Final answer:
Research from Newman, Shaw, and McKay indicates that ethnicity is not directly related to crime; instead, the social environment or cultural ecology of a neighborhood has more impact. Ethnic stereotypes do not reliably predict criminal behavior, and factors like socio-economic conditions play a significant role. Studies by Wagley and Harris further support this understanding by showing that changes in neighborhood can affect delinquency rates.
Step-by-step explanation:
The findings from Newman and other researchers such as Shaw and McKay, highlight that the predominant race/ethnicity of offenders cannot be solely determined by their ethnicity or race with direct relation to crime. This understanding emerged from studies that mapped out the socio-economic progress of different ethnic groups, observing shifts in juvenile delinquency rates as groups moved between neighborhoods. Wagley and Harris, in their case studies, suggest that cultural and social environments--rather than ethnicity--play a significant role in the occurrence of delinquent behavior. It is the cultural ecology or the characteristics of the neighborhood rather than the ethnicity itself that influences the behavior of individuals.
Ethnic stereotypes, such as those identified by Dovidio & Gaertner and stereotypes of European Americans and African Americans mentioned by Devine & Elliot and Fiske et al., can affect perceptions of ethnic groups, but these stereotypes do not necessarily reflect the true causality of crime. In the domain of criminology and sociology, it's understood that various factors contribute to the likelihood of someone becoming involved in crime, with socio-economic conditions and environmental factors being prominent. As demonstrated by the research of Skeem and Lowenkamp, there is also the issue of predictive bias and disparate impact, which needs to be considered when evaluating the intersection of ethnicity and crime.