CRIME IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

Crime In Black Communities : A Review of the Literature

Willie James Colquitt III
Hampton University

CRIME IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

Abstract
Crime in black communities have been going on for ages. Crime in these urban
communities have been seen all over the news, across social media, and even read about in
newspapers. Since the majority of the inmates are black, African Americans are looked at as
thugs and criminals. This literature review will inform the reader on who causes the crimes in
black communities, and if black communities are targeted by police. This literature review also
incorporates interviews from African Americans as well as data from the FBI and CBS regarding
the crimes in these communities.

CRIME IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

In the United States crimes happen everyday and at any time. Most of the time people
dont have control over the situation and casualties do occur. Crimes definitely vary in severity,
for example, a terrorist attack is a lot worse than stealing food from the grocery store. Over the
past ten years crimes have slowly been decreasing in the United States, but they are still
occurring. People experience crimes on their way to work, walking home from school, or even in
their own neighborhood. No matter what ethnicity, crimes still happen in white communities,
black communities, and even in latino communities. Many people try to avoid living in high
crime rate communities such as, Chicago, Camden, Philadelphia, and etc. Since the costs of
living in these communities are inexpensive, they are often populated by African Americans and
minorities. The media portrays African American males as thugs, do African Americans cause the
majority of the crimes in black communities? Four questions that need to be considered are

1.
2.
3.
4.

Who causes crimes in Black communities? (Sex, Gender, Race?)

Would opening up more schools in black communities will lower the crime rate?
In general, do people of color cause more crimes than people of non color?
Are black communities are targeted by police?

The purpose of this paper is to find out whos causing crimes in black communities,
whats being done to stop it, and why it is happening?
Who causes crimes in Black communities? (Sex, Gender, Race?)
In todays society, black communities are frowned upon because of what the media
portrays about them. The media displays crimes happening all over the world, but specifically in
black communities. The media refuses to show the positive side of black communities, instead

CRIME IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

they show the negative side. Though crimes do happen in these communities, the question is,
whos causing them?
Black lives matter has been a worldwide trend for months now, but what does it mean?
Black lives matter was created after many young African Americans males were assaulted or
killed by armed officers. Majority of the time the officers would face no charges and would be
set free, so did the black victims lives really matter? Black lives matter means exactly what it
says, Black lives matter. There is huge contradiction when it comes to that saying. In black
communities, African Americans are the ones who cause the most crimes out of all the ethnicities
in the community, but why? In a news article called The Origins of the Phrase 'Black-on-Black
Crime' there was an interview with a hustler that went by the name, Fast Willie. During the
interview Willie admits that he robbed and beat up his own brothers. He said he commits these
crimes against other African Americans, because thats who lives around him and that cops will
let him get away with it. Mock, B. (2015)
A survey was given out to a group of ten African Americans, and one question stated,
Who causes the crimes in Black communities? The options were, African Americans, Whites,
and Others. The results came back and seven out of ten (70%) said African Americans were the
ones that caused most of the crimes in black communities. While three out ten (30%) chose the
option, other. This data proves that even African Americans realize that black on black crime
does exist. In 1980 the number of black homicides were astounding. Black homicides estimated
to be 87.1% while non black homicides were 13.7%. (Shihadeh, E. S., & Steffensmeier, D. J.
(1994) Page 738)

Would opening up more schools in black communities lower the crime rate?

CRIME IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

All across America, schools are being shut down and relocated because of financial issues
within the city, or town. Schools that get shut down or relocated are primarily in the city. Every
year more and more schools are get shut down because more cities, and towns, are going deeper
into debt. In 2013, Chicago, one of the largest school districts in the United States, shut down 54
schools, which saved America 43 million dollars Lee, J., & Lubienski, C. (2016). This action
benefited America, but it did not benefit the African Americans attending that school. Lack of
education can cause young adults to drop out of school and will most likely end up in jail.
Would opening up more schools in black communities lower the crime rate? Fact Sheet:
Outcomes for Young, Black Men, written by Tamika Thompson, states that only 54% of African
Americans graduate high school. While whites and Asians graduate with a rate of 75%. African
Americans in the twelfth grade, read at the same level as white students in 8th grade, and scored
lower in reading, than any other race (Thompson, 2016). So would opening up more schools in
black communities lower the crime rate?

Lack of education can lead to dropping out of school, which means blacks will never be
able to make it out of their city or town to pursue life goals. Instead the majority of them end up
dead or in jail before the age of twentyfive.

