Discuss the extent to which race impacts on the defendant’s experiences within the Criminal Justice System.
Discuss the extent to which race impacts on the defendant’s experiences within the Criminal Justice System.
The primary theme of this essay is the criminal justice system (CJS) and race, including the relation between the two in the sense of injustice. This essay will explore the degree to which race influences the perspective of the defendants’ experience in the CJS. The criminal justice system is a collective organisation which controls alleged, probable and definite unlawful actions and is intended to safeguard the public from unfair behaviour and unlawful verdicts (Sanders, Young and Burton, 2017). The CJS consists primarily of a wide range of elected organisations, such as the Crime Agency, Prisons, Community Rehabilitation, UK Court and Penalising Council (Davies, Croall and Tyrer, 2015). The CJS has had increasing number of critiques made about the perpetuation of segregation on the grounds of race. It is increasingly evident that race plays a significant role in the convictions of the offenders within the CJS on the grounds of prior convictions globally. Data provided by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) proves Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people are over-represented in the CJS compared to those of White ethnic groups (Ministry of Justice, 2017). In this essay, the analysis as to why there is systematic racial disparity in the UK criminal justice system with factual data will be presented with the most pivotal case studies in UK history which is the Stephen Lawrence case (1993), Mark Duggan case (2011) and the Brixton riots (1981). There will also be a range of statistics on stop and search, conviction rates, prison rates and a review on the Scarman report (1981), Macpherson report (1999) and Lammy Review (2017), including fundamental theories.
The public expects the police to safeguard them from harm by exercising their powers permitted by Parliament in an efficient and equitable manner. David Lammy states certainly, some invasive and controversial forces are with stop and search (S&S) (Lammy,2017). This is one of the most common ways of the police industry targeting BAME individuals (HMIC, 2013). A police officer has the right to arrest and search an individual if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe that a person is bringing illicit substances, a knife, stolen goods or anything that may be used to commit a felony (Home Office, 2018). In 2016/17, relative to the White ethnic community, S&S remained more expected to be carried out on Black individuals 8x as likely, mixed individuals 2/3x as likely and Asian individuals 2x as likely (Ministry of Justice, 2017). In the past 10 years until March 2019, the proportion of S&S of unreported ethnicity rose from 5% to 15%. For example, 79% of all people who were stopped and searched were Black in the year ended March 2019. Officers decrease and unrecord the volume of data gathered to minimise bureaucracy, however this reduced their ability to consider the effect of the application of S&S powers on the level of violence and community protection. Also recording less and replacing supervision with computerised control systems minimise regulatory burdens and expense (HMIC, 2013). The year ending March 2019, 40% of Black people’s arrests and searches were attributed to ‘Other Black’ racial group and ‘other Asian’ ethnic group had a 37% of search rates (Home Office, 2020). These statistics present the ethnic bias shown by officers against BAME particularly using S&S.
Statistics prove that current changes to the government policy limited the use of S&S and the overall number of stop and search reduced after introducing the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). PACE is the protocols of procedure which classifies the authority of the police to counter crimes while protecting the needs of the public. The stop and search procedure are carried out in accordance with three Acts produced in 1984: PACE 1984, Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Firearms Act 1968. This jurisdiction obliges officers to have a reasonable suspicion until they can stop and search. The PACE code includes stop and search investigation, Detention, Inquiry, Arrest and Interviewing convicts (Home Office 2013). After PACE 1984 came to place including PACE Code A in 2015 which allows police to exercise the constitutional rights to search a suspect or car without first making an arrest and the requirement for a police officer to report a stop or encounter (Home Office, 2013) the overall use of stop and search have considerably decreased however not for those of a certain race. Between 2009/10 and 2018/19 in which the nation-wide stop and search rate decreased from 25/ 7 per 1,000 citizens. The Police Force made 48% of all stops and searches in England and Wales in which 51 for every 1,000 Black people in London compared to 19 per 1,000 Black people in the rest of England and Wales. It was proven by data that the rate of stop and search for Asian people were 5x higher and Black people fourteen times 14x higher than White people (Home Office 2020). These statistics show that even though PACE was introduced it has not evidently decreased the S&S rates for BME citizens.
