TOPIC 6: ETHNICITY, CRIME AND JUSTICE
Ethnicity and criminalisation
Blacks over-represented: 2.8% of pop/ 11% of prison pop Asians: 4.7% of pop,6% of
prison pop
Whites under-represented in criminal justice process.
Victim surveys
Show crime is intra-ethnic (takes place within ethnic groups
British Crime Survey (2007): 90% crimes with white victim, 1+ offender also white
Limitations: not representative
Rely on victims' memory of events (white victims choose blacks even when unsure)
Only cover personal crimes: makes up 1/5 of all crimes.
Exclude under 16s: minority ethnic groups contain higher % young people.
Exclude crimes by/ against organisations -> neglect ethnicity of white-collar criminal
Self-report studies: disclose own dishonest/ violent behaviour.
Graham/ Bowling: 2,500 people: blacks (43%)/ whites (44%) similar offending rates
Indians (30%), Pakistanis (28%) and Bangladeshis (13%) lower rates.
Challenge stereotype of black people as being more likely than whites to offend BUT
support view that Asians are less likely to offend.
Limitations: inconsistent evidence
Eg: OS: higher offending rates in blacks, contradicted in self-report studies.
Ethnicity, racism and the criminal justice system
Policing
Stop and search
Minorities ethnic groups more likely to stopped/ searched by police.
Black people x7 more likely to stopped/ searched + Asians x2 than whites
2006/7: Asians x3 more likely to stopped/ searched under Terrorism Act.
Philips/ Bowling: members of minority ethnics more likely to think they are over
policed/ under protected -> limited faith in police
Hoyle: Asians: being involved in taser incident was 3/10,000, whites 6/10,000,
18/10,000 for blacks
Explaining stop and search patterns
Police racism: Macpherson Report on murder of Stephen Lawrence concluded
institutional racism in police.
- Phillips/ Bowling: officers hold neg stereotypes about minority ethnic -> deliberate
targeting for stop and search.
Ethnic differences in offending: stop/ searches reflect ethnic differences in levels of
offending.
, Low discretion stops, police act on info about offence, description of offender.
High discretion stops, police act without intelligence -> stereotypes/ discrimination
Demographic factors- Ethnic minorities over-represented in pop groups who most
likely to be stopped (young) -> minorities stopped more.
Arrests and cautions
England/ Wales 2006/7: arrest rate for blacks x3.6 rate for whites, blacks/ Asians
less likely to receive caution.
Why? Ethnic minorities more likely to deny offence/ exercise right to legal advice.
However, not admitting offence -> cannot let off with caution ->likely to be charged
Prosecution
Crown Prosecution Service: deciding whether case should be prosecuted in court
CPS more likely to drop cases against ethnic minorities.
Bowling/ Phillips: Why? evidence presented to CPS by police based on stereotyping
of ethnic minorities as criminals.
Trial
Cases go ahead -> ethnic groups more likely to elect for trial before jury in Crown
Court, rather than in magistrates' court due to mistrust of magistrates' impartiality.
Convictions
Black/ Asian defendants less likely to be found guilty
2006/7, 60% white defendants found guilty, 52% blacks, 44% Asians.
Suggests discrimination: police/ CPS may bring less serious cases against ethnics that
thrown out by courts.
Sentencing
2006/7: custodial sentences given to greater % black offenders (68%) than white
(55%) or Asian offenders (59%)
Whites/ Asians more likely to receive community sentences
Why? seriousness of offences/ previous convictions.
But: study of 5 Crown Courts: even when factors taken into account, black men 5%
more likely to receive custodial sentences 3 months longer than white men.
Pre-sentence reports
Why harsher sentences? Pre-sentence reports (PSRs)
Hudson/ Bramhall: PSRs allows discrimination, reports on Asian offenders less
comprehensive, suggested they were less remorseful
Place bias in context of 'demonising' of Muslims in wake of events of 11 Sep 2001.
Prison
2007: ¼ male prison pop were minority ethnics, 15% Black, 7% Asian.
