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[ReplacementPelican]

A review led by him found the system in England and Wales is biased and discriminates in treatment of people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The Labour MP has made 35 recommendations, including delaying or dropping some prosecutions.

The government said it will "look carefully" at the recommendations.

People from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds make up 25% of the prison population in England and Wales and 41% of the youth justice system, despite these groups being 14% of the general population, the review says.

It has highlighted various "concerning" statistics, including a rise in the proportion of first-time offenders from these backgrounds to 19% - up from 11% - in the past 10 years and an identical increase in the proportion of young people reoffending.

Mr Lammy said it was "well established" that there was an over-representation of people from minority backgrounds in the criminal justice system, but his report was about looking at their "treatment and outcomes".

Whilst he does not believe all of the blame lies at the door of the justice system, noting the "broadly proportionate" decision on charging by the Crown Prosecution Service, Mr Lammy said: "It is clear to me that BAME individuals still face bias."

As a result, the rate of black defendants pleading not guilty in Crown Courts between 2006 and 2014 was 41%, compared with 31% for white defendants - leading to more trials and longer sentences.

Also, when in prison, many BAME men and women believe they are actively discriminated against, which Mr Lammy says "contributes to an atmosphere of 'us' and 'them' and an urge to rebel, rather than reform."

He said: "Prisons may be walled off from society, but they are products of it. The criminal justice system has deep-seated issues to address, but there is only so much it can do."

Mr Lammy said responsibility must be taken by adults - and the youth justice system "should be more rooted in local communities" where parents can play a stronger role.

Other recommendations

1. Local justice panels to be set up to allow local people directly involved in a young offender's life to contribute to the hearings
2. All sentencing remarks in the Crown Court to be published, to make justice more transparent
3. Reformed offenders should be able to apply to have their criminal records "sealed" - so they need not disclose their offence to a employer
4. The Crown Prosecution Service should look at its approach to gang prosecutions and review its role in protecting vulnerable children and women who are often coerced into gang activity
5. The government should set a national target to achieve a representative judiciary and magistracy by 2025
6. Low-level offenders should be allowed to "defer" prosecution and opt for a rehabilitation programme before entering a plea
7. Young offenders should be assessed for their maturity to inform sentencing decisions

BBC - The Guardian - Full Report

Very interesting. Sorry for the wide range of quotes but it was hard to cherry-pick from something that's so important.

I feel like a lot of Lammy's review will be framed as 'for' BAME groups and whilst that is broadly the subject matter, a lot of it would be conducive to a more fair criminal justice system for all.

Also, in the report, it gets rather more specific in detailing the issues of not just 'BAME' as 'everyone that's not white' but also explores the treatment of gypsies in prisons, reporting that over a quarter feel suicidal.

Lots of the report seems to highlight the need for education of the system (pleading 'not guilty' in guilty verdicts is higher among BAME groups and, of course, carries higher sentences than admission of guilt - this isn't the same kind of bullshit that is played with guilty pleas in the US) and that these recommendations all need to be used to restore a level of trust in the system.

Will hopefully have the chance to read the full report tonight.

 

[Moosichu]

Maybe title could specify that this is in the UK. But yeah, this is starting to bubble up.

 

[Arials]

People from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds make up 25% of the prison population in England and Wales and 41% of the youth justice system, despite these groups being 14% of the general population, the review says.

The more important statistic to compare to to see if there is any bias in the justice system is the % of crimes committed by ethnic minorities not their % in the general population. I couldn't find those stats with a quick google, but in the US it's known that:

the proportion of black suspects arrested by the police tends to match closely the proportion of offenders identified as black by victims in the National Crime Victimization Survey.

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-black-americans-commit-crime

 

[ReplacementPelican]

The more important statistic to compare to to see if there is any bias in the justice system is the % of crimes committed by ethnic minorities not their % in the general population. I couldn't find those stats with a quick google, but in the US it's known that:
https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-black-americans-commit-crime

Well, I mean there are a few qualifying factors to consider:

Ethnic diversity in age groups, for instance if you took prison population below the age of 40 and then mixed that with ethnic diversity of only under 40s it may look different.

Look at geographical divide between cities and country towns/villages. Compare incarceration rates of ethnicities VS % of the population there then do the same for cities. This could claim over-representation as comparatively if, say, people from Birmingham were more likely to go to prison than people from Harrogate, Birmingham is only 57% white so the statistics may bear out there but not nationally. Then you would need to ascertain whether the reason people form cities are more likely to be incarcerated is because of the racial demography and a racist system.

Then you need to look at class, BAME % in working and underclass as well as middle and upper. If class plays a factor you need to either ascertain: is race a variable within class and then, if not - or even if it is - you'd need to figure our why BAME groups are more likely to be in the lower social strata, whether that's part of a racist system, poor schooling in poor areas (not targeted at BAME, just targeted at class).

There are a massive, massive amount of variables here but one sticks true: either way, there's a level of prejudice in our system that we need to work hard to correct for the betterment of all people but, in this case, largely BAME groups because somewhere along the line they're being failed by the institutions that are supposed to protect them.