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Institutional Racism 

Lord MacPherson’s report into the Stephen Lawrence murder and police failings used the phrase ‘institutional racism’.

Lord MacPherson

Lord MacPherson

  • Lord MacPherson’s report into the Stephen Lawrence murder and police failings used the phrase ‘institutional racism’ when describing the actions of the police in that specific case.
  • Macpherson accused the police of incompetency by not following up on important leads.
Canteen culture

Canteen culture

  • Holdaway claimed that there was a ‘canteen culture’ that existed within the police force.
  • He claimed that many officers held prejudicial thoughts about members of the African Caribbean community and therefore told negative stories and shared derogatory jokes at their expense.
  • Holdaway argued that many new recruits felt under pressure to conform to this ‘canteen culture’.

Theoretical Approaches to Ethnicity and Crime

Realist and neo-marxist views of ethnicity and crime.

Left realists 

Left realists 

  • Lea and Young believe that crime is caused by relative deprivation, subcultures and marginalisation.
  • When it comes to ethnic minority crime, they believe that the racism of our society leads to the ‘economic exclusion’ of ethnic minority communities.
Right realists

Right realists

  • Right realists view cultural deprivation as one of the main reasons for crime occurring. 
  • Moynihan claims that the main cause behind ethnic minority crime is poor socialisation caused by ineffective family structures.
  • Moynihan suggests that cultural deprivation can become a cycle in single parent families as the children are likely to fail in education.
Neo-marxists 

Neo-marxists 

  • Hall suggests that the ruling class use racism as a tool to divide the proletariat and prevent a revolution.
  • He refers to this as divide and rule.
__Hall__

Hall

  • Hall claims that, through the media, the bourgeoisie have used ‘moral panics’ about ethnic minority groups that have led to clear divisions due to racial tensions.
  • He talks specifically about the 1970’s portrayal of the ‘black mugger’; a media representation of young black men that demonised them in the eyes of the public.
Jump to other topics
1

Theory & Methods

2

Education with Methods in Context

3

Option 1: Culture & Identity

4

Option 1: Families & Households

5

Option 1: Health

6

Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare

7

Option 2: Beliefs in Society

8

Option 2: Global Development

9

Option 2: The Media

10

Crime & Deviance

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