Ethnic Differences in Intergenerational Crime Patterns

Abstract

Some disadvantaged minority groups in Western countries have elevated rates of crime. Others do not. The experience of diverse minority groups in England and Wales, primarily postcolonial migrants since World War II, provides a case study. The highest levels of poverty and disadvantage occur among Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, and the lowest among Indians and African Asians. Afro-Caribbeans have achieved middling levels of prosperity. Crime rates in the first generation appear to have been low among all of these groups. They rose sharply in the second generation among Afro-Caribbeans but not among the South Asian groups. One reason for this divergence was the legacy of slavery, which led to rapid changes in the Afro-Caribbean family after migration that loosened constraints on crime and antisocial behavior. Another was their British cultural inheritance, which led Afro-Caribbean migrants to expect more from British people and to interact with them more freely. This outgoing style of life led to frequent experiences of rejection. Young Afro-Caribbeans responded by finding a positive source of identity in rebellion against white authority, leading to elevated crime rates.