title: Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory

text: Trump's first impeachment charge of abuse of power was triggered by a July 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which then-President Trump tried to pressure Zelenskyy in a "quid pro quo" manner to start a publicly announced investigation of Burisma and the Bidens in exchange for the release of congressionally mandated financial and military aid to Ukraine and the promise of a Trump–Zelenskyy meeting at the White House.<ref name="Sheth_3/19/2022"></ref> During the hearings and impeachment trial of President Trump in 2019–20, he and his allies repeatedly alleged that Joe Biden and his son had engaged in corrupt activities in Ukraine. Trump said he planned to make it a major issue during the 2020 United States presidential race, while a Republican-controlled Senate committee carried out an investigation into the allegations in spring 2020. The investigation by the Republican-controlled Senate Homeland Security and Finance Committees concluded in September 2020 that Hunter Biden "cashed in' on his father's name to close lucrative business deals around the world", but that there was no evidence of improper influence or wrongdoing by Joe Biden.


title: Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory

text: Working together with Andrii Derkach (an active Russian agent), Dmytro Firtash, and other individuals linked to Russian intelligence and organized crime, Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and his associates spearheaded an effort to gather information in Ukraine to advance the allegations, and Attorney General William Barr confirmed that the Justice Department had created an "intake process" to review Giuliani's findings.


title: Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory

text: Derkach released snippets of a supposed conversation between Joe Biden and Poroshenko, in which Biden linked loan guarantees to the ouster of Viktor Shokin, the country's corrupt and ineffective prosecutor general. The recordings, which were not verified as authentic and appeared to be heavily edited, did not provide evidence to support the ongoing conspiracy theory that Biden wanted the prosecutor fired to protect his son. In June 2020, Poroshenko denied that Joe Biden ever approached him about Burisma and characterized the recordings as fake. In September 2020, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned Derkach, stating he "has been an active Russian agent for over a decade, maintaining close connections with the Russian Intelligence Services". The Treasury Department added that Derkach "waged a covert influence campaign centered on cultivating false and unsubstantiated narratives concerning U.S. officials in the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election," including by the release of "edited audio tapes and other unsupported information with the intent to discredit U.S. officials".


title: Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory

text: In late 2019, it was revealed that the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which Giuliani had once led, was investigating him for multiple felonies relating to his activities in Ukraine. Intelligence officials warned Ron Johnson, the chairman of the Senate committee investigating the Bidens, that he risked spreading Russian disinformation. "The Washington Post" reported in October 2020 that American intelligence agencies warned the White House in 2019 that Giuliani was the target of a Russian influence operation, and National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien warned President Trump about accepting what Giuliani told him. While monitoring Russian assets, U.S. intelligence recorded Giuliani communicating with them. According to officials interviewed by "The Daily Beast," then-National Security Advisor John Bolton told his staff not to meet with Giuliani, as did his successor Robert C. O'Brien, because Bolton had been informed that Giuliani was spreading conspiracy theories that aligned with Russian interests in disrupting the 2020 election. These officials were also concerned that Giuliani would be used as a conduit for disinformation, including "leaks" of emails that would mix genuine with forged material to implicate Hunter Biden in corrupt dealings. Interviewed by "The Daily Beast," Giuliani would later declare that Derkach's being sanctioned was the result of a conspiracy led by George Soros and that "the chance that Derkach is a Russian spy is no better than 50/50".


title: Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory

text: Ukrainian businessman Hares Youssef told "The Times" that an associate of Dmytro Firtash asked Youssef to lie about Hunter Biden's business dealings to damage Joe Biden's presidential campaign, in exchange for a United States visa.


title: Uppena

text: Uppena () is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film written and directed by newcomer Buchi Babu Sana. Produced by Mythri Movie Makers and Sukumar Writings, it stars debutants Panja Vaisshnav Tej and Krithi Shetty alongside Vijay Sethupathi in a prominent role. Set in Kakinada, the plot follows fisherman Aasi, who falls in love with Bebamma. Her father Raayanam is an influential zamindar, who fiercely protects his daughter to safeguard his family's honour.


title: Uppena

text: After a launch ceremony in January 2019, the makers commenced the principal shoot in May 2019, with film being shot in Kakinada, Hyderabad, Puri, Kolkata and Gangtok and wrapped up in January 2020. The music is composed by Devi Sri Prasad, with cinematography and editing by Shamdat and Naveen Nooli respectively. The film was originally slated to release on 2 April 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is released theatrically on 12 February 2021 and was commercially successful at the box office. "Uppena" emrerged as the highest-grossing Telugu film for a debut actor, surpassing the record of "Chirutha" (2007).


title: Uppena

text: Set in 2002 in the village of Uppada near Kakinada, Raayanam is an influential zamindar who goes to any extent to safeguard his family's honour. His daughter Sangeetha, fondly called Bebamma is a college student whom he fiercely protects. Raayanam plans to build a shipping yard in his village by razing fishermen's houses on the coast. Aasi is the son of one such fisherman Jalayya, and is a Dalit Christian. He falls head over heels for Bebamma. Bebamma also begins to like Aasi after watching him fight in the bazaar. Aasi follows Bebamma daily en route to her college on the bus. One day, the bus breaks down and the driver asks Aasi to drop Bebamma, the only passenger of the bus, at college. Later, the couple begins to meet daily at the beach and soon fall in love with each other.


title: Uppena

text: Meanwhile, the breeding season of the fish arrives and no one is allowed to venture into the sea for over a month and a half. Bebamma, however, asks Aasi to take her into the sea, which he obliges. As the boat runs out of fuel, they get stuck in the sea. On the same night, Raayanam orders to raze the houses on the coast but he is worried that his daughter hasn't returned home. Raayanam secretly meets Jalayya and asks him to find his missing daughter, in exchange, his house will be spared. Aasi and Bebamma spend the night together on the boat intimately. Jalayya finds them the next morning and admonishes Aasi. He returns Bebamma to her father but lies that she was found alone on the boat.


title: Uppena

text: Raayanam, however, is determined to find Bebamma's partner. He finds a shirt in Bebamma's wardrobe by which he tracks him down as Aasi. Raayanam's men attack Aasi and his father at the village mela, and Jalayya dies in strife. The following day, Bebamma runs away from her house and asks Aasi to elope with her. He reluctantly agrees, and they board a train to Odisha escaping Raayanam's men. From there, the couple travels to Kolkata, and later to Gangtok. Aasi picks up odd jobs and keeps Bebamma in a hostel until they move in together.


title: Uppena

text: Several months pass by. Raayanam has promised his sister that her son shall be married to Bebamma within six months. All the days when Bebamma is away, Raayanam and his men pretend as if she was there to save his family's honour. Nearly six months after they elope, Aasi promises to marry Bebamma and takes her to a railway station. There, Raayanam's men kidnap Bebamma and bring her back to her father. Bebamma confesses to Raayanam that she had sex with Aasi that night on the boat and pleads to let her go. But Raayanam doesn't budge saying he would never let his daughter marry a lower caste, which he considers a dishonour. He says it was Aasi who disclosed their location to him. Raayanam also reveals that he physically emasculated Aasi by chopping his penis off and his father dying of a heart stroke by seeing that the night before Bebamma and Aasi eloped. Raayanam believes she would not go back to Aasi because he has lost his manhood. However, Bebamma loves Aasi as a person, regardless of what he did to him. She says neither Raayanam nor Aasi is the one who can judge the manhood of a person. Bebamma adds that manhood is not related to any organ but to a man's personality. Raayanam is moved and lets her go. Bebamma and Aasi reunite.


title: Uppena

text: In mid-October 2018, Sukumar decided to back the project of the untitled film, helmed by his former assistant Buchi Babu Sana, in his directorial debut. Mythri Movie Makers, eventually collaborated with Sukumar Writings, the director's home banner, to co-produce the film. The makers roped Panja Vaisshnav Tej to play the lead role, marking his debut in film industry, and Sukumar's regular collaborator Devi Sri Prasad, was roped in to score music for the film.


title: Uppena

text: The film is reportedly set in backdrop of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, and deals with the issue of honor killings, with Vaisshnav Tej, essaying the role of a fisherman. On 6 May 2019, the makers revealed the film's title as "Uppena". Initially, it was speculated that the film would be titled "Jalari", the title "Uppena" was finalised and registered in the Film Chamber.


title: Uppena

text: In an interview, director Buchi Babu revealed that he wrote the story with an empty mind. Then, he decided to bring in Vaishnav Tej as he wanted a newcomer for the film, and chose Vijay Sethupathi as he wanted someone who would take the film pan-India.


title: Uppena

text: In March 2019, Vijay Sethupathi was roped in to play the antagonist, in his second Telugu film after "Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy". In April 2019, the production house confirmed his inclusion in the film. Sethupathi was reported to play the heroine's father in the film. In July 2019, sources claimed that Sethupathi walked out of the project, and the reason was not disclosed. However, the rumours turned out to be false.


title: Uppena

text: Initially, debutant actress Manisha Raj was announced as the lead actress during the film's launch event. However, the makers approached another teenage debutant Devika Sanjay (of "Njan Prakashan" fame), to play the lead role opposite Tej. In May 2019, the makers roped in Mangalore-based Krithi Shetty, to make her debut through this film.


