Crime and Law Enforcement - Case Study Example

Crime and Law enforcement (Do the UK police discriminate against ethnic minority groups Introduction In most countries around the world, the presence of ethic minority groups has been often related with an increase rate of criminal behaviour; however, such an assumption cannot be always considered as justified. In fact, the lack of necessary funds for surviving can often lead to the development of criminal actions – a phenomenon that is not related only with ethnic minority groups but will the natives also – referring to the people of extremely low income. In this context, a potential differentiation in the behaviour of the police towards the people belonging in ethnic minority groups would not be regarded as acceptable especially in countries, like the United Kingdom, where the protection of equality among all the people in the country is one of the governmental priorities. In order to understand and evaluate the behaviour of British police towards the ethnic minority groups, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the general context of these groups within the national territory (percentage of population, main activities and involvement in criminal actions and so on). The existing legislation related with these groups should be also mentioned ensuring that the principle of equality is applied on all the aspects of life of people with the particular origin. It should be noticed that a major problem regarding the evaluation of the British police practices towards the people of ethnic minority groups is the fact that no recent data are available in relation with the presence of these people in the British population. Probably because a long process is required for the retrieval of the relevant info, the last available data on the percentages of ethnic minority groups in various aspects of British life refer to 2004. A series of photos people of ethnic/ minority groups in Britain is presented in the Appendix section (Figures 2-4). 2. Ethnic minority groups in UK The presence of ethnic minority groups can be characterized as limited. In fact, in accordance with the most recent evaluation of the origin of people living in UK (in 2001) it was estimated that ‘92.1 per cent of the UK population described themselves as white (though not necessarily British); the remaining 7 per cent (4.6 million) belonged to non-white ethnic minority groups’ (ESRC, 2007, online report). However, in the years that followed it would be normally expected that this percentage has been differentiated – the percentage of ethnic minority groups in UK is expected to having been increased. In the percentage mentioned above the level of Asian people is rather high – in fact about half of non-white people in UK are of Asian origin – as it is noticed in the report mentioned above. It should be noticed that the level of unemployment in people of ethnic minority groups in Britain is rather high. More specifically, it has been estimated that about ‘65.3 per cent of the working age ethnic minority population, are economically active’ (ESRC, 2007, online report, referring on data released in 2001). In accordance with the graph presented in the Appendix section (Figure 1) all ethnic minority groups face the problem of unemployment; however the specific phenomenon is expanded mostly across Pakistani and Bangladeshi women – a fact that shows the inability of the local government to ensure the equality in the access in the workplace among people belonging in ethnic and minority groups. In other words, inequality is a problem referring not only in the relationship between White people and people of ethnic and minority group in Britain but also in the benefits and various advantages provided to people belonging in the above group. On the other hand, the statistics related with the level of poverty in people belonging in ethnic and minority groups in Britain prove that there is a significant differentiation between the income of those people and the natives (British). More specifically, in a relevant research it has been revealed that ‘the poverty rate for Britain’s minority ethnic groups stands at 40%, double the 20% found amongst white British people; minority ethnic groups are also being overlooked for jobs and are being paid lower wages, despite improvements in education and qualifications’ (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2007, online report). The explanation given above regarding the increased level of poverty among people belonging in ethnic and minority group cannot be considered as absolutely justified. People of the specific groups are – in many cases – highly educated but their access in the workplace is often limited. Regarding this issue it is noticed that ‘people from minority ethnic groups who have higher educational achievements do not receive the same rewards as those from white British backgrounds with similar qualifications’ (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2007, online report). In other words, in Britain there is a severe problem regarding the recognition of the professional qualifications of people belonging in ethnic minority groups. It should be noticed that this is a phenomenon developed not only in Britain but in all developed countries worldwide. The competition between the foreigners and the locals in the workplace can be strong and it should be expected that natives (British) would be preferred instead of people belonging in ethnic minority groups when the firm involved is of British ownership. In firms that belong to foreigners, the chances offered to people belonging in ethnic and minority groups to enter the workplace may be higher – always taking into account the nature of the work and the level of communication with the customers – required for a particular position, e.g. sales department. In general it could be noticed that inequality among people belonging in ethnic and minority groups in Britain is a common phenomenon – as explained above this inequality may refer to the rights offered to natives or to the rights offered to specific categories of ethnic minority groups in the specific country – in other words it will be an opposition with the natives or with the other people belonging in these groups. Referring especially to the performance of these people in the workplace and their educational background Mirza notices (2006, 137) that ‘in Britain when we talk of Black and ethnic minorities in schools we think of underachievement, rising exclusions and low aspirations; however, research evidence shows racialized people, particularly the women, have a positive and enduring relationship with education’. In other words, people belonging in ethnic and minority groups in Britain are not necessarily criminals; they rather face severe difficulties in order to be adapted at the local social and cultural context but they have been proved as having a strong will to improve their living conditions and their educational/ professional qualifications. In this context, the behaviour of British police towards the people of the specific part of the population should be relevant with the behaviour towards all people living across the country – equality between the natives and the people belonging in ethnic minorities groups towards the law. 3. UK police and ethnic minority groups In Britain, the application by the police of specific methods when facing criminals has been criticized as of its appropriateness but also as of its effectiveness. An indicative example is that of the deception tactics used by British police officers. In accordance with Panzarella et al. (1987) these