INEQUALITY IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

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INEQUALITY IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

• ETHNICITY

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AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

• To introduce main areas of inequality within the
  criminal justice system (gender, race and class)
• To consider different explanations for bias
  towards offenders and criminal justice
  practitioners
• To evaluate these explanations using evidence

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AIMS OF NEXT 2 LECTURES

• Inequality in relation to ethnicity
• Focus on BMEs (British minority ethnic groups)
  white mixed black asian chinese other

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STATISTICS

• ON 30 JUNE 2007 20,900 PEOPLE FROM BLACK AND
  MINORITY GROUPS IN PRISON OUT OF 79,700.
• 26 OF POPULATION (25 OF MALE POP AND 29 OF
  FEMALE POP Statistics on race and cjs 2008)
• BLACK PRISON POPULATION INCREASED BY 138 BETWEEN
  1993 AND 2003. CORRESPONDING FIGURES FOR WHITE
  AND ASIAN PRISONERS WERE 48 AND 73 INCREASE
  RESPECTIVELY. (HOME OFFICE 2004)
• BLACK PEOPLE THREE X MORE LIKELY TO BE ARRESTED
  THAN WHITE PEOPLE (HOME OFFICE 2004)
• BLACK PEOPLE 7.11X MORE LIKELY TO BE STOPPED AND
  SEARCHED THAN WHITES. ASIAN 2.2X MORE LIKELY.
  OTHER 1.7X
• DRUGS MOST COMMON REASON FOR BME S AND S, SECOND
  STOLEN PROPERTY
• HOWEVER TERRORISM ACT 2000 2005/06 45,000 DOWN
  TO 2006/07 37,000. 19.1 DROP FOR ASIANS
  Statistics on race and cjs 2008

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Trends over last few years -Stop and Search
Figures 2006
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(No Transcript)
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ARRESTED FOR NOTIFIABLE
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PRISON POPULATION
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TWO EXPLANATIONS

• 1 STATISTICS REFLECT A GENUINE RISE IN BLACK
  CRIME
• - CONSERVATIVE VIEW.
• NINETEENTH CENTURY BLACK CULTURE PRIMITIVE
• TWENTIETH CENTURY CULTURAL CONFLICT
• WHAT WE DO HAVE TO FEAR IS THE BREAKDOWN OF LAW
  AND ORDER AS A RESULT OF THE COLLAPSE OF SOCIAL
  COHESION CAUSED BY THE MASS IMMIGRATION
  EXPERIMENT (BNP IN NEWHAM BY ELECTION RADIO 4
  10.3.94)
• MICHAEL HOWARD 2005 IMMIGRATION OUT OF CONTROL
• BRITAIN FACES THE THREAT OF RACE RIOTS IF THERE
  IS NOT A CURB ON THE NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS
  ENTERING THE COUNTRY
• - LIBERAL /CONFLICT
• BLACK CRIME IS AN ASPECT OF CLASS
• - MARXIST THEORIES
• AN INTEGRATIVE SPIRAL BETWEEN BLACK YOUTH AND
  THE POLICE WHICH STEMS FROM RELATIVE DEPRIVATION
  AND SUBCULTURE
• THEREFORE ACCORDING TO THESE THEORIES STATISTICS
  ARE A TRUE REFLECTION OF BLACK CRIME.

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AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW - BIAS IN THE CJS

• RACIAL BIAS IN THE CJS
• BIAS RESULTS, NOT THROUGH DELIBERATE
  DISCRIMINATION BUT THROUGH UNCONSCIOUS PREJUDICE
  AND STEREOTYPING
• BIAS CAN OPERATE AT ANY OR EVERY STAGE OF THE
  CRIMINAL PROCESS, STAGES WHICH INCLUDE
  INVESTIGATION AND CHARGE BY THE POLICE,
  PROSECUTION DECISIONS BY THE CROWN PROSECUTION
  SERVICE, BAIL DECEPTIONS, COURT VERDICTS AND
  SENTENCING DECISIONS (CAVADINO AND DIGNAN 2002)

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POLICE

• BLACK PEOPLE 7.11X MORE LIKELY TO BE STOPPED AND
  SEARCHED THAN WHITES. ASIAN 2.2X MORE LIKELY.
  OTHER 1.7X
• FIGURES FOR THOSE WHO RECEIVED (LET OFF WITH ) A
  CAUTION 81 WHITE, 4 ASIAN AND 6 BLACK
• (HOME OFFICE 2007)
• SOME THEORISTS ARGUE THAT THIS RESULTS FROM BIAS
  AND PREJUDICE
• POLICE CULTURE IS MARKED BY SPECIFIC LANGUAGES,
  RITUALS, VALUES, NORMS ETC SOMETIMES REFERED TO
  AS A MONOCULTURE
• RACIALIST LANGUAGE AND RACIAL PREJUDICE WERE
  PERVASIVE IN METROPOLITAN FORCE (CANTEEN CULTURE
  SMITH AND GRAY 1983)
• RACIAL PREJUDICE IN POLICE CULTURE (SEE REINER
  COP CULTURE1992 AND GRAEF 1990)
• MANY POLICE OFFICERS SEE RACISM AS NATURAL
  BOWLING 1999
• INSTITUTIONAL RACISM IN THE BRITISH POLICE FORCE
  SEE ( SCARMEN 1981 MACPHERSON 1999)

