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Race, Crime and Resistance
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Race, Crime and Resistance



April 2011 | 208 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
In a post-Macpherson, post-9/11 world, criminal justice agencies are adapting their responses to criminal behaviour across diverse ethnic groups. Race, Crime and Resistance draws on contemporary theory and a range of case studies to consider racial inequalities within the criminal justice system and related organisations.

Exploring the mechanisms of discrimination and exclusion, the book goes beyond superficial assumptions to examine the ensuing processes of mobilisation and resistance across disadvantaged groups. Empirically grounded and theoretically informed, the book critically unpicks the persisting concepts of race and ethnicity in the perceptions and representations of crime.

Articulate and sensitive, the book clarifies complex ideas through the use of chapter summaries, case studies, further reading and study questions. It is essential reading for students and scholars of criminology, race and ethnicity, and sociology.

 
Introduction: Constructing the Race-Crime Problem
Racialised others and the roots of a racist rationale

 
The problem with racialised constructions of crime

 
Racial profiling in a post-Macpherson era

 
Discourse, method, race, crime and resistance

 
Book structure and content

 
 
Crime Science?
The presentation of black criminality

 
Science, genetics and racial profiling

 
Questioning 'race talk'

 
 
The Politics of Hate
Contextualising the politics of hate

 
I hate you so much right now: affect and hate

 
From the centre to the margins … and back again

 
 
Policing Racism or Policing Race?
Strained relations and Macpherson

 
Black people within police environments: custody and career

 
Learning lessons from Macpherson?

 
 
Courtin' Justice
Racial bias and the tipping of Portia's scales

 
Fair courtroom personnel, fair courtroom justice?

 
Beyond the docks

 
 
Proportionate Punishment?
Situating disciplinary racism

 
Reproducing racial boundaries

 
Control racism and punishment

 
Sovereignty and asylum detention

 
 
Victims' Rights and the Challenge of Discrimination
Resistance and collective mobilisation

 
Rethinking political identities

 
Unsettling traditional modes of politics

 
 
Forms of Resistance
Contextualising race and resistance

 
Discourse, racism, essentialism and anti-essentialism

 
Muslim resistance: from Rushdie to the Danish cartoon protests

 
 
Researching the Agenda
Generating knowledge on race and crime

 
Barriers in researching race matters

 
Presenting accurate and meaningful data

 
 
Conclusion: Re-Constructing Race and Crime
Reconsidering 'scientific' racism

 
The question of races

 
Biopolitics

 
Racialised governmentality and the legacy of institutional racism

 
Resistance

 

A critical and inter-disciplinary perspective that helps to shed new light upon the intersections between resistance, "race", crime and politics
Dr. Basia Spalek
Reader in Communities & Justice, School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham


A thoughtful and lively examination of key concepts and developments in the race and crime debate. The authors rethink some fundamental questions about institutional racism and show how scientific racism continues to be a pervasive influence in the criminal justice sphere
Hindpal Singh Bhui
Inspection Team Leader, HM Inspectorate of Prisons


Patel and Tyrer write from a critical criminological perspective, with a usefully broad conception of crime, incorporating state crime, hate crime and criminalization... It is structured and presented as a text book (with revision questions and further readings), yet has arguments that will certainly challenge established scholars in the various fields that it traverses. It accessibly introduces terms, concepts and debates, yet adopts some of the expressive style as well as conceptual complexities of writing from the 'posts' and the 'isms' that it deploys; it is no easy read. It is well worth the read, however, and has plenty for readers of all levels and most persuasions.
Professor Scott Poynting
Youth Justice


A very thoughtful analysis of contemporary issues in race and ethnicity. This book would be well suited to a course on 'Race and Crime' or 'Hate Crime'. I shall be recommending this book to our lead lecturer on these modules.

Mr Rashid Aziz
Department of Law and Criminal Justice, Canterbury Christ Church University
March 1, 2014

An important and useful examination of problem constructions relating to race and crime

Ms Julia Franz
Department of Education, Free University of Berlin
March 13, 2013

this will replace the OU book understanding crime on the reading list

Ms Clare Choak
Education & Community Studies, Greenwich University
January 12, 2013

I have recommended this book to students due to the coverage of a range of issues on and around the topic. It is an accessible, informative and enjoyable book.

Dr Sharon Morley
Dept of Social & Communication Studies, Chester University
October 19, 2012

Excellent reader that provides insight into the difficulties faced with racial inequality and those in the criminal justice sector that have to manage them.

Ms Anne Eason
Sch of Social Sciences, Law & Criminal Justice Studies, Northampton University
September 5, 2012

A very good title on a complex subject - recommended reading in Citizenship and Identity.

Mr Andrew Gadsdon
Political Science , Runshaw Adult College
April 2, 2012

Well written and concise with critical insight into race, policing and criminal justice in Britain. Would suit level 5 and 6 undergraduate courses in this area as well as Masters students and academics.

Dr Victoria Canning
Sociology , Liverpool John Moores University
July 28, 2011

An extremely informative book looking at various aspects of this difficult subject in ways which are easy for students to take on board. Highly recommended and would be considered an essential read for any student looking at these aspects of their course

Mrs Fiona Porter
Dept of Social Sciences & Humanities, Bradford University
July 12, 2011

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