There have been several incidents within London which highlight the frustration level with BAME youths, and one was the Brixton riots which took place in 1981, due to young Black teenagers facing unemployment, discrimination, and a society which downgraded their civic voices and tackled the signs of urban deterioration with methodical policing. The breaking point was the repressive use of S&S and the big raid named ‘Operation Swamp 81’ (Lea and Hallsworth, 2012). An operation in which 150 police officers made 150 arrests and 1,000 stops (Jefferson and Grimshaw, 1984). After the rioting, the Scarman report was ordered by the UK government to investigate the Brixton riots (1981). The riots implied “complex political, social and economic factors” that generated a “disposition to violent protest” but did not specially denounce police racism and disputed the existence of “institutional racism” (Law, 2015).
Another pivotal case in history was the killing of Mark Duggan in 2011 which was a result of stop and search. The shooting of the 29-year-old African Caribbean which occurred on the 4th of August concerned the general public of Tottenham (Waddington, 2012). Mark Duggan was believed to have been returning home when he was apprehended by officers under the unit named Trident (‘Operation Trident’), he was on suspicion of planning an attack and in possession of a handgun and was shot (Waddington, 2012). Trident was set up in 1986 to deal with gun crime and homicides in Afro-Caribbean communities based in London (Metropolitan Police, 2018). The unit undertook an operation titled ‘Operation Dibri’ focusing on a gang called Tottenham Man Dem (TMD).
Days after the deadly shooting rioting began from the 6th August to the 11th August where a crowd of 300 protestors assembled outside the Tottenham Station demanding information on Duggan’s’ death (Waddington, 2012). After his death, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was concerned, and a public inquest was made with a jury on the 16th of September 2013. On the 8th of January 2014, the jury by an eight-two majority found Mark Duggan’s death to be a legal killing. However, many disagreed with this verdict as Mark Duggan was known to be unarmed and that Black people are misrepresented as criminals. The inquiry decision of the lawful killing disrupted police ties with an already strained society (Chama, 2017). The case of Mark Duggan is an example of injustice within the CJS for Ethnic minorities.
The Lammy Review, which was produced by David Lammy MP on September 2017 is an independent study of the care and outcomes of BAME citizens in the Criminal Justice System (CJS). Lammy discusses the over-representation of BAME individuals in the CJS. The review discusses the variety of dimensions of the CJS, including the Crime Prosecution Service, custody and rehabilitation and Lammy makes 35 recommendations to fix ethnic disproportionality in the CJS (Shepherd, 2017).
Lammy states BAME disproportionality in the CJS costs taxpayers £309 million a year. Statistically young BAME offenders in custody expanded from 25% to 41% among 2006/ 2016 (Ministry of Justice, 2017). Injustices on police procedures according to Lammy involve the excessive use of stop and search, which drains the faith in the CJS in BAME communities. Lammy states that BAME individuals are 3x as likely to be stopped and searched than those who are White. In fact, individuals who are Black were more than six times as likely to be stopped (Lammy Review, 2017). Data indicates that between 2006 and 2014, the percentage of Black defendants pleading not guilty in Crown Courts in England and Wales was 41% compared to 31% of White defendants. Lammy argues the importance of publishing all sentencing remarks from the Crown Court to make justice more open for victims to resolve the ‘trust deficit’ between BAME persons and the CJS (Ministry of Justice, 2017). For drug crimes minority ethnic individuals were 240% likely to be sentenced to jail than other offenders (Shepherd, 2017). 20% of court trials include the defendants to be BAME and Lammy believes that evidence has shown that jury convictions are proportionate particularly though the jury is all White (Shepherd, 2017). Lammy notes the scheme also seems to have given up on parenting as only 189 parenting orders were released amid 55,000 youth convictions (Ministry of Justice, 2017). Lammy recognises major differences in data logging across the CJS, rendering it impossible to determine wherever over-representation exists (Shepherd, 2017).
