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EXPLANATIONS OF DIFFERENCES IN OFFENDING - Coggle Diagram
EXPLANATIONS OF DIFFERENCES
IN OFFENDING
LEFT REALISM
See crime as the product of relative deprivation, subculture and marginalisation.
Argue that ethnic differences in the statistics reflect real differences in the levels of offending by different ethnic groups
Racism has led to the marginalisation and economic exclusion of MEGs who face higher levels of unemployment, poverty and poor housing
Medias emphasis on consumerism promotes a sense of relative deprivation by setting materialistic goals that many members of minority groups are unable to reach legitimately
LEA & YOUNG - one response is the formation of delinquent subcultures especially by young unemployed Black males
This produces a higher rate of utilitarian crime such as theft/robbery as a means of coping with relative deprivation
Because these groups are marginalised their frustration is liable to produce non-utilitarian crime such as violence and rioting
LEA & YOUNG acknowledge that the police often acting in racist ways results in the unjustified criminalisation of minority groups
however they dont believe discriminatory policing fully explains the differences in the ststistics
E.G over 90% of crimes are reported by the public rather than the police themselves
Even if police do act in discriminatory ways, it is unlikely it can adequately account for the ethnic differences in statistics
They thus conclude that the statistics represent real differences in levels of offending between ethnic groups, and that these are caused by real differences in levels of relative deprivation and marginalisation
NEO MARXISM
GILROY: THE MYTH OF BLACK CRIMINALITY
Argues the idea of black criminality is a myth created by racist stereotypes of African Caribbean and Asian people- in reality these groups are no more criminal than any other
However as a result of the police and criminal justice system acting on these racist stereotypes , MEGscome to be criminalised and therefore to appear in great numbers in the official statistics
MEG Crimean be seen as a form of political resistanceagainsta. racist society and this resistance has its roots in earlier struggles against British imperialism
Most Black and Asian peoples in the UK originated in the former British colonies where their anti-imperialist struggles taught them howe to resist oppression e.g through riots
when they found themselves facing racism in Britain, they adopted the same forms of struggle to defend themselves, but their political struggle was criminalised by the British state
However Lea & Young criticise Gilroy on several grounds: - first generation immigrants in the 1950s/60s were very law abiding so its unlikely that passed down a tradition of anti0colonial struggle to their childresn
Most crime is intro-ethnic(criminals & victims having same ethnic background) so it cant be seen as an anti-colonial struggle against racism
Gilroy romanticises street crime as somehow revolutionary
Asian crime rates are similar to/lower than for whites- if Gilroy was right then the police would only be racist towards Black peoples; e and not asians, which seems unlikely
HALL ET AL: POLICING THE CRISIS
Argued that the 1970s saw a moral panic over black 'muggers' that served the interests of capitalism
The ruling class are normally able to rule the subordinate classes through consent- however in times of crisis, this becomes more difficult
In early 1970s British capitalism faced a crisis- high inflation, rising unemployment were provoking conflict and strikes
Opposition to capitalism began to grows the ruling class needed to use force to maintain control- the use of force needed to bee seen as legimiate though or it may provoke even more widespread resistance
The 1970s also saw the emergence of media driven moral panic about the growth of 'new crime' - mugging (in reality this was just a new name for street robbery with violence & there wasn't a significant increase in this crime at the time)
mugging was soon to be associated why the media/police/politicians with black youth
The myth of the 'black mugger' served as a scapegoat to distract attention from the true cause of problems such as unemployment- namely the capitalist crisis
The 'black muggger' came to symbolise the disintegration of social order
By presenting black youth as a threat to the fabric of society, the moral panic served to divide the working clsss on racial grounds and weaken the opposition to capitalism
CRIRICISMS:
DOWNES AND ROCK argue that hall et all are inconsistent in claiming that black street crime was not rising but also that it was rising due to unemployment
they don't show how the capitalist crisis led to a moral panic, nor do they provide evidence tat the public were in fact blaming black youth
left realists argue that inner-city residents fears about mugging are not panicky but realistic
However Hall et all dont argue that black youth crime was solely a product of media and police labelling
the crisis of capitalism was increasingly marginalising black youth through unemployment and this drove them to the lifestyle of hustling and petty crime as a means of survival
NEIGHBOURHOOD [FITZGERALD ET AL]
Examine the role of neighbourhood factors in explaining the apparent greater involvement of black youths in street robbery
found that rates were highest in very poor areas and also where very deprived young peoples came into contact with more affluent(wealthy) groups - young black people were more likely to live in these areas and to be poor
However white people affected by these factors were also more likely to commit street crime
Thus, ethnicity as such was not a casue
However black [people may be more likely to live in poor areas because of racial discrimination in the housing and job markets
GETTING CAUGHT
Some groups run a greater risk of being caught - SHARP & BUDD found that black offenders were more likely than white offenders to have been arrested
Reasons included that they were more likely to commit crimes such as robbery, where victims can identify them
Also to have been excluded from school or to associate with known criminals- factors that raised their visibility to authorities