Understanding Race And Crime

Why are some ethnic minorities associated with higher levels of offending? How can racist violence be explained? Are the police and criminal justice system racist? Are the reasons for offending and victimization among ethnic minorities different from those among ethnic majorities? Understanding Race and Crime provides a comprehensive and critical introduction to the debates and controversies about race, crime and criminal justice. While focusing on Britain and America, it also takes a broader international perspective, with case studies including the historical legacy of lynching in the United States and racist state crime in the Nazi and Rwandan genocides. The book provides a conceptual framework in which racism, race and crime might be better understood. It traces the historical origins of how thinking about crime came to be associated with racism and how fears and anxieties about race and crime become rooted in places destabilized by rapid social change. The book questions whether race and ethnicity alone are significant enough factors to explain differing offending and victimization patterns between ethnic groups. Issues examined include: Contact/conflict with the police Public disorder Involvement with the criminal justice system Understanding Race and Crime is essential reading for students from a range of social science disciplines and for a variety of crime-related courses. It is also useful to practitioners in the criminal justice field and those interested in understanding the issues behind debates on ‘race’ and crime.

In a post-Macpherson, post-9/11 world, criminal justice agencies are adapting their responses to criminal behaviour across diverse ethnic groups. Race, Crime and Resistance draws on contemporary theory and a range of case studies to consider racial inequalities within the criminal justice system and related organisations. Exploring the mechanisms of discrimination and exclusion, the book goes beyond superficial assumptions to examine the ensuing processes of mobilisation and resistance across disadvantaged groups. Empirically grounded and theoretically informed, the book critically unpicks the persisting concepts of race and ethnicity in the perceptions and representations of crime. Articulate and sensitive, the book clarifies complex ideas through the use of chapter summaries, case studies, further reading and study questions. It is essential reading for students and scholars of criminology, race and ethnicity, and sociology.

In this original and cutting-edge new textbook, Mike Rowe explores the key topics in race and crime. Examining the main issues from a historical and comparative approach, the book fully situates arguments and ideas in a global context with contemporary examples. Encouraging readers to think critically about well-worn debates, Race & Crime covers a diverse range of issues, including: Representation and Disproportionality Victimisation Human Rights Terrorism Popular Culture Governance As with all books in the Key Approaches to Criminology series, Race & Crime features extensive learning features to help students to fully engage with topics covered. These include: chapter overviews, study questions, further reading and key terms. Stylishly written yet accessible, Race & Crime will prove invigorating, vital reading for students in criminology, sociology, race and ethnic studies, and cultural studies. The Key Approaches to Criminology series celebrates the removal of traditional barriers between disciplines and, specifically, reflects criminology’s interdisciplinary nature and focus. It brings together some of the leading scholars working at the intersections of criminology and related subjects. Each book in the series helps readers to make intellectual connections between criminology and other discourses, and to understand the importance of studying crime and criminal justice within the context of broader debates. The series is intended to have appeal across the entire range of undergraduate and postgraduate studies and beyond, comprising books which offer introductions to the fields as well as advancing ideas and knowledge in their subject areas.

This Handbook presents current and future studies on the changing dynamics of the role of immigrants and the impact of immigration, across the United States and industrialized and developing nations. It covers the changing dynamics of race, ethnicity, and immigration, and discusses how it all contributes to variations in crime, policing, and the overall justice system. Through acknowledging that some groups, especially people of color, are disproportionately influenced more than others in the case of criminal justice reactions, the “War on Drugs”, and hate crimes; this Handbook introduces the importance of studying race and crime so as to better understand it. It does so by recommending that researchers concentrate on ethnic diversity in a national and international context in order to broaden their demographic and expand their understanding of how to attain global change. Featuring contributions from top experts in the field, The Handbook of Race and Crime is presented in five sections—An Overview of Race, Ethnicity, Crime, and Justice; Theoretical Perspectives on Race and Crime; Race, Gender, and the Justice System; Gender and Crime; and Race, Gender and Comparative Criminology. Each section of the book addresses a key area of research, summarizes findings or shortcomings whenever possible, and provides new results relevant to race/crime and justice. Every contribution is written by a top expert in the field and based on the latest research. With a sharp focus on contemporary race, ethnicity, crime, and justice studies, The Handbook of Race and Crime is the ideal reference for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars interested in the disciplines such as Criminology, Race and Ethnicity, Race and the Justice System, and the Sociology of Race.

