SLT-Summary
By: Lauren Spears
-this article discusses the views of Jared Taylor and Glayde Whitney, who are
criminologists
-they feel there is such a sensitivity in the public eye when it comes to crime and race,
that when these sorts of topics come up and someone tries to mention statistics and
gathered data, people automatically assume racism
-when looking at media coverage, found there was a double standard, where coverage of
white crimes with black victims was publicized way more than black crimes with white
victims
-they believe racial profiling is justified due to all of the statistic evidence they have
collected, dealing with violent crime rates among races
-many statistics are presented, including the following
-African Americans commit violent crimes at about four to eight times the white rate,
while Hispanic is about 3 times the white rate, and asian is one half to three quarters of
the white rate
-Of the 1,700,000 interracial crimes of violence involving blacks and whites, 90% are
committed by blacks against whites.
-African Americans are 50 times more likely to commit individual acts of interracial
violence, and 250 times more likely to engage in multiple-offender or group interracial
violence
-56% of African American crimes have white victims, while only two to three percent of
white crimes have African American victims
-refer to “crime and human nature”, where it was recorded that African Americans made
up one eighth of the U.S., and about half the arrestees for murder, rape, robbery, and one
fourth of the arrestees for burglary, larceny, auto-theft and aggravated assault.
-Pointed out that this was consistent with London, England, where 13 percent of the
population was African American and accounted for 50% of the crime
-when analyzed, race-specific arrests for various offenses through the years 1965-1986
showed the rate of non-white crime exceeded that of white crime by a factor most often
of four to ten
-one of the major sources of all of this data is the National Crime Victimization Survey,
which is carried out every year since 1972, to ascertain the frequency of certain types of
crime
-just as no one disputes that men (especially in their mid/late twenties) are more likely to
be prone to violence than women shown in arrest rates, is the same as how when it comes
to violent crimes, racial minorities (Hispanic, African American) are approximately as
much more likely to be arrested than Caucasians
-in the case of someone feeling more uneasy when approached by a group of unfamiliar
men then when by a group of women, no one would suggest the difference in uneasiness
is prejudice
-the difference in danger is reflected by arrest rates, which could be said the same in the
case of race
-in conclusion, they feel if races were reversed and if gangs of whites were attacking
blacks at the same rate blacks are attacking whites than there would be an urgent need for
help and attention
-we adjust our behaviour accordingly when it comes to young and old, women and men,
without apologizing, but continue to pretend race has nothing to do with crime rate
despite all of the facts and statistics
SLT Questions
1. What is your opinion on the fact that the authors of the article compared the commonly
accepted assumption of men being more violent than women to the assumption that racial
minorities are more prone to crime than Caucasians?
I understand the point that the authors are trying to get across, but I do not agree
with it completely. There is truth that due to statistics, society has come to silently agree
that men are more violent than women, but this can’t be considered the same thing as
African Americans being more violent than whites. This is not an acceptable assumption,
as it is judging a race, rather than a gender that applies to all races. Neither sexism nor
racism is right, but accusing an entire race of being more dangerous than another is an
extremely important and sensitive topic that should not be passed off as a “common
view”.
2. Is it fair to judge something such as racial crime by statistics? I personally don’t think
so, as I believe that no matter how much empirical data is shown, it is unfair to categorize
one race as the most likely or least likely to commit a crime. The fact is that all
individuals are different, and their race does not decide their role in contributing to crime.
3. Racial profiling allows separate treatment of people based on race, which defies the
right for equality among all races. Does this mean that police officers are guilty of racial
profiling because they believe one race is better than the other?
I think, for the most part (there are always exceptions) the police may use the
technique of racial profiling because they feel it is justified, and is really for the benefit of
society as a whole. When given statistics such as those provided in the article, I think it is
virtually impossible for some officers to not be more suspicious of certain races when it
comes to specific crimes. In the case of airlines and Middle Eastern men, it is just not
realistic to think that those in charge of security will not be more cautious of a particular
race where individuals had committed a notorious and devastating crime. Unfortunately,
not unlike every other profession, there will always be people who are corrupted and
believe that one race is supreme in comparison to another. But that is not what I think
racial profiling is based on at all.
4. In conclusion, what is your view on racial profiling?
Honestly, I don’t think there is anything that can truly justify racial profiling. Whatever
way criminologists try to describe the situation, I believe that racial profiling singles out
people in minority races due to crimes that have been previously committed by someone
else of the same background, keyword being “someone else”. This infringes on
everyone’s right to equality, and it just isn’t fair or just.
Glossary
Prejudice- unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature,
regarding a racial, religious, or national group.
Racial Profiling- the consideration of race when developing a profile of suspected
criminals; by extension, a form of racism involving police focus on people of certain
racial groups when seeking suspected criminals
Racism- the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and
that a particular race is superior to others.
Bias- a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudiced
consideration of a question; prejudice.
Hispanic- A person of Spanish descent or heritage
NCVS- National Crime Victimization Survey, carried out by the U.S. Department of justice
since 1972, sampling upwards of 80,000 people and 50,000 households
UCR- Uniform Crime Reports, published annually by the FBI and is the standard
reference work for crime rates in the United States
Statistic-A numerical value, such as standard deviation or mean, that characterizes the
sample or population from which it was derived.