CRIME IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

A survey was given out to a group of ten African Americans and there was a question that
stated, Would opening up school more schools in black communities lower the crime rate? The
results came back and five out of ten students (50%) said that opening up more schools will
lower the crime rate, while the other five said it wont. Judging from the data above, opening up
schools in black communities will not decrease the crime rate since, most African Americans
dont finish high school.
In general, do people of color cause more crimes than people of non color?
In todays society the media portrays African Americans as thugs and criminals, but are
they really thugs and criminals? One out of three African American males will end up in jail,
and in jail, 60% of the population are African Americans (Kerby, S. 2014). Does this mean
African Americans cause more crime than whites? African Americans make up 15% of
Americas population while whites make up 62% (Aranda, P. 2015). The Federal Bureau of
Investigation states that 6,502,919 caucasians were arrested in 2012 for crimes, while 2,640,067
blacks were arrested (FBI, 2013). Thats almost a four million difference in arrest between
whites and blacks. A survey was given out to a group of ten African Americans and there was a
question that asked, In general, do you think people of color cause more crimes than people of
non color? From the results, five out of ten (50%) said that blacks cause more crimes than
white, and the other five said whites caused more crimes than blacks. Judging from the
information given by the FBI, whites cause more crimes than blacks, but more blacks are
incarcerated than whites.

Are black communities targeted by police?

CRIME IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

The police main job is to protect the citizens and keep them away from danger. Since
whites cause more crimes than blacks, how come more blacks are in jail? The issue between cops
and blacks have been going on for decades now. African Americans are three times more likely
to get searched by police than whites, and four times more likely to encounter the use of force by
police than whites (Kerby, S. 2014). Are black communities targeted by police?

A survey was given out to a group of ten African Americans and one of the questions
asked, Are black communities targeted by police? The results indicated that nine out of ten
(90%) said that black communities are targeted by police, and one out of ten (10%) said black
communities arent targeted by police. Judging from this data, African Americans are aware of
the situations between cops and blacks. CBS posted an article explaining how blacks feel
mistreated by cops. In the article one man by the name of, Larry Washington, 30, explains how
he was mistreated as teenager by a police officer. Washington said, "When I got to the police
station, the officer who arrested me told me that I looked like I wanted to do something about it."
He also said, "And he kept calling me '[n-word].'" (Mock, B. 2015). Not only was he threatened
by the officer that arrested him, but they also called him racial slurs. CBS also interviewed David
Thomas, 80, who was also harassed by an officer. Thomas said, when he was a young man, the
relationship between black communities and the law enforcement was bad, but today, he said the
relationship has improved. "Everything is not right, but it's better," he continued, "We have bad
cops and we have good cops. I don't know where we're going to from here, but we need police."
(Mock, B. 2015).

Conclusion

CRIME IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

Crime happens all over the world at any given moment, and at any given time.
Research determined that African Americans are the ones who cause the crimes in black
communities. Opening schools in these urban communities can either benefit or hinder the crime
rate and the lives of African American students. It was also said that whites cause more crimes
than African Americans but more whites were arrested than blacks, and more blacks were
incarcerated. Since more blacks are incarcerated, this proves that not only are black communities
targeted by police, but African Americans themselves, are the targets. In order to lower the crime
rate in black communities, African Americans need to stop Black-On-Black crime and have to
educate themselves to be aware of the differences between white crimes and black crimes.

CRIME IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

References
(2013, March 07). Retrieved April 01, 2016, from https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crimein-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/tables/43tabledatadecoverviewpdf
Aranda, P. (2015, May 18). Need for diversity demands urgency. Retrieved April 01, 2016, from
http://cgsm.org/corporate-need-for-diversity-demands-urgency/
C. (2015, August 5). Ahead of Ferguson anniversary, most blacks in U.S. say police have treated
them unfairly, AP poll finds. Retrieved April 01, 2016, from
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ferguson-anniversary-blacks-us-police-ap-poll/
Kerby, S. (2014, March 13). The Top 10 Most Startling Facts About People of Color and
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Lee, J., & Lubienski, C. (2016). The Impact of School Closures on Equity of Access in Chicago.
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Shihadeh, E. S., & Steffensmeier, D. J. (1994). Economic Inequality, Family Disruption, and
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from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/tsr/too-important-to-fail/fact-sheet-outcomes-foryoung-black-men/