Ethnicity and crime Cambridge IGCSE Sociology revision
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In plain words
In many countries, some minority ethnic groups appear in the prison statistics far more often than their share of the population would predict. The sociological question is not who is "more criminal". It is what the figures are measuring.
8 things to know
- The pattern: in many societies, official statistics show that members of some minority ethnic groups are more likely to be stopped, arrested and imprisoned than the majority. Members of minority ethnic groups are also more likely to be victims of crime, including hate crime.
- Institutional racism: discrimination can be built into the routine practices of the police and the courts, so that some groups are treated more harshly at each stage.
- Prejudice and discrimination: prejudice is a fixed negative opinion of a group. Discrimination is treating people unfairly because of it.
- Police targeting, and stop and search: where the police stop members of some groups far more often, more offences are found among them, and the statistics rise.
- Stereotyping: the media and the police may link particular ethnic groups with particular crimes, which shapes whom they suspect.
- Material and relative deprivation: in many societies minority ethnic groups are more likely to be poor, because of discrimination in jobs and housing. Material deprivation is lacking basic resources. Relative deprivation is feeling deprived in comparison with others.
- Gang culture and status frustration: where racism blocks legal routes to success, some young people look for status and income elsewhere.
- Evaluation. The statistics may measure how the system treats groups, not how much crime each commits. Differences shrink when age, class and area are taken into account. Most people in every ethnic group are law-abiding.
Worked example
Two groups in a city use illegal drugs at about the same rate, according to self-report studies. One group is arrested for drug offences four times as often. Suggest an explanation.
- The offending is similar, so the difference lies in what happens afterwards.
- The police may stop and search one group far more often: police targeting.
- Stereotypes may make officers more suspicious of that group.
- The arrest figures therefore show policing, not offending. This is evidence of institutional racism.
Tips and tricks
- Write about how the justice system treats groups, and about the social position of groups. Never write as if an ethnic group were naturally more or less criminal.
- The strongest evaluation uses other variables: the pattern weakens once age, class and neighbourhood are allowed for.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Ethnicity and crime: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
What is discrimination?
Prejudice is the attitude, and discrimination is the action.
What is institutional racism?
It can operate without any one person intending it.
Why are minority ethnic groups more likely to be poor in many societies?
Deprivation is then linked to crime.
Which is a criticism of using official statistics here?
The figures measure the system as well as the offender.
Why does comparing groups of the same age and income matter?Stretch
Young, poor people of every group are over-represented in crime figures.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 10 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Ethnicity and crime
Cambridge IGCSE Sociology 0495 · 10 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
What is meant by the term "relative deprivation"?[2]
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The feeling of being deprived in comparison with other people in the same society.
Explain the difference between prejudice and discrimination.[4]
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Prejudice is a fixed, usually negative, attitude towards a group of people, formed without evidence. Discrimination is behaviour: treating people unfairly because of that prejudice, for example in policing or in employment.
Explain how police targeting can affect crime statistics for ethnic groups.[4]
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If the police stop and search members of one ethnic group more often, they find more offences in that group. More arrests are recorded for that group. The statistics then seem to show that the group commits more crime, when they partly reflect police behaviour.
Answers: Ethnicity and crime
- 1. The feeling of being deprived in comparison with other people in the same society.
- 2. Prejudice is a fixed, usually negative, attitude towards a group of people, formed without evidence. Discrimination is behaviour: treating people unfairly because of that prejudice, for example in policing or in employment.
- 3. If the police stop and search members of one ethnic group more often, they find more offences in that group. More arrests are recorded for that group. The statistics then seem to show that the group commits more crime, when they partly reflect police behaviour.