In 2016/17 it was reported that, compared to white people, black minority ethnic groups were three and a half times more likely to be arrested, 23% more likely to be remanded in custody and four times more likely to be prosecuted for the same offence as a white individual and Asian people compared to white people were more likely to receive a custodial sentence if found guilty, and for a longer term (Ministry of Justice, 2016). This representation of BME’s in the Criminal Justice System is believed to be down to the negative stereotyping of this group by the police and media, this view is held by Neo-Marxists such as Paul Gilroy. Labelling theorists also weigh in on this topic of disproportionality by speaking on issues such as the social construction of crime and the presence of a moral panic. These statistics give rise to the issue of Institutional Racism within the CJS, that being “The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people either because of their culture, colour, or ethnic origin” (Macpherson, 1999). Institutional Racism is arguably prevalent in the CJS through racist policing, canteen culture and carrying out stop and search initiatives, leading to BME’s being disproportionately represented. Functionalist theories such as Merton’s Strain Theory could be used to argue that ethnic groups are accurately represented in the CJS, because their social circumstance may make them more likely to turn to a life of crime.
“The imagery of alien violence and criminality personified in the 'mugger'… has become an important card in the hands of politicians and police officers” (Paul Gilroy 1982). Neo-Marxists such as Paul Gilroy deny that there is greater criminality among Black people and that it is a myth created by negative stereotyping by the police and the media, hence why more BME’s appear in the CJS (Paul Gilroy 1982). Other Neo-Marxists, Stuart Hall et al argued that 1970s Britain was facing a crisis which threatened the ruling class, this crisis being hegemony. During which BME’s were being blamed for the problems of British Capitalism such as unemployment, low wages and crime. There was also a growing conflict between police and the African-Caribbean community which was fuelled by selective publication of statistics showing black youths’ involvement in crimes, E.g. street robbery (‘mugging’). This is turn all led to a moral panic, which was then used to justify aggressive policing towards black people E.g. stop and search, where black people are 7 times more likely to be stopped and searched than a white person, thus leading to more arrests of black people (Stuart Hall 1978). Gilroy argued that although BME’s are no more criminal than any other ethnicity, the crimes they do commit have a political nature to them. He argued crime by Black people, in the 70s especially, was a form of political action, representing resistance to inequality and oppression E.g. police racism and harassment (Paul Gilroy 1982). This political action came in the form of marches, demonstrations and rioting E.g. The Brixton Riots 1981 and the Charlottesville riots 2017. This view however does ignore BME’s committing crimes against other BME’s, which statistically is the majority of their criminal acts. Although those statistics are unreliable due to the stereotypes, prejudices and the social construction of what a BME crime is within the CJS, alongside the dark figure of crime reports.
Interactionist and labelling theorists also weigh in on this topic of disproportionality as they strongly believe that those who are labelled as deviant by the CJS E.g. BME’s and those labelled as non-deviant is based upon social constructions. Becker suggests that the police operate with pre-existing conceptions and stereotypical categories of what constitutes trouble, criminal types and criminal areas, and these influence their responses to behaviour they come across. For example, BME’s are more likely to carry the label of a trouble maker (Becker 1963). The excessive media coverage of these trouble makers led to a moral panic in society and the ‘black mugger’ became a folk devil symbol for all societies’ problems, and helped to justify a more aggressive area in some inner-city areas, where Black people live (Stan Cohen 1972). The labelling of certain ethnic groups as criminal, arresting these individuals and groups based on their labels and a moral panic may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. In which these groups of people act up to their labels bestowed upon them and begin a deviant career as they’re going to experience the consequences of crime either way. Becker therefore suggests this societal reaction and the application of the deviant label produces more deviance than it prevents (Becker 1963). Although labelling theorists argue the side that institutional racism leads to wrongful arrests of BME’s for unjustified reasons, when looking at self-fulfilling prophecy it is then likely that they are rightly represented in the CJS as they would be more likely to turn to crime than other ethnicities as they do not experience the same level of negative labelling.
Functionalist theorist, Robert Merton’s developed Functionalist theories such as Durkheim’s and created his own theory on strain. The strain theory can be used alongside the self-fulfilling prophecy’s argument that BME’s are in fact not disproportionately represented in the CJS. Merton et al would argue that due to social factors and circumstances BME’s are in fact more likely to turn to a criminal career due to the fact that people engage in deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means. Suggesting social order is based on value consensus around social goals and approved means of achieving them. Most people share the same or similar goals E.g. financial success, having their own home and possessing consumer goods and most conform to the approved means of achieving them, such as working in paid employment. However, in an unequal society, Merton argues that not all individuals have the same opportunity to achieve these goals by approved means E.g. BME’s, due to the negative stereotypes that surround them in everyday life. Meaning they face a sense of strain and anomie, as the dominant rules about how to achieve success don’t meet their needs (Merton et al 1995). For example, Afro-Caribbean children are more likely to be labelled negatively and three times more likely to be expelled. The poor education they in turn receive will restrict their job opportunity’s later in life and therefore their legitimate means to achieve their goals and therefore more likely to turn to crime. Functionalists also identified that groups may deliberately set out to defy the laws, otherwise known as functional rebels who set out to change the collective conscience E.g. Civil Rights Movements, Durkheim saw this as a positive for society. This is similar to Paul Gilroy’s view on politically fuelled crimes, thus leading to them appearing more often in the CJS.
The Macpherson Report 1999 enshrined rights for victims of crime and extended the number of offences classified as racist. Never the less, institutional racism is still prevalent in the CJS today, meaning that ethnic minority groups are more likely to be mistrusting of the police and less likely to cooperate with officers, leading to a higher number of arrests in certain situations E.g. During a stop and search. Police discrimination against ethnic minorities was greatest in situations where police officers had scope to exploit their own stereotypes and racial prejudices (Fitzgerald 1993). For example, Operation Swamp 1981, 1000s of people were stopped in one week with no justification with the majority being black individuals. Stop and search led to many unjustifiable arrests of BME’s as black people were 7 times more likely to be stopped and Asian people 2 times more likely to be stopped than a white person. There has however been changes to stop and search use, there must now be reasonable suspicion, unless the person is a possible terror suspect or involved with serious crime. There is also now the requirement to record all stop and searches and to publish these, and a copy of record given to the person involved. This change was made in the hopes to reduce the number of stop and searches conducted due to a negative stereotype held by these institutions. Reiner however points to a racist canteen culture that’s still seen today among the police and CJS which encourages a mis-trust of those not from white backgrounds (Reiner 2000). Black and Asian people are therefore more likely to get caught, arrested and charged and in turn disproportionately represented in the CJS.