title: Uppena

text: The launch event of the film was held on 21 January 2019, at the office of Mythri Movie Makers, with Vaisshnav Tej's relatives, including actors Chiranjeevi, Nagendra Babu, Allu Aravind, Allu Arjun, Sai Dharam Tej, Varun Tej, Niharika Konidela, among others, attending the event. Four months later, the principal photography of the film started on 25 May 2019. The film was shot for 35 days in Kakinada. On 21 August 2019, Vijay Sethupathi joined the sets and it was reported that 40 percent of the film was completed. The film was later shot in Hyderabad, which was completed in late-September 2019. The second schedule took place in October 2019 for 90 days at Puri, Kolkata and Gangtok. Few scenes were shot at Jagannath Temple, Puri. In January 2020, the makers completed the shooting of the film and started post-production work.


title: Uppena

text: After Tamil actor Sethupathi deciding not to dub for his character in Telugu language citing his voice might not suit the character, director Buchi Babu Sana hired P. Ravi Shankar for the dubbing of the character. He completed the dubbing work in three days in Hyderabad. Majority of the post-production work was completed by June 2020.


title: Uppena

text: The soundtrack album and background score is composed by Devi Sri Prasad in his eighth collaboration with Sukumar. The soundtrack album was released on 17 February 2021 during the success meet of the film at Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. The album was a huge hit, especially "Nee Kannu Neeli Samudram" and "Jala Jala Jalapaatham Nuvvu" tracks received wide response and were featured in national music charts.


title: Uppena

text: The film showcased many social issues that were common in India, like, honor killings, casteism, economic inequality, etc. A reviewer of "TeluguCinema" described that "'Uppena' talks about two things in particular – paruvu (casteism/honor) and magatanam (masculinity). At the very beginning of the story, Babyamma’s teacher explains the true meaning of a being man. When the girl students laugh at the picture of a male organ, the lecturer gives a new definition of manliness." Another reviewer from "IndiaGlitz" stated "The 'magathanam' reference is integral to the story of the film. Many are of the view that the film is going to spark a change in the way masculinity is projected in Telugu movies. A number of Netizens have felt that toxic masculinity will give way to healthy masculinity in our movies now that 'Uppena' is on its way to becoming a blockbuster."


title: Uppena

text: Director Buchi Babu Sana in an interview to "The Indian Express" said – "We might not talk about it or put it across in as many words, but casteism is an intrinsic part of our lives. You can see it in the way people interact with others who are from a different caste. The whole idea of Uppena is to drive home the point that love is beyond all these boundaries of casteism and class."


title: Uppena

text: Priyanka Kanoj of "International Business Times" asked about film's story being similar to 2016 Marathi film "Sairat", to which Tej replied – "Sairat is one of the most amazing movies I've watched. The actors, the establishment of roles, etc can be termed as brilliance. I would definitely not draw any comparison between Sairat and Uppena. Of course, there are a number of movies with the same storyline, dealing with love and honor killing. But, the audience will definitely know that Uppena is a genuine story."


title: Uppena

text: "Uppena" was originally scheduled for a theatrical release on 2 April 2020, on the occasion of Rama Navami. But the release was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India. In May 2020, the makers reported that the film would not be released through OTT platforms, although digital rights of the film were sold to Netflix. After theatres began operating with 50% occupancy, the makers announced a release date of 12 February 2021, which falls on the Valentine's Day weekend.


title: Uppena

text: Initially, in March 2020, the total pre-release business of the film was reported to be . Later, in February 2021, the total pre-release business of the film was reported to be around . The theatrical rights in Nizam, Ceded and Uttarandhra regions were acquired for , and crore respectively, with an overseas and the rest of India were at together. Dil Raju–owned Sri Venkateswara Creations distributed the film in the Nizam region. Great India Films have acquired the theatrical distribution rights in the United States.


title: Uppena

text: Digital rights of the film were acquired by Netflix at a reported amount of . Digital premiere of the film was initially scheduled to 2 April 2021 and later postponed to 11 April 2021. But the film has finally premiered on 14 April 2021. The television broadcast rights of the film were acquired by Star Maa. The television premiere was broadcast on 18 April 2021. The first premiere on television registered a target rating point (TRP) of 18.51, while the second registered a TRP of 11.37.


title: Uppena

text: A pre-release event was held on 6 February 2021 for promoting the film in Hyderabad, with actor Chiranjeevi as the chief guest. A success meet was held on 17 February 2021 at Rajahmundry, with actor Ram Charan as the chief guest.


title: Uppena

text: Uppena received mixed reviews from critics, criticizing its plot, screenplay and length but praised the performances of the cast (especially Sethupathi’s & Shetty’s) & soundtrack by Devi Sri Prasad. Hemanth Kumar in his review for the "Firstpost" rated the film 2.75/5 and stated: ""Uppena" [..] explores what it means to love in a world defined by patriarchy and casteism, but it struggles to break free from several cliches." He also wrote, "The real drama, however, is on a deeper level, when it takes a deep dive into how society defines masculinity and virility. "Uppena" asks us if that’s the only thing that matters in a man’s life?" Reviewing the performances, "The Times of India" Neeshitha Nyayapati wrote: "The debutants Vaisshnav and Krithi manage to pull off the intricacies of their characters well for the most part [..] Vijay Sethupathi is flawless as a man set in his beliefs and someone who’s used to getting his way." She rated the film 3/5.


title: Uppena

text: About the film's music and cinematography, "The Hindu" critic Sangeetha Devi Dundoo wrote: "The romance is poetic, with Devi Sri Prasad’s lilting compositions matching the ebb and flow of the waves captured beautifully by Shamdat." Avinash Ramachandran of "The New Indian Express" rated 3/5 and opined, "We may have seen soft-spoken heroes before in Telugu films, but it is only recently that the very idea of masculinity is being questioned. For an industry that is built upon machismo, Uppena is an important and original film. It's a film that makes its women look at the men in their lives and talk about them being a walking corpus spongiosum. Now that’s a huge wave of change."


title: Uppena

text: "The News Minute" journalist Balakrishna Ganeshan, who rated the film one star out of five, found the film "deeply disturbing" and warned that the film has extreme violence. He added that the plot of the film was clichéd and "the director compensates for the boring sequences with a traumatic twist." A critic of "The Hans India" gave a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and praised the acting performances of every actor, cinematography, editing and film score, who finally wrote that ""Uppena" is a film that can appeal to only a few sections of the audiences." "Pinkvilla" opined that "the core idea that masculinity is not about anatomy is ennobling, the climax is not haunting enough. The film could have explored trauma and angst way better to make 'Uppena' a timeless film. While it is raw, it is not adequately shattering."


title: Uppena

text: "Deccan Chronicle" Sasidhar Ravi cited the film as "a routine tale with a crazy twist", appreciating the climax episode and the whole narration of the story and rated 2.5/5. "Film Companion" Kartihk Keramulu in his review, compared the few scenes with films like "Vada Chennai" (2018), "Colour Photo" (2020) and "Paava Kadhaigal" (2020). He wrote that "The performances aside, there's a major flaw in the politics of "Uppena". It forgives the perpetrator of the crime while it sympathizes with the survivor – while Raayanam is simply given a lesson on what love actually entails, he's not punished for the atrocities he commits".


title: Uppena

text: On the opening day, the film grossed more than at the box office, with a distributor share of . The film grossed over in the opening weekend. It surpassed the record of Ram Charan's "Chirutha" (2007) to become the highest-grossing Telugu film for a debut actor. By the end of its theatrical run, "Sakshi Post" reported that the film grossed over crore, while "The Indian Express" estimated the gross to be crore, earning a net profit of crore.


title: Uppena

text: In February 2021, "TV9" reported that the film will be remade in Hindi Language, with Ishaan Khatter and Ananya Panday in lead roles. and a Sri Lankan version was made"Ralla Weralata Adarei"


title: Fantasy Island

text: Fantasy Island is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. Guests were granted so-called "fantasies" on the island for a price.


title: Fantasy Island

text: A one-season revival of the series aired 14 years later in 1998 while a horror-themed prequel film was released on February 14, 2020. That same year, it was announced that a reboot of the series was being produced at Fox; it premiered on August 10, 2021.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Before it became a television series, "Fantasy Island" was introduced to viewers in 1977 and 1978 through two made-for-television films. Airing from 1978 to 1984, the original series starred Ricardo Montalbán as Mr. Roarke, the enigmatic overseer of a mysterious island somewhere near Devil's Island, French Guiana in the Atlantic Ocean, where people from all walks of life could come and live out their fantasies, albeit for a price.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Roarke was known for his white suit and cultured demeanor, and he was initially accompanied by an energetic sidekick, Tattoo, played by Hervé Villechaize. Tattoo would run up the main bell tower to ring the bell and shout "De plane! De plane!" to announce the arrival of a new set of guests at the beginning of each episode. This line, shown at the beginning of the series' credits, became an unlikely catchphrase because of Villechaize's spirited delivery and French accent. In later seasons, he would arrive in his personal go-kart, sized for him, and recklessly drive to join Roarke for the visitor reception while the staff scrambled to get out of his way. From 1981 to 1982, Wendy Schaal joined the cast as a beautiful brown-eyed blonde assistant named Julie; in the season five story "The Case Against Mr. Roarke", Roarke stated that Julie was his god-daughter. The producers dismissed Villechaize from the series before the 1983–1984 season, which ended up being its last, and Tattoo was replaced by a more sedate butler type named Lawrence, played by Christopher Hewett, who pressed an electronic button to ring the bell rather than climb the tower.