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• CRE LAUNCH AN INQURY AFTER THE BBC DOCUMENTARY
  THE SECRET POLICEMAN
• RACISM TOWARDS POLICE OFFICERS OF ETHNIC ORIGIN
  (ELLIS CASHMORE 2001)
• RECENT RACE ROW WITHIN MERSEYSIDE POLICE SEE
  TIMES 19/2/06
• ETHNIC RECRUITMENT WITHIN THE POLICE FORCE
  REMAINS MINIMAL
• HOME OFFICE 2006 BLACK AND MINORITY ETHNIC
  OFFICERS WITHIN THE 43 HOME OFFICE POLICE
  FORCES IN 2004/5 WAS 3.5
• WHILST 5 OF WHITE OFFICERS LEFT THE POLICE IN
  2003/4 7 OF BLACK AND MINORITY ETHNIC GROUPS DID
  SO
• 87 EMPLOYED IN THE LOWEST RANK

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RACIAL BIAS LECTURE TWO COURTS

• LESS RESEARCH IN THIS AREA
• BLACK DEFENDANT MORE LIKELY TO BE COMMITTED FOR
  CROWN COURT TRIAL (FITZGERALD 1993)
• HOWEVER THEY ARE ALSO MORE LIKELY TO PLEAD NOT
  GUILTY 48 OF YOUNG BLACK OFFENDERS PLEAD NOT
  GUILTY IN CROWN COURTS COMPARED TO 30 OF YOUNG
  WHITE OFFENDERS.
• BLACK CROWN COURT DEFENDANTS ARE REMANDED IN
  CUSTODY INSTEAD OF BEING GRANTED BAIL MORE OFTEN
  THAN WHITES
• ALSO FOUND INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION (HOOD 1992)
• SHUTE ET AL 2005 PERCEPTIONS OF UNFAIR TREATMENT
  1IN 5 BLACK DEFENDANTS FELT THEIR TREATMENT HAD
  BEEN INFLUENCED BY RACIAL BIAS

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• PSRs RECENT REPORTS ON TEN PROBATION SERVICES
  REPORTED THAT 16 OF PSR WRITTEN ON BLACK
  OFFENDERS AND 11 ON ASIAN DEFENDANTS REINFORCED
  STEREOTYPICAL ATTITUDES ABOUT RACE AND ETHNICITY
  (HER MAJESTYS INSPECTORATE OF PROBATION 2000)
• PROSECUTION REINFORCES STEREOTYPICAL IMAGES OF
  RACE AND CRIME (Kalunta-Crompton (1996)
• JURIES MAY BE PROBLEMATIC CRE (1992)
• COURTS TEND TO BE STAFFED BY WHITE MIDDLE CLASS
  MALES
• DISCRIMINATION IN RELATION TO RECRUITMENT (SEE
  DCA 2005)
• TRAINING OF COURT PERSONNEL INADEQUATE AT DEALING
  WITH ETHNIC MINORITIES.

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BIAS IN THE PRISON SYSTEM

• BY 2001 MORE AFRO CARRIBEAN ENTRANTS TO PRISON
  THAN UK UNIVERSITIES
• 9000 PRISONERS ARE FORIEGHN NATIONALS (AROUND
  12 OF THE PRISON POPULATION EASTON AND PIPER
  2005
• THE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE OF THE PRISON SERVICE
  (2004)
• HOWEVER-
• DIRECTOR GENERAL- THE PRISON SERVICE IS
  INSTITUTIONALLT RACIST AND HAS POCKETS OF BLATENT
  RACISM (HM Prison Service 2004 appendix 515)
• MUCH EVIDENCE OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN PRISONS
  (GENDERS AND PLAYER 1989)
• CHIGWADA- BAILEY 1997 AFRICAN /CARIBBEAN WOMEN
  SEEN AS TROUBLESOME

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• RACIST VICTIMISATION (BURNETT AND FARRELL (1994)
• OVER REPRESENTATION OF BLACK PRISONERS ON
  DISCIPLINARY CHARGES (McDERMOTT 1990)
• IN 1994 A HOME OFFICE SURVEY FOUND THAT PRISON
  OFFICERS (98 OF WHOME ARE WHITE) BELIEVED THAT
  AFRO CARIBBEAN PRISONERS WERE ARROGANT, LAZY ANTI
  AUTHORITY AND HAD CHIPS ON THEIR SHOULDERS.
• PRISONERS RELUCTANT TO COMPLAIN AS THEY FEAR
  REPRISAL AND DONT FEAL THERIR COMPLAINTY WILL BE
  TAKEN SERIOUSLY (NACRO 2000)
• CRE FOUND FELTHAM, PARC AND BRIXTON GUILTY OF
  RACISM IN 2003
• INSTITUTIONAL RACISM (SEE THE CASE OF ZAHID
  MUBAREK)