Written by two of the most prominent criminologists in the field, Race and Crime, Fourth Edition examines how racial and ethnic groups intersect with the U.S. criminal justice system. Award winning authors Shaun L. Gabbidon and Helen Taylor Greene provide students with the latest data and research on White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian-American, and Native American intersections with the criminal justice system. Rich with several timely topics such as biosocial theory, violent victimizations, police bias, and immigration policing, the Fourth Edition continues to investigate modern-day issues relevant to understanding race/ethnicity and crime in the United States. A thought-provoking discussion of contemporary issues is uniquely balanced with an historical context to offer students a panoramic perspective on race and crime. Accessible and reader friendly, this comprehensive text shows students how race and ethnicity have mattered and continue to matter in the administration of justice.

′The social landscape of ′race′ and ′ethnicity′ within contemporary Britain has become increasingly diverse and complex. The old, exclusive research emphasis in criminology on the outcomes of social inequalities and policies is now challenged by an appreciation of how race and ethnicity are constructed and other theoretical perspectives. This collection of papers will introduce students to these subjects, and do so usefully by addressing contemporary themes that must be given attention by criminologists.′ - Professor Simon Holdaway, University of Sheffield ′This collection provides useful and up-to-date information on the response of police, prosecution, prisons and probation services to the challenges of increasing ethnic diversity. It is an excellent source for students and practitioners concerned with reforming policy and improving practice.′ - Professor David J. Smith, University of Edinburgh & London School of Economics This text delivers a comprehensive overview of race and ethnicity across the criminal justice system. It unpacks terms such as ′race′, ′diversity′ and ′multiculturalism′ to equip students with a thorough understanding of this complex subject area. Featuring chapters by leading experts, Race and Criminal Justice provides a specialist introduction to each area of the criminal justice system, including police, prosecution, prisons and probation. It also features stimulating discussion of contemporary issues, such as criminal justice responses to refugees and asylum seekers, and the experiences of Muslims within the criminal justice system post-9/11 and 7/7. Each chapter follows a consistent structure, offering: " an overview of key theories relating to the study of race, ethnicity and criminal justice " analysis of research, policy and practice " chapter summaries and further reading to support understanding.

Ideal for use in either crime theory or race and crime courses, this is the only text to look at the array of explanations for crime as they relate to racial and ethnic populations. Each chapter begins with a historical review of each theoretical perspective and how its original formulation and more recent derivatives account for racial/ethnic differences. The theoretical perspectives include those based on religion, biology, social disorganization/strain, subculture, labeling, conflict, social control, colonial, and feminism. The author considers which perspectives have shown the most promise in the area of race/ethnicity and crime.

Criminal justice practices such as policing and imprisonment are integral to the creation of racialized experiences in U.S. society. Race as an important category of difference, however, did not arise here with the criminal justice system but rather with the advent of European colonial conquest and the birth of the U.S. racial state. Race and Crime examines how race became a defining feature of the system and why mass incarceration emerged as a new racial management strategy. This book reviews the history of race and criminology and explores the impact of racist colonial legacies on the organization of criminal justice institutions. Using a macrostructural perspective, students will learn to contextualize issues of race, crime, and criminal justice. Topics include: How “coloniality” explains the practices that reproduce racial hierarchies The birth of social science and social programs from the legacies of racial science The defining role of geography and geographical conquest in the continuation of mass incarceration The emergence of the logics of crime control, the War on Drugs, the redefinition of federal law enforcement, and the reallocation of state resources toward prison building, policing, and incarceration How policing, courts, and punishment perpetuate the colonial order through their institutional structures and policies Race and Crime will help students understand how everyday practices of punishment and surveillance are employed in and through the police, courts, and community to create and shape the geographies of injustice in the United States today.