title: Fantasy Island

text: A Grumman Widgeon aircraft was used for the series. Just prior to the guests alighting from the plane, Mr. Roarke would address his assembling employees with the phrase "Smiles, everyone! Smiles!" As each visitor disembarked, Roarke would describe to Tattoo (or another assistant) the nature of their fantasy, usually with a cryptic comment, suggesting the person's fantasy will not turn out as they expected. Roarke would then welcome his guests by lifting his glass and saying: "My dear guests, I am Mr. Roarke, your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island." This toast was usually followed with a warm smile, but sometimes — depending on the nature of a guest or their fantasy — his eyes would show concern or worry for a guest's safety.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Mr. Roarke's actual age is never made clear. In the pilot film, he comments how the guests who come to his island are "so mortal" and there are hints throughout the series that suggest Roarke may be immortal. In "Elizabeth", a woman from Roarke's past appears, but it is revealed that she died over 300 years ago. Other episodes suggest that he was friends with Helen of Troy and Cleopatra. Roarke is also shown to know many seemingly immortal beings over his time on Earth, including ghosts ("The Ghost's Story"), a genie ("A Genie Named Joe"), the mermaid Princess Nyah ("The Mermaid", "The Mermaid Returns", "The Mermaid and the Matchmaker"), the goddess Aphrodite ("Aphrodite"), and Uriel the Angel of Death ("The Angel's Triangle"). In "The Devil and Mandy Breem" and "The Devil and Mr. Roarke", Roarke even faces the devil (played by Roddy McDowall) who has come to the island to challenge him for either a guest's immortal soul or his. It is mentioned this is not the first time that they have confronted each other and Mr. Roarke has always been the winner. In the second story, the devil was one of the island's guests, claiming that he was only there to relax and had no interest in Roarke's soul at the time. However, this turned out to be yet another ruse.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Roarke had a strong moral code, and he was always merciful. He usually tried to teach his guests important life lessons through the medium of their fantasies, frequently in a manner that exposes the errors of their ways, and on occasions when the island hosted terminally ill guests he would allow them to live out one last wish. Roarke's fantasies were not without peril, but the greatest danger usually came from the guests themselves. In some cases, people were killed due to their own negligence, aggression or arrogance. When necessary, Roarke would directly intervene when the fantasy became dangerous to the guest:


title: Fantasy Island

text: With only a few exceptions, Roarke always made it quite clear that he was powerless to stop a fantasy once it had begun and that the guests must play them out to their conclusion.


title: Fantasy Island

text: In later seasons, there were often supernatural overtones. Roarke also seemed to have his own supernatural powers of some sort (called the "Gift of the McNabs" in "Delphine"), although it was never explained how this came to be. In the episodes "Reprisal" and "The Power" he temporarily gave the guest psychokinetic abilities and in "Terrors of the Mind" the power to see into the future. In one episode, when a guest says "Thank God things worked out well", Roarke and Tattoo share an odd look and Roarke says in a cryptic way "Thank God, indeed." In the same episode, Roarke uses some mysterious powers to help Tattoo with his magic act. Ricardo Montalbán would claim in interviews that he had a definite opinion in mind regarding the mystery of Mr. Roarke, and how he accomplished his fantasies, but he would never publicly state what it was. Years after the series was off the air, in an interview with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Montalbán finally revealed that his motivation was imagining Roarke as a fallen angel whose sin was pride and that Fantasy Island was Purgatory.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Each episode would alternate between two or three independent storylines as the guests experienced their fantasies and interacted with Roarke. When reruns of the series went into syndication, a half-hour version was offered, in which each hour-long original show was split to two separate half-hour shows in which only one guest's story was told in each half-hour episode. This made it obvious that the original episodes had been planned in such a way that each guest or family got off the plane separately, did not interact with the other guest or family, and was given almost exactly half the time of the original episode.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Often the fantasies would turn out to be morality lessons for the guests, sometimes to the point of (apparently) putting their lives at risk, only to have Roarke step in at the last minute and reveal the deception. For example, one episode featured a couple who clamored for the "good old days" being taken back to the Salem witch trials. It is mentioned a few times that a condition of visiting Fantasy Island is that guests never reveal what goes on there. A small number of guests decided to make the irrevocable choice to stay permanently, living out their fantasy until death; one such person was an actor who had been in a Tarzan-type television series called "Jungle Man" in the 1960s. Aside from a clip show ("Remember...When?") the only episode with a single storyline was "The Wedding", in which terminally ill Helena Marsh (Samantha Eggar) returned to Fantasy Island to spend her last days as Roarke's wife.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Another episode, season seven's "The Nurses," was the only episode where all of the fantasies, while separate, were linked by one thread. In this case, a mysterious and wealthy guest (Peter Graves) inviting three nurses to live out each of their fantasies on the island.


title: Fantasy Island

text: In the first film, "Fantasy Island" (1977), it was noted that each guest had paid $50,000 (about $ in dollars) in advance for the fulfillment of their fantasies and that Fantasy Island was a business. In the second film, "Return to Fantasy Island" (1978), Roarke told Tattoo that he sometimes dropped the price when a guest could not afford the usual fee because he believed that everyone should be given a chance to have their fantasies fulfilled. Afterwards, it became clear that the price a guest paid was substantial to him or her, and for one little girl whose father was one of Roarke's guests, she had emptied her piggy bank (which contained less than $10) to have her fantasy with her father fulfilled. On numerous occasions, a guest had not paid for the trip at all, but instead won it as a result of a contest. Those who came by winning contests were usually the unknowing beneficiaries of rigged contests in order to disguise to them and others the real reason for their coming as part of someone else's fantasy.


title: Fantasy Island

text: The nature of a fantasy varied from story to story and was typically very personal to each guest on some level. They could be as harmless as wanting to be reunited with a lost love to something more dangerous like tracking down a cold-blooded killer who murdered someone close to the guest. Usually, the fantasy would take an unexpected turn and proceed down a quite different path than the guest expected. Some resolve in "The Monkey's Paw" style. He or she would then leave with some new revelation or renewed interest about themselves or someone close to them. Many times, Roarke would reveal in the end that someone they met during the course of their fantasy was another guest living a fantasy of their own. Both guests often left the island together. However, in one episode, one guest had no particular fantasy and was simply there to relax and enjoy himself. In another episode, the fantasy of one guest (played by Don Knotts) was to play the part of a private investigator. At the end of the episode, he discovers that his "suspects" were actually a company of actors who had asked Mr. Roarke to act out their whodunnit play in a realistic setting.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Although some fantasies were rooted in the real world, many others involved supernatural (such as ghosts, demons, or witchcraft) or mythological (mermaids, genies, goddesses) elements. Time travel was often a required element, if not a specific request, to fulfill one's fantasy.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Roarke often preceded particularly risky fantasies with a stern warning, a word of caution, or even a suggestion that the guest select another fantasy, instead. He would then inform his guests that he was powerless to stop a fantasy once it had begun and that they must allow the fantasy to play out until its ultimate conclusion. Despite this, on rare occasions, Roarke would appear halfway through a fantasy to offer a guest an opportunity to terminate their fantasy, warning the guest that continuing the fantasy might lead to serious consequences (possibly even death). However, at that point, the guest would decide on their own to see the fantasy to its end, either for selfless reasons (regarding someone they had met during the fantasy) or naivety of what is in store for them. In the most serious cases, however, Roarke would invariably intervene and ensure his guests' safety.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Occasionally, some of the fantasies would take place on adjoining islands (or parts of Fantasy Island) that, according to Roarke, he had no jurisdiction over, thereby heightening the risk factor for the guests. Even then, when Roarke intervened in these cases, he often revealed that he had close connections with the local officials or prominent figures on those islands, who would grant him permission to rescue his guests.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Executive producer Aaron Spelling admitted the original pitch was a joke. Spelling said he and production partner Leonard Goldberg were pitching ideas to ABC executive Brandon Stoddard. After the executive rejected all of their plans, at least six in all, Spelling blurted out: "What do you want? An island that people can go to and all of their sexual fantasies will be realized?" Stoddard loved the idea.


title: Fantasy Island

text: The network wanted Orson Welles for Mr. Roarke, but Spelling rejected him, knowing of his irritable nature on sets. He also rejected the idea of a sexy female sidekick to join Roarke and Tattoo.


title: Fantasy Island

text: The show was broadcast every Saturday night on ABC at 10:00 p.m., after "The Love Boat", which was also produced by Aaron Spelling. Like several other series of the era, such as "The Love Boat" and "Murder, She Wrote", "Fantasy Island" employed many celebrity guest stars, often bringing them back repeatedly for different roles.


title: Fantasy Island

text: The series was filmed primarily in Burbank, California, with the opening scenes of the enchanting island coastline being that of Kauai, Hawaii (both the Na Pali coast as well as Wailua Falls). The house with the bell tower, where Tattoo rings the bell, is the Queen Anne Cottage, located in the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia. The plane, "arriving" with the guests, was filmed in the lagoon behind the Queen Anne Cottage. Sometimes, outdoor scenes were filmed at the Arboretum.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Interior sets were filmed on Stages 26 and 17 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. At some point, the production of exterior scenes moved to the Warner Ranch a short distance away from Warner's main lot.


