2. Statistics on ethnicity and
crime
There are 3 ways of gathering statistics on
ethnicity and crime –
1. Official statistics
2. Victimization Studies
3. Self-Report Studies
3. Official statistics
About 91 % of people in the UK are white,
and 9% are non-white (5% Asian, 2% Afro
Caribbean, 2% mixed/other)
These statistics are important in showing how
some groups are over represented among
prison population.
Of approx 80,000 men in prison 74% are
white, 15% Afro Caribbean, 7% Asian, 4%
mixed/other
4. Official statistics
Officialstatistics tell us the numbers of
people arrested by the police. However they
are not necessarily a reflection of offending
rates but the actions of the police officers.
If,as some sociologists suggest, many police
officers are motivated by racism, then the
arrest rates reflects this.
5. Victimisation studies
Victim- based studies (such as the British Crime survey) are
gathered by asking victims of crimes for their recollections of the
ethnic identity of the offender. Like official statistics, asking
victims for a description of who committed the crime against tem
is problematic.
For a start, only about 20% of survey recorded crimes are
personal crimes (such as theft from the person), where the
victims might see the offender.
Bowling and Phillips claim that victims are influenced by racial
stereotypes. They argue that where the offender is not known,
white people are more likely to describe someone of an African-
Caribbean origin
6. Self-report studies
This is the use of an anonymous
questionnaire to ask people what offences
they have committed.
Graham and Bowling’s study (1995) of 14-25
year olds found that the self-reported
offending rates were more or less the same
for the white, black and Asian respondents.
It so challenges the view that the rate of
offending of Black ethnic groups is higher
than white ethnic groups.
7. Racial discrimination in the
criminal justice system
Some researchers argue that the greater
likelihood for ethnic minority groups,
particularly Black ethnic groups to be
criminalised reflects their greater involvement
in crime. However, others argue that ethnic
differences in criminalisation stem from
institutional racism within the CJS.
8. Evidence of racial discrimination
in the criminal justice system
In 1983 the PSI published a report entitled
Police and People in London. Researchers
used a range of qualitative methods,
including non-participant observation
(shadowing police officers), and interviews to
investigate the attitudes of Metropolitan
police officers.
The researchers found that the use of racist
language and jokes were common and had
become part of the institutional culture.
9. Evidence of racial discrimination
in the criminal justice system
A large multi-method research project carried out in
2001 by Marion Fitzgerald and Michael Hough,
The Policing for London Survey, found that
although many people stopped by the police were
satisfied with their treatment, there had been a
decline in confidence in police effectiveness.
The study found that the best predictors for being
stopped by the police were ‘being young,
being male, being black, being working
class and being single.'’(2002)
10. Evidence of racial discrimination
in the criminal justice system
Philips and Bowling 2002 argue that the UK
criminal justice system is racist. They point to –
a.) the higher number of stop and searches of black
men (5-8 times higher than for whites)
b.) the higher number of arrests
c.) the over-policing in inner city areas
d.) the use of racially abusive language
e.) the higher imprisonment rate for black men
compared to whites.
11. Institutional Racism
A concern over the issues of policing,
crime and race relations has been a long
running theme in British society. This concern
was heightened following the racist murder
of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 while he was
waiting at a London bus stop.
The Macpherson Enquiry in 1999 argued that the Metropolitan
Police was institutionally racist in its actions concerning the
investigation into his murder. As a result his killers have not been
held accountable.
12. Institutional Racism
The murder of 10 year old
Damiola Taylor in 2001 was
seen as the Metropolitan Police’s
first big test on the murder of a
black youth since the Stephen
Lawrence case. However the case
collapsed in 2002 due to police and Crown
Prosecution failings, according to official
investigations.
13. What is ‘institutional racism’?
“The collective failure of an organisation to
provide an appropriate and professional
service to people because of their colour,
culture, or ethnic origin. It can be seen or
detected in processes, attitudes, and
behaviour which amount to discrimination
through unwitting prejudice, ignorance,
thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping.”
MacPherson 1999
14. Evaluation
The evidence clearly points to racial
discrimination in the CJS – however does
discrimination wholly account for the greater
criminalisation of ethnic minority groups?
1. Evidence of Bias: If the CJs was
institutionally racist it is hard to understand
why black people are more likely to be
criminalised than Asians.
15. Evaluation
2. Discrimination: The CJS can still be racist even
though black people are treated more harshly than
Asians. It may reflect the fact that Black people are
viewed more suspiciously and seen as more violent
and dangerous.
3. Discrimination and Criminalisation- it is a
combination of both discrimination in the CJS and
greater involvement of young black men in street
crime. Lea and Young point out how a vicious circle
develops.
16. Reasons for high criminality of
Afro-Caribbeans
Lea and Young as New Left Realists were among
the first to claim, controversially that young black
men were not simply the victims of police racism,
but that for street crimes they were more criminal
than whites or other ethnic groups. They attribute
this to –
1. Relative Deprivation
2. Subcultures
3. Marginalisation
17. Reasons for high criminality of
Afro-Caribbeans
Lack of educational success
Afro-Caribbean boys leave school with the
lowest qualifications of any ethnic group.
In 2006 only 23% of black boys gained
5 or more good GCSEs, compared to
national average of 44%.
With some avenues to success blocked, street
crime is a possible route to financial gain and
status.
18. Reasons for high criminality of
Afro-Caribbeans
Family Structure
60% of young black children live with just one
parent, normally their mother, compared to
20% of white children.
Lack of positive male role model may be a
factor in the high level of black street crime.
Lack of money coming from a lone parent
family may be another cause.
19. Reasons for high criminality of
Afro-Caribbeans
Influence of the mass media
A controversial argument is the influence of the
mass media, especially black rap artists.
According to some politicians and New Right
sociologists, rap music’s emphasis on ‘bling’
‘violence’, ‘guns’, ‘sex’ and ‘drugs’, and its
sexist attitude to women may not
provide positive role models for
young black men.
20. Crime among other ethnic
minorities
Recorded crime rate for Asian people is broadly in
proportion to numbers in population, but has risen
over the past 10 years.
Early studies focus on the influence of religion to
explain the low crime rate.
Recent studies point to decline in religion as
explanation for rise in crime rate.
Increasing integration among some Asian boys into
British culture may have weakened controls that
were provided by tight knit family structure.
