RACIST VIOLENCE IN 15 EU MEMBER STATES - Cospe

RACIST VIOLENCE IN 15 EU MEMBER STATES - A Comparative Overview of Findings from the RAXEN NFP Reports 2001-2004
20.2.3. Micro Explanations
20.2.3.1. Characterising violent racist offenders
The German NFP reports offer some interesting insights, from official and
unofficial sources, about offender characteristics in cases of racist violence;
namely:
• The majority of offenders are male and aged between 15-24 years.
• Offenders are under-educated when compared with their peers.
• There is some indication that unemployed people are over-represented among
offenders
• The majority of suspects/offenders are not first-time offenders, but have
already been registered for right-wing extremist and other crimes that are not
connected with right-wing extremism.
• Offences are generally committed spontaneously, as part of a group, and often
under the influence of alcohol.
The same offender characteristics were found in a UK-based research study 114 ,
whose research with 64 offenders, who had committed violent racist acts, found
that:
• The majority of offenders were young men. Of the 64 offenders interviewed,
48 were under 25 when identified as research subjects. Of the 64, five were
women.
• Of the 64 offenders, around half were unemployed. Those in work tended to
have poorly paid, casual/insecure, and low-skilled work.
• Of the 64 offenders, 41 had left school with no qualifications, and none had
passed more than basic school examinations.
• Of the 64 offenders, over half had committed similar offences to those they
were convicted for – often involving victimisation of the same
premises/people.
• 64% of the offenders were non-specialist offenders who had convictions for
other offences, mainly involving theft, assault, and drugs – the researchers note
that this figure is probably an underestimate.
• Of the 64 offenders, very few (around three) gave any political justification for
their racist violence. Only a few showed any knowledge of or interest in
extreme right organizations.
It could be argued that the above points are particular to the UK study, which was
based on interviews with convicted offenders from deprived housing estates on the
edge of Manchester – a large, old industrial city in the north of England. However,
the fact that these characteristics are broadly supported by the German NFP’s
114
Ray, L., Smith, D. and Wastell, L. (2003) ‘Understanding Racist Violence’ in E.A.
Stanko (ed.) The Meanings of Violence, London: Routledge, pp.112-129.
188