title: Fantasy Island

text: In 1998, ABC revived the series in a Saturday time slot. The role of Mr. Roarke was played by Malcolm McDowell in the revival, and in contrast to the first series the supernatural aspect of his character and of Fantasy Island itself was emphasized from the start, along with a dose of dark humor. Director Barry Sonnenfeld, known for his work on "The Addams Family" movies, was a chief creative force on the new series. Another difference was that the new series was filmed in Hawaii instead of California. The remake followed the fantasies of at least two of Roarke's guests with an additional subplot involving members of his staff — usually Cal and Harry. Whereas the original series featured a separate writer and title for each subplot, the new series was written as several stories, but featuring a unified theme and title.


title: Fantasy Island

text: A horror-themed prequel film adaptation of the television series was released. Sony Pictures released the film and produced by Blumhouse Productions. Director and screenwriter Jeff Wadlow directed the adaptation from a script by Wadlow, Chris Roach, and Jillian Jacobs. The film was released on February 14, 2020, to overwhelmingly negative reviews.


title: Fantasy Island

text: A series was greenlit in December 2020 as a sequel to and maintains continuity with the original 1977 series, slated for a mid 2021 release on Fox. The series will be a co-production between Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment. In April 2021, it was announced that Kiara Barnes and John Gabriel Rodriguez joined the main cast of the series. That same month, it was announced that Roselyn Sánchez joined the cast of the series as Elena Roarke, a descendant of Mr. Roarke, and the series premiered on August 10, 2021.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Selected episodes from the first, second and third seasons are available free at Hulu. Selected Minisodes from seasons one, three, four, five, and six are available free at Sony Crackle, along with complete episodes from seasons one, two, and three.


title: Fantasy Island

text: Digital multicast television network Cozi TV announced the series would be airing on the network beginning fall 2013. Episodes of the original series were seen on Fridays on sister cable network Universal HD, until July 2017, when the network changed to the Olympic Channel.


title: Fantasy Island

text: In Canada, the entire series with all seven seasons is available for streaming on the CTV App, with the first five seasons remastered in High Definition, the first three seasons have been enhanced to 1.78:1 aspect ratio.


title: Fantasy Island

text: In August 2021, it started airing on digital multicast television network getTV on Saturday and Sunday nights (4:00 AM ET).


title: Fantasy Island

text: In 1988, Star Classics released the pilot episode of the series on VHS in the United States and Canada.


title: Fantasy Island

text: In 2005, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released season one of the original series on DVD in regions 1, 2 & 4. The release included the 1977 pilot "Fantasy Island" and 1978's "Return to Fantasy Island". However, due to poor sales, no further seasons were released.


title: Fantasy Island

text: In February 2012, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1; they subsequently released the second season on DVD on May 8, 2012. Season 3 was released on October 23, 2012.


title: Fantasy Island

text: In 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment announced they had obtained the rights to re-release the previous season sets of "Fantasy Island" on DVD.


title: Weston McKennie

text: Weston James Earl McKennie (born August 28, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for club Juventus and the United States national team. A versatile player, McKennie is capable of playing in a multitude of positions in midfield—mainly as a box-to-box or as a deep-lying defensive midfielder.


title: Weston McKennie

text: Coming through the youth system, McKennie began his senior club career at Bundesliga side Schalke 04. In 2017–18, he established himself as a first team player, playing 25 games in all competitions. After three seasons, McKennie moved to Italian champions Juventus on loan, with the deal becoming permanent in March 2021.


title: Weston McKennie

text: McKennie has represented the United States internationally at both the youth and senior levels. He made his senior debut in 2017 and has finished runner-up in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup and won the inaugural 2021 CONCACAF Nations League.


title: Weston McKennie

text: Although he was born at Fort Lewis, Washington, he considers Little Elm, Texas, his home town. McKennie lived in Kaiserslautern, Germany, from age six to nine as his father, a United States Air Force officer, was stationed at nearby Ramstein Air Base. McKennie started playing soccer for the local club FC Phönix Otterbach in 2004, before moving back to the United States. McKennie played for the youth system of Major League Soccer side FC Dallas for seven years from 2009 to 2016, before moving to Schalke. His transfer to Schalke was the main catalyst for FC Dallas to create their reserve team, North Texas SC, which played in USL League One.


title: Weston McKennie

text: In February 2016, McKennie signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the University of Virginia, but he subsequently turned down the scholarship offer to play for the Cavaliers, and instead sought to go professional.


title: Weston McKennie

text: In July 2016 McKennie declined to sign a Homegrown Player contract with FC Dallas. He joined German Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04 in August 2016.


title: Weston McKennie

text: After spending less than a year with Schalke's academy team, McKennie was promoted to the first-team squad in May 2017. He made his professional debut on May 20, 2017, as a 77th-minute substitute during a 1–1 draw with FC Ingolstadt 04. This was his only appearance during the 2016–17 season. McKennie made his first start in September 2017 and signed a five-year contract shortly after. During the same year, McKennie made 21 appearances and scored 4 goals with Schalke's U-19 team.


title: Weston McKennie

text: During the 2017–18 season, McKennie cemented his place as a member of the Schalke first team at the age of 19. He made 22 appearances in the Bundesliga. He finished the 2017–18 season with 25 appearances in all competitions. Further, he proved to be a valuable asset to Schalke given his versatility, McKennie played in multiple positions in the midfield and defense of the team.


title: Weston McKennie

text: During the 2018–19 season, McKennie further increased his position with the Bundesliga club, starting 25 games for the club in both the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and UEFA Champions League. Overall, McKennie made 33 appearances for the club and scored 2 goals in all competitions, in which he scored his first Champions League goal in a 1–0 away win over Lokomotiv Moscow.


title: Weston McKennie

text: Under new manager David Wagner, McKennie further established himself as an important part and valuable asset of a team that struggled to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. McKennie made a total of 28 appearances and scored three goals for Schalke in the Bundesliga. McKennie made a further four appearances in the DFB-Pokal for the club.


title: Weston McKennie

text: On May 30, 2020, during a 1–0 loss to SV Werder Bremen, McKennie wore an armband that said “Justice for George” following the murder of George Floyd in the United States.


title: Weston McKennie

text: On August 29, 2020, it was announced that McKennie joined Serie A side Juventus on a year-long loan. In doing so, he became Juventus' first player—and Serie A's fifth—from the United States. The move was structured as an initial year-long loan for a fee of €4.5 million, with an option to make the loan permanent at the end of the season. However, if McKennie meets certain performance incentives, the option will automatically trigger, and the deal will become permanent. In both scenarios, the deal will be for €18.5 million, which could rise an additional €7 million. On September 7, McKennie had his introductory press conference and was given the number 14.


title: Weston McKennie

text: McKennie made his league debut for Juventus on September 20, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 league home win against Sampdoria. McKennie made his Champions League debut for the club in the second match of the group stage, coming on in the 75th minute of a 2–0 home defeat to Barcelona. On November 1, McKennie got on the score sheet for the first time for Juventus, earning an assist on the opening goal by Álvaro Morata in a 4–1 win against Spezia. On November 24, McKennie started a Champions League match against Ferencváros, becoming the first American international in Italy to do so. McKennie scored his first goal for Juventus on December 5, in the "Derby della Mole" against Torino; he scored the equalizer of the match, which eventually ended in a 2–1 win. Three days later, McKennie scored his first Champions League goal for Juventus—a scissor kick on the volley—against Barcelona, helping his team win 3–0 away from home and finish in first place in their group. On January 6, 2021, McKennie scored a goal against league-leaders Milan in a 3–1 away win; it was Milan's first league defeat in 27 games.


title: Weston McKennie

text: On March 3, 2021, Juventus exercised their purchase option for €18.5 million, plus €6.5 million in potential bonuses, on a four-year contract. McKennie started for Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final against Atalanta; he assisted Dejan Kulusevski for the team's first goal in an eventual 2–1 win. McKennie finished the 2020–21 season with six goals in 46 appearances in all competitions.


title: Weston McKennie

text: McKennie scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 loss to Sassuolo, and followed it up with a second goal in another 2–1 loss to Hellas Verona. On January 12, 2022, McKennie scored the opener in the 2021 Supercoppa Italiana match eventually lost 2–1 against Inter Milan. On February 22, in a Champions League game against Villareal, McKennie injured his metatarsal following a foul by Pervis Estupiñán, forcing him to prematurely end his season.


title: Weston McKennie

text: McKennie has played with various United States youth teams, including the under-17 and under-20 national teams. McKennie earned his first senior team callup for the United States' friendly against Portugal on November 14, 2017, scoring on his debut.


title: Weston McKennie

text: McKennie's first international assist came in the opening game of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Guyana at Allianz Field in a 4–0 win. McKennie scored the lone goal for the U.S. on June 30, 2019, to help them secure a 1–0 win in the Gold Cup quarter-finals against Curaçao. McKennie notched his second goal in the semi-finals against Jamaica in the 19th minute.


title: Weston McKennie

text: On October 12, 2019, McKennie scored the fastest hat-trick in the U.S. men's national team's history, scoring three goals in thirteen minutes in a CONCACAF Nations League game against Cuba.


title: Weston McKennie

text: On June 6, 2021, McKennie scored a decisive 2–2 equalizer in the 2021 CONCACAF Nations League Final against rivals Mexico, bringing the game to extra time. The game ultimately ended 3–2 to the United States, and McKennie was nominated Player of the Tournament.


title: Weston McKennie

text: On September 7, 2021, during the final round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying, McKennie was dropped from the national team for breaking COVID-19 team protocols by bringing a guest into his hotel room while the team was in Nashville, Tennessee, for their match against Canada. As a result, he missed the final two matches of the series.


