Topic 6 – Ethnicity, Crime and Justice:
Ethnicity and Criminalisation:
According to official stats, black people are over-represented in the system
They make up 3% of the population but 13.1% of the prison population
Asians make up 6% of the population but 7.7% of the prison population
In contrast, white people are under-represented at all stage of the criminal justice
system
The ministry of Justice notes that black people are 7x more likely to be stopped and
searched, 3 ½x to be arrested and 5x to be in prison
Alternative Sources of Statistics:
Victim Surveys:
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) asks individuals to say what
crimes they have been victims of – can gain information about ethnicity and
offending from this
They also show that a great deal of crime is intra-ethnic – takes place within rather
than between ethnic groups
But victim surveys have several limitations;
Rely on victim’s memories of events, only cover personal crimes (which are only
about 1/5 of all crimes), exclude crimes by and against organisations, so tell us
nothing about white collar crime
Self-Report Studies:
Ask individuals to disclose their own dishonest and violent behaviour, Graham and
Bowling found that blacks (43%) and whites (44%) had very similar rates of
offending, while other ethnic minorities had much lower rates
The findings of self-report studies challenge the stereotype of black people as being
more likely than whites to offend, but do support the view that Asians are less likely
to offend
Overall, the evidence on ethnicity and offending is inconsistent – while official stats
and victim reports argue blacks are more likely to commit crime, this generally isn’t
shown by self-report studies
Ethnicity, Racism and the Criminal Justice System:
Stop and Search:
Members of minority ethnic groups are more likely to be stopped and searched by
the police – police use this power if they have ‘reasonable suspicion’ of wrongdoing
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, police can stop and search persons or vehicles
whether or not they have ‘reasonable suspicion’ – Asians are more likely to stopped
under this
Philips and Bowling argue that members of minority ethnic groups are more likely
to think they are ‘over-policed and under-protected’ and to have little faith in the
police
Explaining Stop and Search Patterns:
3 possible reasons for disproportionate use of stop and search against members of
minority ethnic groups
, o Police Racism; the MacPherson report, that investigated the murder of
Stephen Lawrence, argued that institutional racism was to blame, as well as
racism in individual officers
o Ethnic Differences in Offending; the disproportionality simply mirrors ethnic
differences in levels of offending but should distinguish between low
discretion and high discretion stops
Low discretion – police acting on a specific offence; e.g. a victim’s
description of the offender
High discretion – police acting without specific intelligence; this is
when police stereotypes are more likely
o Demographic Factors; ethnic minorities are over-represented in population
groups most likely to be stopped – the young, unemployed, manual workers
and urban dwellers
Prosecution and Trial:
The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for deciding whether a case should be
prosecuted in court – have to decide whether there is a realistic prospect of
conviction and if prosecution is in public interest
Studies suggest that the CPS is more likely to drop cases against ethnic minorities –
because the evidence presented to them is often weaker and based on stereotypes
For cases that do go to trial, minority ethnic groups are more likely to elect for a trial
before a jury in Crown Court rather than a magistrates court, perhaps because of a
mistrust in the magistrate
Prison:
In 2014, blacks were 4x more likely to be in prison than whites and black and Asians
offenders were more likely to be serving longer sentences (4 years+)
In the whole prison population, all minority groups have a higher than average
population of prisoners on remand, because they are less likely to be granted bail
while awaiting trial
Similar in other countries - in the US, 2 in 5 prisoners held in local jails are black,
while 1 in 5 is Hispanic
Explaining the Differences in Offending:
Large-scale migration from the Caribbean and India started in the 1950s and until
the 1970s, there was general consensus that ethnic minorities had a lower offence
rate than the white population
In the 1970s, conflict between the police and African-Caribbean’s, and high street
crime rates, meant that ‘black criminality’ started to be seen as a problem
In the 1990s, the Asian population also began to be seen as a problem – the events of
9/11 led to widespread clashes between the police and Asian youth and helped to
crystallise the idea that Asians were an ‘enemy’
2 main explanations for the differences
o Left realist; the stats represent real differences in rates of offending
