This document discusses the relationship between cultural diversity and crime. It begins by defining key terms like culture, cultural diversity, and how crime can be viewed as both a culture and something that interacts with culture. It then discusses how cultural norms can justify criminal behavior in some groups. The document also addresses how cultural diversity impacts the framing of laws, enforcement of laws, and the use of evidence in criminal cases. It notes some paradoxes, like how fear of crime can increase while actual crime decreases. The overall summary is that this document examines the complex ways that cultural diversity and differences can both relate to and influence criminal behavior and the criminal justice system.

1. Cultural Diversity and Crime
Ashfaq Sadiq
Oslo, October 26, 2007
E-mail: ashfaq.sadiq@hotmail.com

2. Scheme of the lecture
 Understanding the difference
 Defining Culture
 Cultural diversity or multi-culturalism
 Cultural diversity and framing of laws
 Understanding or misunderstanding
diversity and law enforcement
 Happening of crime
 Question of witnessing/Evidence
 Some paradoxes

3. Understanding the difference
 Crime as Culture: Criminal behavior is,
more often than not, sub-cultural behavior
or collective behavior. In this sense,
criminal acts are organized by sub-cultural
groups. (Street gangs, drug culture,
prostitution)
 Culture as crime
 Inter-action and its nature

4. What is Culture?
 Accumulated habits
 Attitudes
 Beliefs of people that define for them their general
behavior
 Way of life
 Societal sub-systems (Caste systems/Tribes etc.)
 Total set of learned activities of people
 Language
 Geographic location

5. Defining Culture
Culture is shared values, traditions,
norms, customs, arts, history,
folklore, and institutions that a group
of people, who are unified by race,
ethnicity, language, nationality, or
religion, share.

6. Understanding Diversity
 Defining diversity/multiculturalism:
‘The recognition of cultural and ethnic diversity
within the demographics of a particular social
space.’

7. An example: Family in focus
 Family
 Large vs. Small families
 Family background (village vs. Cities. Educated and non-
educated. Religious vs. Non-religous ones)
 Rich vs. Poor families
 Individual (Education, Upbringing, Relationship)
 Concept of respect in family (Eye contact)
 Traditions as identity politics
 Civilized vs. Uncivilized
 Religion
 Caste system/Tribal systems.
 Gender roles (Female vs. Male)
 Child roles in family

8. Diversity and Law-making
 Why?
 How?
 Whom?

9. Culture and happening of crime
 Cultural norms and justification of
crime. (Vietnamese values, Zij Paj
Niam customs)
 Rage and law (Rodney King and
Reginald Denny cases)
 Inter-family competition (Positive and
Negative)

10. Diversity and Enforcement of Law
 ‘Rule of Law’
 ‘Not knowing the law does not mean
law is not applicable’
 Enforcement of law and cultural
sensitivity

11. Culture and Evidence
 Individual and Evidence
1. Fabrication
2. Personal/group/religious interest
3. Fears (Social Isolation, Community interest)
4. Proud factor (Men vs. women)
 Cultural evidence is admissible

12. Does system support?
 Law enforcing agencies and their
capacity.
 Women being perceived weak.
 System being perceived as an enemy.

13. Paradoxes
 Absurd but nevertheless true.
 If all the prisoners are turned completely loose we might
not notice much increase in crime. The reason being that
vast majority of criminals are already at large.
 Most crimes are not reported, and of those reported only
a very small percentage are solved.
 The vast majority has never witnessed a violent crime,
let alone been the victim of one.
 Fear of crime increases while crime itself decreases.

14. Thank You