title: Weston McKennie

text: McKennie is known for his versatility as a player. During his time at Schalke, McKennie played in numerous positions including in midfield, as a center-back, full-back, and even as a striker. However, he has primarily played as either a box-to-box midfielder or in a deeper-lying defensive role. During his time with Juventus, he has been used in several midfield positions, including as a wide midfielder, in a holding role, or even as a more offensive–minded central midfielder, known as the "mezzala" role in Italian soccer jargon.


title: Weston McKennie

text: McKennie's primary attributes are his defensive skills and work rate, as well as his ability to win back the ball. Furthermore, his passing allows him to dictate the flow of the game and push the ball forward from deep-lying positions in midfield. His ball-winning qualities, combined with his positioning, tactical intelligence, eye for goal from midfield, and ability to make late attacking runs into the box led Alberto Mauro of "Il Messaggero" to compare him to former Juventus midfielders Edgar Davids and Arturo Vidal; McKennie's technical ability was cited as an area in need of improvement, however.


title: University of Bologna

text: The University of Bologna (, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students ("studiorum"), it is the oldest university in continuous operation in the world, and the first degree-awarding institution of higher learning. At its foundation, the word "universitas" was first coined. With over 90,000 students, it is the second largest university in Italy after La Sapienza in Rome.


title: University of Bologna

text: It was the first place of study to use the term "universitas" for the corporations of students and masters, which came to define the institution (especially its law school) located in Bologna.


title: University of Bologna

text: The university's emblem carries the motto, "Alma Mater Studiorum" ("Nourishing mother of studies"), the date "A.D. 1088".


title: University of Bologna

text: It has campuses in Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna and Rimini and a branch center abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It also has a school of excellence named "Collegio Superiore di Bologna". An associate publisher of the University of Bologna is the Bononia University Press. The university saw the first woman to earn a university degree and teach at a university, Bettisia Gozzadini, and the first woman to earn both a doctorate in science and a salaried position as a university professor, Laura Bassi.


title: University of Bologna

text: It is commonly ranked amongst the best universities in Italy, and is especially renowned for its studies in law, medicine, and the natural sciences. University of Bologna had a central role in the sciences during the Italian renaissance, where it housed and educated Nicholas Copernicus as well as numerous other renaissance mathematicians.


title: University of Bologna

text: The date of the University of Bologna's founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088. The university was granted a charter ("Authentica habita") by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa in 1158, but in the 19th century, a committee of historians led by Giosuè Carducci traced the founding of the university back to 1088, which would make it the oldest continuously operating university in the world. However, the development of the institution at Bologna into a university was a gradual process. Paul Grendler writes that “it is not likely that enough instruction and organization existed to merit the term "university" before the 1150s, and it might not have happened before the 1180s.”


title: University of Bologna

text: The university arose around mutual aid societies (known as "universitates scholarium") of foreign students called "nations" (as they were grouped by nationality) for protection against city laws which imposed collective punishment on foreigners for the crimes and debts of their countrymen. These students then hired scholars from the city's pre-existing lay and ecclesiastical schools to teach them subjects such as liberal arts, notarial law, theology, and "ars dictaminis" (scrivenery). The lectures were given in informal schools called "scholae". In time the various "universitates scholarium" decided to form a larger association, or "Studium"—thus, the university. The "Studium" grew to have a strong position of collective bargaining with the city, since by then it derived significant revenue through visiting foreign students, who would depart if they were not well treated. The foreign students in Bologna received greater rights, and collective punishment was ended. There was also collective bargaining with the scholars who served as professors at the university. By the initiation or threat of a student strike, the students could enforce their demands as to the content of courses and the pay professors would receive. University professors were hired, fired, and had their pay determined by an elected council of two representatives from every student "nation" which governed the institution, with the most important decisions requiring a majority vote from all the students to ratify. The professors could also be fined if they failed to finish classes on time, or complete course material by the end of the semester. A student committee, the "Denouncers of Professors", kept tabs on them and reported any misbehavior. Professors themselves were not powerless, however, forming "collegia doctorum" (professors’ committees) in each faculty, and securing the rights to set examination fees and degree requirements. Eventually, the city ended this arrangement, paying professors from tax revenues and making it a chartered public university.


title: University of Bologna

text: The university is historically notable for its teaching of canon and civil law; indeed, it was set up in large part with the aim of studying the "Digest," a central text in Roman law, which had been rediscovered in Italy in 1070, and the university was central in the development of medieval Roman law. Until modern times, the only degree granted at that university was the doctorate.


title: University of Bologna

text: Bettisia Gozzadini earned a law degree in 1237, being one of the first women in history to obtain a university degree. She taught law from her own home for two years, and in 1239 she taught at the university, becoming the first woman in history to teach at a university.


title: University of Bologna

text: In 1477, when Pope Sixtus IV issued a papal bull, authorizing the creation of Uppsala University in Sweden, the bull specified that the new university would have the same freedoms and privileges as the University of Bologna - a highly desirable situation for the Swedish scholars. This included the right of Uppsala to establish the four traditional faculties of theology, law (Canon Law and Roman law), medicine, and philosophy, and to award the bachelor's, master's, licentiate, and doctoral degrees.


title: University of Bologna

text: Laura Bassi was born into a prosperous family of Bologna and was privately educated from the age of five. Bassi's education and intellect was noticed by Prospero Lorenzini Lambertini, who became the Archbishop of Bologna in 1731 (later Pope Benedict XIV). Lambertini became the official patron of Bassi. He arranged for a public debate between Bassi and four professors from the University of Bologna on 17 April 1732. In 1732, Bassi, aged twenty, publicly defended her forty-nine theses on "Philosophica Studia" at the Sala degli Anziani of the Palazzo Pubblico. The University of Bologna awarded her a doctorate degree on 12 May. She became the first woman to receive a doctorate in science, and the second woman in the world to earn a philosophy doctorate after Elena Cornaro Piscopia in 1678, fifty-four years prior. She was by then popularly known as Bolognese Minerva. On 29 October 1732, the Senate and the University of Bologna granted Bassi's candidature, and in December she was appointed professor of natural philosophy to teach physics. She became the first salaried woman lecturer in the world, thus beginning her academic career. She was also the first woman member of any scientific establishment, when she was elected to the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna in 1732. Bassi became the most important populariser of Newtonian mechanics in Italy.


title: University of Bologna

text: In 1971, the Graecist Benedetto Marzullo in company with Umberto Eco, Renato Barilli, Adelio Ferrero. instituted within the Faculty of Letters and Arts the DAMS (acronym of "discipline delle arti, della musica e dello spettacolo", "Dicipline of Arts, Musics and Performance"). It was the first degree course of this type to be opened in Italy. Between December 26, 1982, and November 29, 1983, there occurred the DAMS murders (in Italian: "Delitti del DAMS"), dealing with four victims who were students or professors of the DAMS: Angelo Fabbri (a brilliant student of Umberto Eco), Liviana Rossi, the dancer Francesca Alinovi (who was stabbed for 47 times), and Leonarda Polvani.


title: University of Bologna

text: Higher education processes are being harmonised across the European Community. Nowadays the university offers 101 different ""Laurea"" or ""Laurea breve"" first-level degrees (three years of courses), followed by 108 ""Laurea specialistica"" or ""Laurea magistrale"" second-level degrees (two years). However, 11 other courses have maintained preceding rules of ""Laurea specialistica a ciclo unico"" or ""Laurea magistrale a ciclo unico"", with only one cycle of study of five years, except for medicine and dentistry which requires six years of courses. After the ""Laurea"" one may attain first level Master (one-year diploma, similar to a Postgraduate diploma). After second-level degrees are attained, one may proceed to second level Master, specialisation schools (residency), or doctorates of research (PhD).


title: University of Bologna

text: The university is structured in 33 departments (there were 66 until 2012), organized by homogeneous research domains that integrate activities related to one or more faculty. A new department of Latin history was added in 2015.


title: University of Bologna

text: In the early 1950s, some students of the University of Bologna were among the founders of the review "il Mulino". On 25 April 1951 the first issue of the review was published in Bologna. In a short time, "il Mulino" became one of the most interesting reference points in Italy for the political and cultural debate and established important editorial relationships in Italy and abroad. Editorial activities evolved along with the review. In 1954, the il Mulino publishing house (It. "Società editrice il Mulino") was founded, which today represents one of the most relevant Italian publishers. In addition to this were initiated research projects (focusing mostly on the educational institutions and the political system in Italy), that eventually led, in 1964, to the establishment of the Istituto Carlo Cattaneo.


title: University of Bologna

text: The "Collegio Superiore" is an excellence institution inside the University of Bologna, aimed at promoting students' merit through dedicated learning programmes.


title: University of Bologna

text: The institution was founded in 1998 as "Collegio d'Eccellenza". Together with the Institute for Advanced Study it is part of the Institute for Higher Study.


title: University of Bologna

text: The Collegio Superiore offers an additional educational path to students enrolled in a degree programme at the University of Bologna, providing specialized courses as part of an interdisciplinary framework.


title: University of Bologna

text: All students of the Collegio Superiore are granted a full-ride scholarship and additional benefits such as the assistance of a personal tutor and free accommodation at the Residence for Higher Study. In order to remain members of the Collegio Superiore students are required to maintain high marks in both their degree programme and the additional courses.


