HND Social Science

Crime & Minority Groups

Heidensohn argues that exploring why women commit fewer crimes than men could provide clues about why men commit most crimes. Feminists suggest that between the sexes in terms of criminality can be attributed to two broad explanations:

Different Socialisation – ‘masculine’ values are potentially criminal values because they revolve round risk taking behaviour, toughness, aggression, proving oneself etc. The ‘crisis in masculinity’ has recently been linked by Mac En Ghaill to rising male violence. Femininity on the other hand, involves values which may be passive and potentially less criminal.

Women experience less opportunities to commit crime. They are more likely to be constrained by the mother-housewife role or by caring for the sick and elderly. The crimes they do commit may reflect this, e.g. shoplifting. They are less likely to engage in crime at work compared with men, although this may change as more women spent longer periods at work than in the past.

• Poverty may be an explanation for welfare fraud, shoplifting and, prostitution especially among young single mothers who experience limited job opportunities and low pay.
• There is some concern that the rising number of violent crimes committed by young working-class women in gangs is primarily for peer-group status in order to compensate for low-skilled, tedious low-paid jobs.

Afro-Caribbean’s are over represented in the OCS despite the fact that they only make up about 3% of the general population. Asians on the other hand are under-represented in the OCS.

The OCS may not reflect black criminality but rather racist stereotyping by police officers. The enquiry in the death of Stephen Lawrence (1999) concluded that institutionalised racism was a feature of police forces in the UK.

A number of theories have attempted to explain why Afro-Caribbean’s commit crime.

• Cashmore, using a Mertonian approach, argues that young blacks in the UK are trapped in a situation where their material goals are blocked by their economic situation, i.e. because of racism they are much more likely to be unemployed. Innovation or crime is their response. However in criticism, this fails to account for the fact that only a small percentage of young blacks are involved in crime.
• Gilroy a neo-Marxist, argues that crimes committed by young blacks are political. They are part of a continuing colonial struggle between imperialism and racism symbolised by the police, and the black communities. Crime is a form of organised resistance to white oppression. This theory may make some sense in the context of riots but still fails to account for the fact that only a small percentage of black people take part in this so called ‘political struggle’. Gilroy has been accused of being naïve about crime , especially considering most victims of black crime are black themselves.
• New right commentators such as Murray see young blacks in the inner cities as part of an underclass that holds anti-social attitudes and values. However, Murray fails to consider the impact of poverty and racism on young blacks nor does he seem to over very convincing evidence that such a united culture exists among black people.
• The Left realists, Young and Lea note that young blacks are more likely than young whites or Asians to experience relative depravation, their opportunities for jobs, housing, education, resources etc are more likely to be blocked because of institution racism. Consequently they feel marginalised i.e. lacking in power and frustrated. Young and Lea suggest that some young blacks may interpret their position as impossible and react by coming together in subcultures. One such subculture may be crime.
• Finally, the Asian crime rate is low. This may be because they are less likely to be economically deprived or marginalised, Asian people are more likely to be in professional or family employment. Asian families also exercise stricter controls over children which may limit there opportunities for crime. Asian culture may provide a safety net for failure. The low rate of Chinese crime may be explained by the closed nature of Chinese society in the UK.

1. Do you think police attitudes lead to the low representation of females in the OCS , please give reasons?
2. How might gender socialisation be responsible for male violence?
3. What do you think are the main causes of typical female crime e.g. shoplifting, welfare fraud, and prostitution?
4. Do you agree with Gilroy’s explanation for Afro-Caribbean crime? Give reasons for your answer.
5. Summarise and say whether you agree with Young and Lea’s explanation for Black Crime.