tactics include ‘"sting operations" for snaring burglars, alluding to non-existent witnesses during interrogations, and "abscam" type operations’ (Panzarella et al., 1987, 133). Regarding this issue, it is noticed by the above researchers that these tactics despite their potential weaknesses are being accepted by the courts as no other similar tactics have been developed through the years regarding the administration of crime in the country. These tactics involve in all criminals across the country; therefore their potential application on people belonging in ethnic/ minority groups could not be regarded as a violation of the principle of equality towards the law. Through the years, British government has tried to improve the conditions of living of people belonging in ethnic minorities groups across the country. For this reason, it has developed an appropriate legal framework ensuring the equality in treatment of these people by the British authorities; in the workplace the application of these principles still faces certain obstacles. In accordance with the study of Hussain (2003, 312) ‘in the past 4 years, the Ministry of Defence has embarked on a concerted effort to encourage ethnic minorities living in the United Kingdom to consider a career in the British Armed Forces’. The specific initiative could be regarded as an active effort by the British government to support the people belonging in ethnic minorities groups. But, the effectiveness of this effort regarding the actual improvement of the conditions of living of these people is difficult to be identified and evaluated. In British legislation, the following legislative texts ensure the protection of the rights of people of ethnic/ minority groups that live across the country: ‘a) the Race Relations Act 1976 - Amendment 2000, Amendment Regulations 2003 – b) Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993; c) Race Relations Remedies Act 1994, d) Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 and 1999; e) Human Rights Act 1998 and f) Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003’ (UCL, Equality Legislation, 2007). Through the years the above texts are used by the Courts whenever relevant disputes appear making sure that equality is promoted among all people living in Britain. The potential update of these texts cannot be rejected as the social, political and financial conditions in Britain – as in all countries around the world – are being developed continuously. It should be noticed that in Britain, people belonging to ethnic minority groups are more likely to be arrested by the police – or even to be questioned by the police – as the relevant studies have proved. More specifically, in accordance with Junger (1990) ‘blacks (or ethnic minorities) are no more involved in crime than autochthons but that they are discriminated against by the police (and by society at large); there is no association between family integration and crime among blacks’ (Bowling, 1990, in Junger, 1990, 493). In other words, people of ethnic/ minority groups are more likely to be regarded as related with criminal actions – even if there are no specific proofs for such an assumption. It seems that the low level of living of those people (at a high percentage) can lead the police to consider those people as being of high risk to be involved in criminal activities. The above assumption is also supported by the fact that the British police has developed a series of methods for the identification of the potential relationship between foreigners (especially people that belong in ethnic/ minority groups) and crime. An indicative example is the analysis of the name/ surname of people in Britain in order for a potential relationship with crime to be identified – in fact an ethnic identification system has been developed in which a person’s name and surname is analyzed in order for the ethnic origins of this person to be retrieved. The specific issue has been revealed through a report of TimesOnline in 2007. Since then further relevant methods are expected to have been developed. 4. Conclusion The behaviour of the British police towards the people belonging to ethnic/ minority groups can be identified through a series of statistics (refer to the period 2002/ 2003) been published by the Home Office in 2004. In accordance with these statistics: ‘a) Black people are six times more likely to be searched by police than white people; b) Stops and Searches under PACE of black people went up by 38 per cent, Asians by 36 per cent, ‘other’ ethnic backgrounds by 47 per cent and white by 17 per cent; c) Numbers of arrests per 1,000 population were more than three times higher for black people than for others’ (Home Office, Press Office, 2004, online article). The above statistics are just indicative. In fact, many more other aspects of inequality against the people of ethnic/ minority groups in Britain could be revealed. It should be noticed, that the behaviour of the British Police towards the people belonging in these groups might be considered as justified if taking into account the rate of involvement of these people in crimes; an effective prevention policy would be regarded the one that would target the people that are more likely to commit a crime (in accordance with the statistics). Under this context, the practices applied by Police on those people could be considered as partially justified – the priority of the Police in any state is the protection of public safety and any measure that is considered as appropriate towards this direction has to be applied no matter its effects on minority – the interests and the safety of the majority of people is always the priority for the Police worldwide. References ESRC (2007) Ethnic Minorities in the UK, online report, available at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/facts/UK/index39.aspx?ComponentId=12534&SourcePageId=18133 Home Office, Press Office (2004) online article http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/Government_And_Police_Must_Engag?version=1 Hussain, A. (2003) Careers in the British Armed Forces. Journal of Black Studies, 33(3): 312-334 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2007) Poverty twice as likely for minority ethnic groups: education fails to close the gap, online, available at http://www.jrf.org.uk/pressroom/releases/300407.asp Junger, M. (1990) Studying Ethnic Minorities in Relation to Crime and Police Discrimination. The British Journal of Criminology, 30: 493-502 Mirza, H. (2006) Race, gender and educational desire. Race Ethnicity and Education, 9(2): 137-158 Panzarella, R., Funk, J. (1987) Police Deception Tactics and Public Consent in the United States and Great Britain. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 2(2): 133-149 TimesOnline (2007) Police track ethnic groups with profile technology, online, available at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1685284.ece UCL (2007) Equality Legislation, available at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/equalities/legislation.php Appendix Figure 1 – Ethnic Minority Groups in Britain, 2004 (source: ESRC, 2007) Figure 2 –Ethnic groups in Britain (source: BBC News, 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2758453.stm) Figure 3 – People of ethnic/ minority groups (source: The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2008, http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-minority.html) Figure 4 – People of ethnic/ minority groups in the workplace (source: Ethnic Minority Groups in Wales, http://83.137.212.42/sitearchive/eoc/Default12fd.html?page=20493&theme=print) Read More