title: University of Bologna

text: The 2022 QS World University Rankings ranked the University of Bologna 166th in the world and 71st (first in Italy) with reference to academic reputation. In another measurement by the same company, it was positioned among the world's top 100 universities for graduate employability (84th).


title: University of Bologna

text: In the 2021 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, it claimed the 167th place globally. In the THE Impact Rankings of the same year, measuring the universities' commitment to sustainable development in compliance with the UN 2030 Agenda, Bologna took first place in Europe and sixth in the world.


title: University of Bologna

text: Nationally, in 2020 Bologna topped Italy's main ranking of large public universities (> 40,000 students) for the eleventh year in a row, produced by the Italian Center for Social Investment Studies.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: In the United States, the relationship between race and crime has been a topic of public controversy and scholarly debate for more than a century. Crime rates vary significantly between racial groups.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Academic research indicates that the over-representation of some racial minorities in the criminal justice system can in part be explained by socioeconomic factors, such as poverty, exposure to poor neighborhoods, poor access to public and early education, and exposure to harmful chemicals (such as lead) and pollution. Racial housing segregation has also been linked to racial disparities in crime rates, as Blacks have historically and to the present been prevented from moving into prosperous low-crime areas through actions of the government (such as redlining) and private actors. Various explanations within criminology have been proposed for racial disparities in crime rates, including conflict theory, strain theory, general strain theory, social disorganization theory, macrostructural opportunity theory, social control theory, and subcultural theory.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Research also indicates that there is extensive racial and ethnic discrimination by police and the judicial system. A substantial academic literature has compared police searches (showing that contraband is found at higher rates in whites who are stopped), bail decisions (showing that whites with the same bail decision as Blacks commit more pre-trial violations), and sentencing (showing that Blacks are more harshly sentenced by juries and judges than whites when the underlying facts and circumstances of the cases are similar), providing valid causal inferences of racial discrimination. Studies have documented patterns of racial discrimination, as well as patterns of police brutality and disregard for the constitutional rights of African-Americans, by police departments in various American cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The term "Black-on-Black" violence has been criticized for being misleading and racially charged. One columnist writing in the wake of the murder of George Floyd has accused opponents of the Black Lives Matter movement of using "Blacks killing Blacks" rhetoric to avoid discussions about police brutality.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Researchers note that there are socioeconomic factors underlying these crime statistics, and that crime is often higher in low-income neighborhoods. Media coverage of "Black on Black" violence has been criticized for perpetuating racial stereotypes of violent Black people. Researchers have highlighted media language drawing connections between intracommunity violence in Black neighborhoods and supposed "moral bankruptcy" in Black family structures and communities. Edward A. Flynn has noted that African-Americans are disproportionately murdered, accounting for 80% of murder victims in Milwaukee. Researchers have noted these arguments but say that the term Black-on-Black crime is "inaccurate and vague" and "generally offensive to Black Americans".


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The Uniform Crime Reports represent the primary source of data used in the calculation of official statistics regarding serious crimes such as murder and homicide, which is supplemented by the information provided through the NCVS and self-report studies, the latter being the best indicator of actual crime rates for minor offenses such as illegal substance abuse and petty theft. These crime data collection programs provide most of the statistical information utilized by criminologists and sociologists in their analysis of crime and the extent of its relationship to race. Another form of data is that regarding the prison population.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Established in 1927, the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) program is a summary-based reporting system that collects data on crime reported to local and state law enforcement agencies across the US. The UCR system indexes crimes under two headings: Part I and Part II offenses. Part I offenses include: murder and non-negligent homicide; non-lethal violent crimes comprising robbery, forcible rape and aggravated assault; and property crimes comprising burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft and arson. Part II offenses include fraud, forgery/counterfeiting, embezzlement, simple assault, sex offenses, offenses against the family, drug and liquor offenses, weapons offenses and other non-violent offenses excluding traffic violations.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: As a response to these and other limitations, a new system of crime data collection was established in 1988 as an outgrowth of the UCR system. The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) is an incident-based reporting system that will collect more comprehensive and detailed data on crime from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. As it is still under development, NIBRS coverage is not yet nationwide.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) program, established in 1972, is a national survey of a representative sample of households in the United States which covers the frequency of crime victimization and the characteristics and consequences of victimization. The primary purpose behind the NCVS program is to gather information on crimes that were not reported to police, though information is also collected on reported crimes. The survey collects data on rape, assault, robbery, burglary, personal and household larceny and motor vehicle theft. The NCVS also includes supplemental questions which allow information to be gathered on tangentially relevant issues such as school violence, attitudes towards law enforcement or perceptions regarding crime.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: According to the NCVS for 1992–2000, 43% of violent criminal acts, and 53% of serious violent crime (not verbal threats, or cuts and bruises) were reported to the police. Overall, black (49%) and indigenous Americans (48%) victims reported most often, higher than whites (42%) and Asians (40%). Serious violent crime and aggravated assault against blacks (58% and 61%) and indigenous Americans (55% and 59%) was reported more often than against whites (51% and 54%) or Asians (50% and 51%). indigenous Americans were unusually unlikely to report a robbery (45%), as with Asians and a simple assault (31%).


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Despite the differences in the amount of crime reported, comparisons of the UCR and NCVS data sets show there to be a high degree of correspondence between the two systems. This correspondence extends to the racial demography of both perpetrators and victims of violent crime reported in both systems.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The UCR classifies most Hispanics into the "white" category. The NCVS classifies some Hispanic criminals as "white" and some as "other race". The victim categories for the NCVS are more distinct.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: According to a report by the National Council of La Raza, research obstacles undermine the census of Latinos in prison, and "Latinos in the criminal justice system are seriously undercounted. The true extent of the overrepresentation of Latinos in the system probably is significantly greater than researchers have been able to document. Lack of empirical data on Latinos is partially due to prisons' failures to document ethnic details at intake, or recording practices that historically have classified Latinos as white.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The FBI did not include a "Latino" or "Hispanic" category until the Uniform Crime Report for 2013, and 93% of Hispanics are classified as "white" by law enforcement officers (irrespective of their ancestry), often inflating the amount of crimes attributed to whites.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Scholars have found that some racial and ethnic minorities, particularly African-Americans, are disproportionately represented in the arrest and victimization reports which are used to compile crime rate statistics in the United States. The data from 2008 reveals that black Americans are over-represented in terms of arrests made in virtually all types of crime, with the exceptions of "driving under the influence," "liquor laws," and hate crime. Overall, black Americans are arrested at 2.6 times the per-capita rate of all other Americans, and this ratio is even higher for murder (6.3 times) and robbery (8.1 times).


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: According to the FBI 2019 Uniform Crime Report, African-Americans accounted for 55.9% of all homicide offenders in 2019, with whites 41.1%, and "Other" 3% in cases where the race was known. Including homicide offenders where the race was unknown, African-Americans accounted for 39.6% of all homicide offenders in 2019, with whites 29.1%, "Other" 2.1%, and "Unknown" 29.3%


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Among homicide victims in 2019 where the race was known, 54.7% were black or African-American, 42.3% were white, and 3.1% were of other races. Including homicide victims in 2019 where the race was unknown, 53.7% were black or African-American, 41.6% were white, 3% were of other races, and 1.7% were of unknown races.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The per-capita offending rate for African-Americans was roughly eight times higher than that of whites, and their victim rate was similar. About half of homicides are known to be single-offender/single-victim, and most of those were intraracial; in those where the perpetrator's and victim's races were known, 81% of white victims were killed by whites and 91% of black or African-American victims were killed by blacks or African-Americans.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The CDC keeps data on non-fatal injury emergency department visits and the race of victims. While non-Hispanic white victims account for approximately half of total non-fatal assault injuries, most of which did not involve any weapon, black and Hispanic victims account for the vast majority of non-fatal firearm injuries. There was a total of 17.3 million emergency department visits or hospitalizations for non-fatal assaults in the United States in the 10-year period between 2007–2016. For non-fatal assaults with recorded race, 6.5 million victims were white non-Hispanic, 4.3 million black, 2.3 million Hispanic and 0.4 million other (non-Hispanic) and for 3.8 million, the race was not recorded. There were a total of 603,000 emergency department visits in the US for non-fatal firearm assaults in the 10-year period between 2007–2016. For non-fatal firearm assaults with recorded race, 77,000 victims were white non-Hispanic, 261,000 were black and 94,000 were Hispanic, 8,500 were other non-Hispanic and for 162,000 the race was not recorded. Despite gun injuries only accounting for about 3.5% of serious assault injuries between 2007 and 2016, they accounted for nearly 70% of overall homicides.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: While African Americans are highly overrepresented in murders and gun assaults, the disparity in arrests is smaller for the most common form of assault not involving any weapon or serious injury; blacks are arrested for non-aggravated assault at 2.7 times the white rate. Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites are arrested for non-aggravated assault in a similar ratio to their share of the US population. Of the 9,468 murder arrests in the US in 2017, 53.5% were black and 20.8% Hispanic. Of the 822,671 arrests for non-aggravated assault, 31.4% were black and 18.4% Hispanic.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, in 2008, black youths, who make up 16% of the youth population, accounted for 52% of juvenile violent crime arrests, including 58.5% of youth arrests for homicide and 67% for robbery. Black youths were overrepresented in all offense categories except DUI, liquor laws, and drunkenness. Racial disparities in arrest have consistently been far less among older population groups.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: According to the National Crime Victimization Survey in 2002, robberies with white victims and black offenders were more than 12 times more common than the opposite.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: In 1978, Michael Hindelang compared data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (then known as the National Crime Survey, or NCS) to data from the Uniform Crime Reports, both from 1974. He found that NCS data generally agreed with UCR data in regards to the percent of perpetrators of rape, robbery, and assault who were black. For instance, Hindelang's analysis found that both the NCS and UCR estimated that 62% of robbery offenders were black in the United States in 1974. A 2004 National Crime Victimization Survey report which analyzed carjacking over 10 years found that carjacking victims identified 56% of offenders as black, 21% as white, and 16% as indigenous American or Asian.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The National Gang Center, a project of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, and the US Department of Justice, conducted annual surveys of law enforcement agencies between 1996–2012 to assess the extent of gang problems in the United States. The latest available data, from 2011, found that 46.2% of gang members are Hispanic/Latino, 35.3% are black, 11.5% are white, and 7% are of other races/ethnicities. Larger cities, suburban counties, and smaller cities are more likely to report Hispanic or Latino-Americans as the dominant racial/ethnic group among gang members. Rural counties are more likely to report Black or African-Americans as the dominant racial/ethnic group among gang members.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: According to a 2009 report by the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2007 Latinos "accounted for 40% of all sentenced federal offenders ‒ more than triple their share (13%) of the total U.S. adult population". This was an increase from 24% in 1991. Between 1991 and 2007, enforcement of federal immigration laws became a growing priority in response to undocumented immigration. By 2007, among Hispanic offenders sentenced in federal courts, 48% were


