Laws Affecting Minority Groups

Discuss how laws in society affect those in minority and disadvantaged groups

Barker (2014, p.1) suggests that the law may be defined as a rule of human conduct, imposed upon and enforced among the members of society in which laws are inaugurated to ensure that social order continues. As a result, laws ensure that members of society may live and work together in an orderly manner by following the same rules. However, laws have different affects on individual members in society and from this point of view, this essay will focus on how laws in society affect individuals in minority and disadvantaged groups.

Within society, minority groups have historically been most affected by laws enforced upon them, such as heightened policing powers which

has led to increases in the numbers of stop and searches being carried out amongst minority groups, in which black minorities have been affected the most (Independent, 2015). Black people within society are still disproportionately more likely than other ethnic groups to be stopped and searched in almost every part of England (Independent, 2015), in which statistics have stated that black people are stopped and searched at just over 3 times the rate of white people (Stop watch, 2015). It is argued that black minorities are subjected more to stop and searches as a result of institutional racism. Holdaway and O'Neill (2006) based their research on policing and police views and stated that the policing organisation was institutionally racist in which members had deep rooted beliefs and held attitudes which has amounted to discrimination towards ethnic minorities through prejduices and racist stereotyping all which disadvantage minorities (Macpherson, 1999, p.41). As a result, according to Lea (2003), the reasons why institutional racism arises is due to 'normal policing' in which police officers, due to their beliefs and attitutdes, do not fear the power black minorities have to make formal complaints and as a result use stop and searches disproportionately against black minorities.

As well as black minorities being more likely to be affected by stop and searches, they are also more likely to be convicted against British laws and thus have a higher prison population with statistics showing that 10% of the British national prison population are black which is over 3 times higher than the 2.8% of the general population they represent (Prison Reform Trust, 2014). Research conducted by Okoronkwo (2008) drew on existing work by Hall (1978, p.3) on the Policing of the Crisis which demonstrated how the media shaped public perception of a particular minority group in society, this being the black minority group. Hall (1978, p.4) stated that a moral panic based on muggings was blamed predominantly on black males which resulted in the marginalisation of black minorities in society and an increase in over-policing of black youths in the UK. As a result, an increase in arrests and convictions arrised, and thus laws affected black minorities moreso than other ethnic groups and therefore the level racial disparity can be seen as unfair (Independent, 2015).

Over time, laws in society have changed or been established which affect other minority and disadvantaged groups, such as Asians and Mulsims, which have arisen as a result of significant societal events.

Spalek and Imtoual (2007) state that in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 and the following of subsequent terrorist attacks in the UK and Europe, there has been a shift of focus on black minorities to Asian minorities and as a result there has been an increased surveillance amongst Asian and Muslim minority groups. Since the year 2000, numerous contemporary anti-terror laws have been instated the law affecting minority groups the most being most influential the Terrorism Act 2000. The Terrorism Act 2000 affected minority groups by enhancing police powers to investigate terrorism, including wider stop and search powers, and the power to detain suspects after arrest for up to 14 days. (Spalek and Imtoual, 2007). As a result, statistics in Britain in 2002-2003, sugested that under counter-terrorism legislation, stop and searches carried out amongst Asian minorities increased by 302% in a year, in which Hare and Weinstein (2010, p.483) in their literary research on democracy, state that the Muslim Council of Britain claimed that the police are misusing their new enhanced powers and

that
institutional racism highlighted by the McPherson report against black minority groups is now morphing into institutional prejudice against Muslims and as a result are worried about a new generation of young Muslim men is being criminalised. As a result, statistics have showed that out of the British national prison population, 6% are Asian, which like black minority groups, is higher than the general population they represent (Prison Reform Trust, 2014).
The increase in ethnic minority convictions and prison rates is argued to be the result of a range of disparities such as being stopped and searched and the fact that they are more likely to plead not guilty and be tried in a system created to fail them, as according to Pantazis and Pemberton (2009), the introduction of counter-terrorist legislation has designated Muslims as the new 'enemy within' which has facilitated the over-policing of Muslims as they are now perceived as a 'suspect community' and a 'terrorist threat' to society, and thus laws affect them considerably which leads to an increase in conviction rates.

Choudhury and Fenwick (2011) argue that as a result of increased policing and stop and searches, more members of minorities are subjected to prejudice and discriminatory views from law enforcement which has heightend distrust amonst minorities with the police force as laws are seen as being unlawfully implicated amongst members of their minority group as a result of their race of religious

beliefs.

To conclude, laws in society are made usually in goodfaith and to not affect those in minority and disadvantaged groups negatively, but instead most do the opposite and create higher tensions within minority groups which in turn leads to further distrust between them, the law and law enforcement officers. With current levels of xenophobia rising and ethnic minority groups still being ostracised from society, stop and search figures are still increasing and more is needed to tackle deep-rooted inequalities and injustices within society which affect those in disadvantaged and minority groups.