair
          2. Marxist ideas: Hall et al (1978)
            1. Britain was facing crisis during the 70s (protests, high unemployment etc)
              1. This = a threat to hegemony
                1. At the same time was a growing conflict between police and the afro Caribbean community (increased by selective publication of crime statistics)
                  1. economic conditions were bad and the gov needed a scapegoat
                  2. Reasons for high criminality of Afro Caribbean people: (structural)
                    1. Lea and Young (left realists) were the first criminologists to acknowledge that black people were actually more likely to be involved in street crime.
                      1. Reasons
                        1. Marginalisation
                          1. Young unemployed black people are marginalised in that they are unorganised and have few pressure groups to lobby on their behalf, so their frustrations are more likely to be expressed in illegal activity
                          2. Relative deprivation
                            1. Minorities suffer relative deprivation not only in areas shared with sections of the white working class (high unemployment and poor environment), but also racial discrimination and racially motivated attacks
                            2. sub cultural response
                              1. Sub cultural responses include the hustling subculture described by the Pryce in his ethnographic study of St Paul's in Bristol, with young black people involved in petty street crime, drug dealing and prostitution, getting by from day to day.
                            3. Left realists don't believe that racism in the police can account for higher crime rates because black people have a higher offending rate than Asians
                          3. Other reasons for high criminality
                            1. Educational success: 2006, only 23% of Afro Caribbean boys achieved 5 GCSEs. This affects self confidence, employability etc.
                              1. Family structure: 60% of young black males live with one parent (usually mother). Single families tend to be worse off.
                                1. Mass media: Influence of Rap Artists. New right and Conservatives argue that rap encourages "Bling, Violence and Criminality". However, it is questionable to blame one form of entertainment
                                2. Unfair treatment and Racism
                                  1. Labelling and Stereotyping: Reiner (2000) Canteen Culture amongst police, including: suspicion, macho values and racism, which encourages racist stereotypes and mistrust of those from non white backgrounds
                                    1. Poverty, social exclusions and identity: Bowling and Phillips (2002) Higher levels of robbery among black people could be the product of labelling the arises from the use of regular stop and search procedures, which turn into self fulfilling prophecy
                                      1. Waddington 2004 published in the British Journal of Criminology argues that the police do stop a proportionately higher number of black people compared to white people. However, this could be due to geographical locations and heavier police influence in certain areas.
                                        1. Stephen Lawrence
                                          1. A black teenager born 1974 from Eltham, Southeast London, was stabbed to death whilst waiting fora bus on the evening of 22nd April 1993. After the initial investigation, 5 suspects were arrested but never convicted. It was suggested during the course of the investigation that the murder had a racist motive and that Stephen Lawrence was murdered because he was black, and that the handling of the case by the police and crown prosecution service was affected by issues of race leading to an inquiry. in 1999, an inquiry headed by Sir W Macpherson examined the met investigation and concluded that the force was institutionally racist.
                                        2. Policing: many allegations of oppressive policing from minority ethnic communities are made
                                          1. Stop and Search: lots of stop and search is perhaps due to racism and targeting
                                            1. Arrests and Cautions: more likely to be arrested and cautioned perhaps due to a mistrust of police and not admitting to offences
                                              1. Prosecution and Conviction: crown prosecution service more likely to drop causes against ethnic minorities
                                                1. Sentencing and Prison: custodial sentences more likely to be given to black offenders
                                          2. Victimisation: police recorded 61,000 racist incidents whilst the BCS reports 184,000 many go unreported. People from mixed ethnic backgrounds were more likely to be victims of crime
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