Models of Inter-Racial Offending: An Evaluation

• NCJ Number: 184716
• Journal: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 31 Dated: 1998 Pages: 27-37
• Author(s): Daniel D. Reidpath; Mark R. Diamond
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This paper contrasts three models of interracial offending (offending by criminals of one race against victims of another race) that have been previously described in the literature and discusses their difficulties of interpretation.

Abstract

Before proceeding to an examination of the data and a discussion of the models, the authors discuss the limitations of the data on which the three models of interracial offending are based and describe the underlying racial composition of the Western Australia population and the implications that this may have for models. The first model is exemplified by Broadhurst et al's (1994) analysis of interracial offending. Under this model, offenders select victims. This ignores the role of the victim in crimes against the person and conveys the impression that they are passive agents waiting for the offender to determine their fate. The second, and most misleading, model of interracial offending is exemplified by Broadhurst et al's (1993) analysis of Western Australia police data for 1992. Under this analysis there is a strong implication that Aboriginal offenders differentially seek non-Aborigines to victimize. This model of interracial offending is seriously flawed and dangerously misleading. The third model of interracial offending relies on a straightforward x square test of independence of the data. This approach is exemplified by Harding et al (1995). It shows a significant interaction between the race of the victim and the race of the offender. One problem with this analysis is that it focuses solely on the victim and offender groups, while ignoring the racial composition of the larger populations from which the victims and offenders were drawn. Both models one and three provide potentially useful information about levels of interracial offending, although both models are severely limited by the failure of their assumptions to be reflected in the real world. 5 tables and 9 references