Ethnicity and Criminalisation:
According to official stats, black people are over-represented in the system
They make up 3% of the population but 13.1% of the prison population
Asians make up 6% of the population but 7.7% of the prison population
In contrast, white people are under-represented at all stage of the criminal justice
system
The ministry of Justice notes that black people are 7x more likely to be stopped and
searched, 3 ½x to be arrested and 5x to be in prison
Alternative Sources of Statistics:
Victim Surveys:
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) asks individuals to say what
crimes they have been victims of – can gain information about ethnicity and
offending from this
They also show that a great deal of crime is intra-ethnic – takes place within rather
than between ethnic groups
But victim surveys have several limitations;
Rely on victim’s memories of events, only cover personal crimes (which are only
about 1/5 of all crimes), exclude crimes by and against organisations, so tell us
nothing about white collar crime
Self-Report Studies:
Ask individuals to disclose their own dishonest and violent behaviour, Graham and
Bowling found that blacks (43%) and whites (44%) had very similar rates of
offending, while other ethnic minorities had much lower rates
The findings of self-report studies challenge the stereotype of black people as being
more likely than whites to offend, but do support the view that Asians are less likely
to offend
Overall, the evidence on ethnicity and offending is inconsistent – while official stats
and victim reports argue blacks are more likely to commit crime, this generally isn’t
shown by self-report studies
Ethnicity, Racism and the Criminal Justice System:
Stop and Search:
Members of minority ethnic groups are more likely to be stopped and searched by
the police – police use this power if they have ‘reasonable suspicion’ of wrongdoing
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, police can stop and search persons or vehicles
whether or not they have ‘reasonable suspicion’ – Asians are more likely to stopped
under this
Philips and Bowling argue that members of minority ethnic groups are more likely
to think they are ‘over-policed and under-protected’ and to have little faith in the
police
Explaining Stop and Search Patterns:
3 possible reasons for disproportionate use of stop and search against members of
minority ethnic groups
, o Police Racism; the MacPherson report, that investigated the murder of
Stephen Lawrence, argued that institutional racism was to blame, as well as
racism in individual officers
o Ethnic Differences in Offending; the disproportionality simply mirrors ethnic
differences in levels of offending but should distinguish between low
discretion and high discretion stops
Low discretion – police acting on a specific offence; e.g. a victim’s
description of the offender
High discretion – police acting without specific intelligence; this is
when police stereotypes are more likely
o Demographic Factors; ethnic minorities are over-represented in population
groups most likely to be stopped – the young, unemployed, manual workers
and urban dwellers
Prosecution and Trial:
The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for deciding whether a case should be
prosecuted in court – have to decide whether there is a realistic prospect of
conviction and if prosecution is in public interest
Studies suggest that the CPS is more likely to drop cases against ethnic minorities –
because the evidence presented to them is often weaker and based on stereotypes
For cases that do go to trial, minority ethnic groups are more likely to elect for a trial
before a jury in Crown Court rather than a magistrates court, perhaps because of a
mistrust in the magistrate
Prison:
In 2014, blacks were 4x more likely to be in prison than whites and black and Asians
offenders were more likely to be serving longer sentences (4 years+)
In the whole prison population, all minority groups have a higher than average
population of prisoners on remand, because they are less likely to be granted bail
while awaiting trial
Similar in other countries - in the US, 2 in 5 prisoners held in local jails are black,
while 1 in 5 is Hispanic
Explaining the Differences in Offending:
Large-scale migration from the Caribbean and India started in the 1950s and until
the 1970s, there was general consensus that ethnic minorities had a lower offence
rate than the white population
In the 1970s, conflict between the police and African-Caribbean’s, and high street
crime rates, meant that ‘black criminality’ started to be seen as a problem
In the 1990s, the Asian population also began to be seen as a problem – the events of
9/11 led to widespread clashes between the police and Asian youth and helped to
crystallise the idea that Asians were an ‘enemy’
2 main explanations for the differences
o Left realist; the stats represent real differences in rates of offending
