Contemporary Case Study | Jailed for Racist Abuse

Recently, Jamie Arnold was banned from football matches for seven years and jailed for six months, after making racist comments aimed at the footballer, Rio Ferdinand.

Jamie Arnold, age 33, shouted racist comments at Rio Ferdinand, and performed offensive behaviours, including making monkey gestures during a match at Wolverhampton’s Molineux Stadium in May 2021.

A Guardian article published this month tells us that “The judge described the offender as a 'parasite to proper Wolverhampton fans' on a day that should have been joyful as home fans were allowed back into Premier League football for the first time after the Covid-19 crisis.”

As Criminologists, we can consider this hate crime to think more deeply about the application of Criminology topics. One especially significant area is the level of public awareness.

In a statement read out in the courtroom, Ferdinand said he had been left “extremely distressed, distraught and devastated” by the incident. He is also quoted as saying: “Still to this day I do not know why I was abused. This abuse was unprovoked and completely unacceptable.”

This has been a high-profile case, and public awareness in the mainstream media has hopefully increased awareness of the severity of racism in the football industry, and may lead to a reduction in this type of offence. However, there is always the risk of deviancy amplification which could lead to further outbreaks of this type of crime.

This case, and its media coverage, are useful for applying topics such as different types of crime, particularly individual and hate crime (Unit 1), and can also be used to argue that media representations of crimes like this can contribute to changing public concerns and attitudes. There is also the possibility of changing priorities and emphasis within public discourse. This could also be linked to Unit 2 when considering how laws have changed over time, and learning theories. We can further consider how upbringing, socialisation, and education can impact individual criminality. Furthermore, discussion about surveillance techniques is fuelled, and how helpful these can be when revisiting the events of a crime such as this.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk...