ABSTRACT
Black disproportionate presence in the criminal statistics has been examined within the context of 'black criminality'. The supposed disproportionate black involvement in crime has also been highlighted by further attempts to analyse 'black criminality' in relation to certain forms of disadvantage believed to be relative to the black population. In R. Reiner's observation, 'it seems clear that the disproportionate black arrest rate is the product of black deprivation, police stereotyping and the process by which the factors amplifies the other'. Black people face a greater chance of being stopped, arrested and charged by the police than other racial groups somewhat on the basis of police assumption rather than evidence. Much of the in-depth research studies of the courts and the disproportionate number of black people in the criminal statistics have focused on the sentencing patterns of the courts. This chapter presents an overview of the key conceptsf discussed in the book.
