As seen in item A, official statistics show that ethnic minority groups are more likely to be arrested. For example in 2007/2008 Black people were nearly four times more likely to be arrested than white people. Whilst sociologists like Lea and Young argue that statistics reliably show that ethnic minorities are more likely to commit crimes, other sociologists such as Neo Marxists and investigations into racist institutions such as the MacPherson report believe that official statistics are not a true representation of the level of ethnic crime and is socially constructed.
Official statistics show there is a high level of ethnic minority crime in society for example blacks are five times more likely to be in prison than a white person. Left realists Lea and Young argue that statistics highlight that Black men are committing more crimes due to racism in society which is marginalising black people for example racism has led to high levels of unemployment amongst ethnic minority groups hence leading to poverty and poor housing situations. Lea and young believe that the Medias etherises on consumerism leads black men to feel relatively deprived as they are not able to maintain the goals of society via legitimate means hence they turn to delinquent subcultures as a means of gaining rewards through illegitimate means. This also links to Merton’s strain theory.
However Neo Marxists criticise official statistics representation of ethnic minorities and crime, claiming that they are socially constructed and don’t reflect reality. Gilroy argues that Black crime is over represented in official statistics and is in fact a myth created by racist stereotypes. For example victim surveys rely on people’s memory to identify the ethnicity of the criminal, however people tend to rely on their stereotypical typifications, often saying their attacker was black when in reality they