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: immigration offenses, 37% drug offenses, and 15% for other offenses. One reason for the large increase in immigration offenses is that they exclusively fall under federal jurisdiction.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The federal government publishes an annual list of hate crime statistics as part of the FBI Uniform Crime Report. According to the 2019 Uniform Crime Report, of hate crime offenders identifiable by race, 61.5% were White, 28% were Black, 7.8% were groups of individuals of varying races, 1.2% were American Indian or Alaska Natives, 1.1% were Asian, and 0.4% were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders. Including offenders of unknown race, 52.5% were White, 23.9% were Black, 6.6% were groups of individuals of varying races, 1.1% were American Indian or Alaska Natives, 0.9% were Asian, 0.3% were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders, and 14.6% were unknown.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: In the same 2019 report, when ethnicity of offenders was known, 73.5% were not Hispanic or Latino, 22.3% were Hispanic or Latino, and 4.2% were groups of individuals of varying ethnicities. However, the majority of offenders' ethnic backgrounds are unknown. Including offenders of unknown ethnicity, 33.1% were not Hispanic or Latino, 10% were Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% were groups of individuals of varying ethnicities, and 55% were of unknown ethnicity.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The report also states that 55.8% of all hate crime offenders were motivated by race, ethnicity, or ancestry. By comparison, the next highest categories are religion (19.3%) and sexual orientation (16.3%). Among hate crime offenses motivated by race, ethnicity, and ancestry, 48.4% were composed of anti-Black bias, 15.8% were of anti-White bias, 14.1% were of anti-Hispanic or Latino bias, and 4.3% were of anti-Asian bias.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Studies have examined that ethnic/racially heterogeneous areas, most often neighborhoods in large cities, have higher crime rates than more homogeneous areas. Most studies find that the more ethnically/racially heterogeneous an area is, the higher its crime rates tend to be.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Studies examining the relationship between percentages of different races in an area and crime rates have generally either found similar relationships as for nationwide crime rates or no significant relationships. Most often studied are correlations between black and Hispanic populations in a given area and crime. According to a study in the "American Journal of Sociology", a positive correlation exists between the percentage of black males in a neighborhood and perceptions of neighborhood crime rates, even after controlling other correlating factors and neighborhood characteristics. The study was conducted amongst the perceptions of residents in neighborhoods in Chicago, Seattle, and Baltimore in comparison with census data and police department crime statistics. Survey respondents consistently rated African Americans as more prone to violence than the data and statistics stated leading to the conclusion that the stereotype of blacks as more likely criminals is deeply embedded in the collective consciousness and societal norms of Americans. Such data may reveal a possible connection, but is functionally inconclusive due to a variety of other correlating factors which overlap with race and ethnicity.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Some studies have argued for smaller racial disparities in violent crime in recent times. However, a study of government data from 1980–2008 found that the reduction in black violent crime relative to white violent crime may have been an artifact of those previous studies, which was due to Hispanic offenders being counted as White in the comparison. The Hispanic population has been increasing rapidly and Hispanics have violence rates higher than that of whites but lower than that of blacks.<ref name="doi10.1111/j.1745-9125.2010.00222.x"></ref>


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Other data suggests a genuine decline in racial disparities in recent years. In the 1980s and early 1990s black/white (including Hispanics) imprisonment disparities increased peaking in the early 1990s when a slim majority of new admissions were blacks. Relative to 2000, disparities in prisons and jails have since declined modestly in recent decades between both blacks and whites and Hispanics and whites. Between 2000 and 2019, the ratio of disparity amongst male state and federal prisoners per capita declined between blacks and non-Hispanic whites from 7.7 to 5.7 and between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites from 2.7 to 2.5. Declines in disparities were more pronounced when considering jail inmates of both sexes between 2005 and 2018 with the ratio of disparity per capita declining from 4.8 to 3.2 between blacks and non-Hispanic whites and 1.6 to 1.0 between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Similarly, declines in the racial disparity of homicide victimization can be seen although to a much greater extent between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Using CDC data between 1990 and 2019, the ratio of the murder rate between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites declined from 4.5 to 2.0 and between blacks and non-Hispanic whites from 9.9 to 8.3. When considering non-firearm homicide victimization rates racial disparities the ratio of decline is very significant between 1990 and 2019, falling between blacks and non-Hispanic whites from 7.0 to 3.3 and between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites from 3.4 to 1.3.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Research suggests that police practices, such as racial profiling, over-policing in areas populated by minorities and in-group bias may result in disproportionately high numbers of racial minorities among crime suspects.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: In-group bias has been observed when it comes to traffic citations following accidents, as black and white police in one state were found to be more lenient to suspects of their own race, resulting in a 3% discrepancy. A 2013 report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that blacks were "3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession," even though "blacks and whites use drugs, including marijuana, at similar rates." A 2020 study in the journal "Nature" found that black drivers were stopped more often than white drivers, and that the threshold by which police decided to search black and Hispanic drivers was lower than that for whites (judging by the rate at which contraband was found in searches). Analysis of more than 20 million traffic stops in North Carolina showed that blacks were more than twice as likely as whites to be pulled over by police for traffic stops, and that blacks were more likely to be searched following the stop. There were no significant difference in the likelihood that Hispanics would be pulled over, but Hispanics were much more likely to be searched following a traffic stop than whites. When the study controlled for searches in high-crime areas, it still found that police disproportionately targeted black individuals. These racial disparities were particularly pronounced for young men. The study found that whites who were searched were more likely to carry contraband than blacks and Hispanics. In-group bias by voters has also been suggested as possibly causing disparities, as voters discount criminal acts done by their in-group and thus will vote for higher enforcement in areas where the minority population is higher due to the lack of in-group leniency, allowing for racial disparities in the justice system even if the authorities are unbiased.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: A 2018 study in the "Journal of Empirical Legal Studies" found that law enforcement officers in Texas who could charge shoplifters with two types of crimes (one more serious, one less so) due to a vaguely worded statute were more likely to charge blacks and Hispanics with the more serious crime.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: A 2019 study, which made use of a dataset of the racial makeup of every U.S. sheriff over a 25-year period, found that "ratio of Black‐to‐White arrests is significantly higher under White sheriffs" and that the effects appear to be "driven by arrests for less‐serious offenses and by targeting Black crime types."


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: A 2019 study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that facial-recognition systems were substantially more likely to misidentify the faces of racial minorities. Some ethnic groups, such as Asian-Americans and African-American, were up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified than white men.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: A 2018 study in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" found that tall young black men are especially likely to receive unjustified attention by law enforcement. The authors furthermore found a "causal link between perceptions of height and perceptions of threat for Black men, particularly for perceivers who endorse stereotypes that Black people are more threatening than White people."


