God Fearing Atheist

According to the DOJ's NCVS (US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1994" (Washington DC; USGPO, 1997): 41-45.), 2,025,464 violent crimes commited by blacks, 5,114,692 by whites. As a percentage of population (about 72.7% white, 12.1% black) blacks commit a highly disperportionate amount.

I had heard that, in predominately white countries, similar patterns hold. Is this true? Does anyone have, for example, European violent crime rates categorized by race?

-GFA

Sakpo

"Race" is a figment of our collective imagination. I hope you're not trying to investigate some biological link between "black" people and violent crimes.

God Fearing Atheist

Thats not correct, actually, but irrelevant to my OP.

-GFA

Majestyk

As race is statistically compiled now, it has been argued to have little scientific value. A more concise term for it in terms of genetic disposition might be "geographic heritage". Please correct me if, I am wrong.

*edit* sorry. thought I was in the S&S forum.

Loren Pechtel

The real pattern isn't by race but economic condition. Most violent crime is committed by those in poverty.

TMA68

I believe the following explains why crime tends to be concentrated in black neighborhoods:

http://www.mcwilliams.com/books/book...3b.htm#cocaine

Todd

God Fearing Atheist

Fer' christsake...does anyone have the info I wanted?

I never intended this to become a discussion on race; I already did that one in S&S.

-GFA

God Fearing Atheist

Thats entirely possible, or...you may be commiting a post hoc ergo propter hoc.

Maybe it isnt that being poor makes you commit crimes, but those folks that are likely to commit crimes also tend to be poor for similar reasons?

For example, the average IQ of violent criminals in the United States is 84...one point above the average African-American IQ, and we know that they commit an awful lot of crime....

We also know that IQ is a good indicator of SES...

Im not here to defend that position, of course, only to suggest that its not as simple as, "its poverty, stupid!"

theyeti

I don't think it does. Drug abuse rates are pretty constant across all socio-economic categories. Rich white people are just as likely to use drugs as poor black people are. But they're a lot less likely to get arrested.

theyeti

Gringo

Here are some data discussed by Paul Sheehan about Depatment of Justice figures on race and crime, in particular black on white crimes, which occurs 50 times more frequently than white on black crimes.

When people discuss racism, they usually think of whites being racist against other groups, but each group has racist members against each of the other groups. We've probably had our xenophobes since the homo habilis days, and we're (the whole human race) just carrying on an ol' family tradition. Maybe if all of us can 'fess up to this evil, the healing might begin. But let's tell it like it is (Barbershop comes to mind )-- whites are victims of hate crimes too, probablysince the 1970s constituting the greatest number of hate crime victims.