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Patterns and trends in crime - Coggle Diagram
Patterns and trends in crime
Ethnicity
Anderson
- 'Colour-Coding' Study of policing in Philadelphia found that police assumed white people were middle-class and therefore trustworthy, whereas black people were considered lower class and criminal.
Police recorded figures suggest Afro-Caribbean males commit the most crimes, this is received 3 ways:
-Racism in the criminal justice system
-Ethnic groups higher criminality
-Both factors
The Scarman Report
- Recognised that social and economic disadvantages faced by ethnic minorities may influence crime but also highlighted issues of policing.
The McPherson Report
- Murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence concluded that there was institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police.
Phillips and Bowling
- Despite the McPherson Report ethnic minority neighbourhoods remained over-policed.
Institutional racism
- Racism in social practices of an institution, widely applied to the police.
Smith and Grey's Report
- Found that explicit and accepted racist language of the officers they were studying.
Holdaway
- 'Racialisation' police officers act in racist ways without realising.
Bhilox
- Most policing is directed at the excluded of society, often young, poor and black. Concentrate policing these areas.
Scraton
- Police occupying force imposed on ethnic minorities and lower classes. Impose law which reflects ruling class interests.
Waddington
- Not always racism. Other factors such as availability in public places and age profiling. Amount ethnic minorities were stopped was in line with their proportion of the available population.
Nightingale
- Paradox of Inclusion. Desire to be part of mainstream culture which excludes them but drives the desire for success, however poverty and racism restricts them therfore criminality is the only route.
Gunter
- 'Road Culture'. Black youth subculture in public setting streets and housing estates. Characterised by violent behaviour and criminal activity. A way to gain status and respect by being 'bad'.
Gilroy
- 'Myth of Black Criminality' serves a political agenda. Fuelled by racist police practices, targeting black communities. Media contributes to this myth by stereotyping black males.
Palmer
- Multiple disadvantages faced by young black males so cannot be assumed that they commit crime for the same reasons as a young white male.
Bowling, Parmar and Phillips
- Stereotypes of Asians suggested they were law abiding, strong sense of community and has family and religious values. Now suggested that criminal and deviant behaviour is promoted.
Social Class
A Cohen
- "Status Frustration". Gang culture and deviant acts as a way to gain status in a group, which isn't obtainable in society.
Cloward and Olin
- Delinquent sub-cultures influenced by strain theory. Criminal gangs offer more opportunity to success than mainstream/legitimate rules.
Miller
- Working class values more likely to engage in deviant behaviour. Freedom, excitement, toughness, to be streetwise.
Cicourel
- Certain demographics are labelled deviant and therfore are targetted by the police. Study found that those of the lower class were more likely to be arrested than middle class members were handeld more leniently.
Murray
- Poor socialisation leads to underclass to develop criminality and laziness. Blames overgenerous benefit payments and single parents for high rates of criminality.
Chambliss
-"Saints and the Roughnecks". Study of 2 gangs. Saints middle class and Roughnecks lower class. Committed similar crimes yet the Roughnecks were arrested more due to their class. Shows selective perception and labelling.
Chambliss
- Stucture of capitalism creates desire to consume and the inability to earn enough money to meet the desires. Enforcement of the law which suggests criminality is focused in the lower classes.
Box
- Crime statistics are socially constructed to criminalise the powerless and disguise the crimes of the powerful.
Age
Matza
- Many youths will drift in and out of deviance because they feel a moral obligation of the law but also feel pressure persue risks and excitment that they recieve from deviant acts.
A Cohen
- "Status Frustration". Gang culture and deviant acts as a way to gain status in a group, which isn't obtainable in society.
Cloward and Olin
- Delinquent sub-cultures influenced by strain theory. Criminal gangs offer more opportunity to success than mainstream/legitimate rules.
Cicourel
- Certain demographics are labelled deviant and therfore are targetted by the police. Study found that those of the lower class were more likely to be arrested than middle class members were handeld more leniently.
Chambliss
-"Saints and the Roughnecks". Study of 2 gangs. Saints middle class and Roughnecks lower class. Committed similar crimes yet the Roughnecks were arrested more due to their class. Shows selective perception and labelling.
Gender
Chivalry Thesis
- The idea that male-dominated criminla justice system sees women as vulnerable and not fully responisble for their actions. Therefore, male officers may let females off with warnings or charge them with lesser offences, they are more lenient.
Speed and Burrows
- Found that male offenders were twice as likely to recieve a custodial sentence for shoplifting as female offenders.
Pollak
- Argued the idea that males commit more crime than females is a myth. Suggests that female hormones cause emotional disturbance. Biologically more deviant than men. Use their environment to conceal their crimes. Women can manipulate men to commit crime for them.
Klein
- Argues the concept of chivalry is racist and classist, founded on the notion of women as 'ladies' and only middle class white women.
Heidensohn
- Suggest female offenders who conform to the expectation of feminine behaviour, by crying or showing maternal love may be treated more leniently than males, but those who do not are treated more severely.
Carlen
- A females role as a mother is taken in to account much more than a males role as a father when sentencing, which can lead to the appearance of leniency.
Farrington and Morris
- Found evidence that women did recieve less severe punishments, but were more likely to be first time offenders, to plead guilty and commit less serious form of the offence.
Hedderman and Gunby
- Found there was an awareness that female offenders often have much more complex problems. Thus these are taken into account is appropriate and is not evidnece of chivalry.
Evil Woman Theory
- When women commit more serious offences, especially if they are violent they go aganst female stereotypes. therfore they are demonised by the media and presented as monsters. They are punished and shamed.
Chesney-Lind
- Argues female deviance tends to be 'sexualised' attributed to lack of morality being 'easy' and 'out of control'. USA courts more girls were charged with 'immorality' and sent to training schools.
Lombroso
- Most women are genetically less criminal. Tgye are naturally passive and dont have enough intelligence or initiative to break the law.
Thomas
- Men have more active natures and women are more passive. Women require more social approval than men.
Sex Role Theory
- Argues boy and girls are socialised differently, so boys become more delinquent.
Sutherland
- Clear gender differences in socialisation. Girls are more supervised, taught to be more passive and domesticated and more controlled. Boys are encouraged to take risks, be ambitious, extroverted, tough and aggressive. Therefore, boys commit crime.
Parsons
- The father performs the 'instrumental' role which requires him to be the leader and provider. Mother performs the 'expressive' role of giving emotional support and socialising children. Girls socialised into submissive behaviour.
The pressure on males to be the breadwinner, provider and protector may be a trigger for masculinity.
Messerschmidt
- Hegemonic masculinity= competitive individualism, aggression and violence in relation to authority and control.
Crime is a way of 'doing masculinity'. For older males it may be by being successful breadwinner or by beating his wife. For youths it may be by gaining a reputation for violence, by drinking or taking part in pranks.
Mosher
- hegemonic masculinity= 'hypermasculinity', referring to its dangerousness and acceptance of violence.
Baird
- Whether young males embark on violence and gangs as a path towards masculinity depends on the availibility of family support. The 'crisis of masculinity' may have led ot working class males towards more violent behaviour to accomplish their masculinity as theor traditional breadwinner role has been taken away.
Winlow
- Mass unemployment in 80's left many young males in the North East without breadwinner status, and violence became more significant as a way of expressing masculinity. New masculine careers, inclusing drug dealing show criminality has become a new way of majng money.