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Research shows that childhood exposure to violence significantly increases the likelihood to engage in violent behavior. When studies control for childhood exposure to violence, black and white males are equally likely to engage in violent behavior. White and black families have no major difference in child abuse except in the $6,000-$11,999 income range (which falls under the Poverty Threshold in the United States). A study in Australia showed a direct correlation to poverty in later life from childhood abuse. While poverty in the United States and Australia are not the same, a general understanding of the negative effects of childhood abuse later in life has been found, many of these effects being contributing factors to poverty.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: A paper written by Anna Aizer, analyzes the disadvantages children face when they are exposed to frequent neighborhood violence. In a survey of 2248 6th, 8th, and 10th graders in an urban public school system, “Schwab-Stone et al (1995) found that 40% of youth reported exposure to a shooting or a stabbing in the past year. Children exposed to high levels of violence were more likely to be black and/or Latino…”. Using ANOVA to observe differences in child outcomes, they found that exposure to violence is associated with willingness to use physical aggression, diminished perception of risk, lowered expectations of the future, substance use, and low academic achievement. The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Study (LA FANS) studied a representative sample of all neighborhoods in LA and evaluated the conditions and circumstances in which each family was living under. Families were randomly selected within each neighborhood and interviews were conducted with adults, caregivers, and children. 21% of children reported having violent peers that were a part of gangs, 11% reported being robbed, 8% reported witnessing a shooting within the past year.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: According to a 2017 study in the "Journal of Law and Economics" evaluating arraignments in New York City, "Higher pretrial detention rates among minority defendants explain 40 percent of the black-white gap in rates of being sentenced to prison and 28 percent of the Hispanic-white gap." The majority of individuals held in pretrial detention are being held because they cannot afford to post bail. The individuals in pretrial detention face higher incentives to plead guilty (even if they are innocent) for a number of reasons, which leads to a higher sentencing rates for these individuals.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Evidence supporting the role of structural factors in high black crime rates comes from multiple studies. For example, Robert J. Sampson has reported that most of the reason violent crime rates are so high among blacks originates mainly from unemployment, economic deprivation, and family disorganization. Specifically, he found that "the scarcity of employed black men increases the prevalence of families headed by females in black communities" and that the increased prevalence of such families in turn results in family disruption that significantly increases black murder and robbery rates. Sampson, et al. and Phillips have reported that at least half of the black-white homicide offending differential is attributable to structural neighborhood factors like parents' marital status and social context. Multiple other studies have found a link between black crime rates and structural factors, such as single-parent families and structural inequality.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: While there is a correlation between blacks and Hispanics and crime, the data imply a much stronger tie between poverty and crime than crime and any racial group, when gender is taken into consideration. The direct correlation between crime and class, when factoring for race alone, is relatively weak. When gender, and familial background are factored, class correlates more strongly with crime than race or ethnicity. Studies indicate that areas with low socioeconomic status may have the greatest correlation of crime with young and adult males, regardless of racial composition, though its effect on females is negligible. A 1996 study looking at data from Columbus, Ohio found that differences in disadvantage in city neighborhoods explained the vast majority of the difference in crime rates between blacks and whites, and two 2003 studies looking at violent offending among juveniles reached similar conclusions.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: A 1996 study found a strong association between black-white spatial isolation and rates of black violence, consistent with the hypothesis that segregation is responsible for higher rates of black crime. Multiple other studies have reached similar conclusions. However, correlation does not equal causation, and the disproportionately higher crime rates seen in black communities—as well as the reason for their segregation—can be attributed to a number of underlying symptoms.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Additionally, "Hagan and Peterson (1995) further propose that the segregation of racial minorities in sections of concentrated poverty contributes to inferior educational and employment opportunities, which, in turn, enhance the likelihood of crime and delinquency."


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Among American teens, black-white differences in violence are accounted for by differences in family income and socialization with deviant peers in school.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Historically, crime statistics have played a central role in the discussion of the relationship between race and crime in the United States. As they have been designed to record information not only on the kinds of crimes committed, but also on the individuals involved in crime, criminologists and sociologists have and continue to use crime rate statistics to make general statements regarding the racial demographics of crime-related phenomena such as victimization, arrests, prosecutions, convictions, and incarceration. Regardless of their views regarding causation, scholars acknowledge that some racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in the arrest and victimization reports which are used to compile crime rate statistics. There is, however, a great deal of debate regarding the causes of that disproportionality. Sociologist Orlando Patterson has explained these controversies as disputes between liberal and conservative criminologists in which each camp focuses on mutually exclusive aspects of the causal net, with liberals focusing on factors external to the groups in question and conservatives focusing on internal cultural and behavioral factors.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The relationship between race and crime has been an area of study for criminologists since the emergence of anthropological criminology in the late 19th century. Cesare Lombroso, founder of the Italian school of criminology, argued that criminal behavior was the product of biological factors, including race. He was among the first criminologists to claim a direct link between race and crime. This biological perspective, sometimes seen as racist and increasingly unpopular, was criticized by early 20th century scholars, including Frances Kellor, Johan Thorsten Sellin and William Du Bois, who argued that other circumstances, such as social and economic conditions, were the central factors which led to criminal behavior, regardless of race. Du Bois traced the causes of the disproportional representation of blacks in the criminal justice system back to the improperly handled emancipation of black slaves in general and the convict leasing program in particular. In 1901, he wrote:


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: There are no reliable statistics to which one can safely appeal to measure exactly the growth of crime among the emancipated slaves. About seventy per cent of all prisoners in the South are black; this, however, is in part explained by the fact that accused Negroes are still easily convicted and get long sentences, while whites still continue to escape the penalty of many crimes even among themselves. And yet allowing for all this, there can be no reasonable doubt but that there has arisen in the South since the [civil] war a class of black criminals, loafers, and ne'er-do-wells who are a menace to their fellows, both black and white.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The debate that ensued remained largely academic until the late 20th century, when the relationship between race and crime became a recognized field of specialized study in criminology. Helen T. Greene, professor of justice administration at Texas Southern University, and Shaun L. Gabbidon, professor of criminal justice at Pennsylvania State University, note that many criminology and criminal justice programs now either require or offer elective courses on the topic of the relationship between race and crime.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Conflict theory is considered "one of the most popular theoretical frameworks among race and crime scholars". Rather than one monolithic theory, conflict theory represents a group of closely related theories which operate on a common set of fundamental assumptions. As a general theory of criminal behavior, conflict theory proposes that crime is an inevitable consequence of the conflict which arises between competing groups within society. Such groups can be defined through a number of factors, including class, economic status, religion, language, ethnicity, race or any combination thereof. Further, conflict theory proposes that crime could be largely eliminated if the structure of society were to be changed.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: The form of conflict theory which emphasizes the role of economics, being heavily influenced by the work of Karl Marx and sometimes referred to as Marxist criminology, views crime as a natural response to the inequality arising from the competition inherent in capitalist society. Sociologists and criminologists emphasizing this aspect of social conflict argue that, in a competitive society in which there is an inequality in the distribution of goods, those groups with limited or restricted access to goods will be more likely to turn to crime. Dutch criminologist Willem Adriaan Bonger, one of the first scholars to apply the principles of economic determinism to the issue of crime, argued that such inequality as found in capitalism was ultimately responsible for the manifestation of crime at all levels of society, particularly among the poor. Though this line of thinking has been criticized for requiring the establishment of a utopian socialist society, the notion that the disproportionality observed in minority representation in crime rate statistics could be understood as the result of systematic economic disadvantage found its way into many of the theories developed in subsequent generations.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Culture conflict theory, derived from the pioneering work of sociologist Thorsten Sellin, emphasizes the role of culturally accepted norms of conduct in the formation of cultural groups and the conflicts which arise through their interaction. Culture conflict theory argues that the group with the most power in any society ensures that their values, traditions and behaviors, which Sellin referred to as "conduct norms", are those to which all other members of society are forced to conform, and any actions which conflict with the interests of the dominant group are identified as deviant and/or criminal in nature. Sellin's original ideas continued to be developed throughout the 20th century, most notably by George Vold in the 1950s and Austin Turk in the 1960s, and continue to influence the contemporary debate. The recent work of Gregory J. Howard, Joshua D. Freilich and Graeme R. Newman applies culture conflict theory to the issue of immigrant and minority crime around the world. According to their research, while culturally homogeneous groups experience little to no cultural conflict, as all the members share the same set of "conduct norms", culturally heterogeneous groups, such as modern industrial nations with large immigrant populations, display heightened competition between sets of cultural norms which, in turn, leads to an increase in violence and crime. Societies which have high levels of cultural diversity in their population, it is claimed, are more likely to have higher rates of violent crime.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: According to conflict theorists such as Marvin Wolfgang, Hubert Blalock and William Chambliss, the disproportionate representation of racial minorities in crime statistics and in the prison population is the result of race- and class-motivated disparities in arrests, prosecutions and sentencing rather than differences in actual participation in criminal activity, an approach which has also been taken by proponents of critical race theory. This line of argumentation is generally seen as part of a wider approach to race-related issues referred to as the Discrimination Thesis, which assumes that differences in the treatment received by people of minority racial background in a number of public institutions, including the criminal justice, education and health care systems, is the result of overt racial discrimination. Opposed to this view is the Non-Discrimination Thesis, which seeks to defend these institutions from such accusations.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: At the time it was first proposed, conflict theory was considered outside the mainstream of more established criminological theories, such as strain theory, social disorganization theory and differential association theory. Barbara D. Warner, associate professor of criminal justice and police studies at Eastern Kentucky University, notes that conflict theory has been the subject of increasing criticism in recent years. Recent studies claim that, while there may have been real sentencing differences related to non-legal characteristics such as race in the 1960s, sentencing discrimination as described by the conflict theorists at that time no longer exists. Criticism has also pointed to the lack of testability of the general theory. While much research has been done to correlate race, income level and crime "frequency", typically of less serious criminal behavior such as theft or larceny, research has shown there to be no significant correlation between race, income level and crime "seriousness". Thus, conflict theory encounters difficulties in attempting to account for the high levels of violent crime such as murder, homicide and rape, in minority populations.


title: Race and crime in the United States

text: Strain theory, which is largely derived from the work of Robert K. Merton in the 1930s and 1940s, argues that social structures within society which lead to inequality and deprivation in segments of its population indirectly encourage those segments to commit crime. According to strain theory, differences in crime rates between races are the result of real differences in behavior, but to be understood as an attempt to alleviate either absolute or relative deprivation and adapt to the existing opportunity structure.