Another significant event which highlights levels of discrimination of BME, that altered history, was the racially influenced killing of Stephen Lawrence (1993). The killing of this Jamaican British teenager led to a global re-examination of the problems of injustice, racial identity and continued racism in the British community (Cottle, 2005). Stephen was killed by a group of White youths. While expecting the murderers to be convicted the Lawrence family met a sequence of disappointments and disasters from the CJS (Macpherson, 1999). In July 1993, the charges against the 5 youth suspects were dropped, however three main suspects were taken into trial in 1996 through personal trial which failed due to the lack of any firm and sustainable facts. The verdict followed in the release of all three convicted and they will never be prosecuted again under the conditions of the current state laws in 1996. February 1997 the inquest jury delivered a decision following a full hearing that “Stephen Lawrence was unlawfully killed”. Mr & Mrs Lawrence requested an inquiry which was formed by the Home Secretary in July 1997, however, again did not receive justice (Macpherson, 1999).
This, in part was the product of Sir William Macpherson’s report (1999) which was ordered in 1997 by the Home Secretary for a public inquiry into issues occurring from the murder (Pyper, 2019). The report concluded that the Metropolitan Police’s murder inquiry had remained tarnished by a mixture of skilled incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership by senior officers. He explains that police incompetence and institutional racism were to blame for the 5 suspects evasion of law and damage suffered by the Lawrences (Macpherson, 1999). The report made 70 recommendations and 67 of which have been implemented in the 10 years since the report was published (Pyper, 2019).
Critical theories are associated within race and crime which is ‘Left Realism’, ‘Neo Marxist perspective’ and ‘Cultural view’. Left Realism (1980) which originated in Britain developed a perspective on deviance and crime. Lea and Young (1984) established a method to interpret corruption. They see crime entrenched through social conditions such as ‘deprivation’ which has risen in the UK over the past twenty years, ‘subculture’ and ‘marginalization’. Therefore, youths emerge within subcultures discovering same ideas (Trueman, 2015). Neo Marxism referred to Stuart Hall’s policing crisis (1979), which he determines policing as the problem and that police methods were to be blamed for high levels of ethnic crimes also causing moral panic over Black criminality. Hall also sections stages focussing on ‘Crisis of Capitalism’ which causes crime and the concept that those who did not have high education, money and employment had the assistance of the community which resulted in Black men being the culprit for media (Horton, 1979). Lastly, subcultures draw interest in history, culture and broadcasting because they have been conceived not only as distinct but also as opposed to mainstream culture, therefore as to why Asian groups encounter extreme levels of discrimination but are less likely of convicting felonies (Blackman, 2014). These principles present theoretical reasoning as to why discrimation and racial partiality still occur in the CJS.
Race influences the perpetrator’s involvement within the criminal justice system tremendously. It concludes that there still lie strong cases of discrimination within the CJS even though rules and regulations have been introduced considering the degree of public awareness for BAME individuals. Therefore, over the years theories ascertained the rationale for these racial differences. Also, the reality that discrimation still occurs in the CJS through forces such as stop and search, imprisonment and sentencing.
Bibliography:
Blackman, S. (2014) ‘Subculture theory: an historical and contemporary assessment of the concept for understanding deviance’, Deviant Behaviour, 35(6), pp.496-512.
Chama, B. (2017) ‘Race and crime conflict in news coverage in Britain: the Voice tabloid newspaper’, JOMEC Journal, 11, pp.54–64. doi:10.18573/j.2017.10145.
Cottle, S. (2005) ‘Mediatized public crisis and civil society renewal: The racist murder of Stephen Lawrence’, Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, 1(1), pp.49-71.
Davies, M., Croall, H. and Tyrer, J. (2015) Davies, Croall & Tyrer’s criminal justice. Harlow: Pearson.
HMIC (2013) Stop And search powers: are the police using them effectively and fairly? Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/media/stop-and-search-powers-20130709.pdf
(Accessed: 28 December 2020).
Home Office (2018) Police powers to stop and search: your rights. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/police-powers-to-stop-and-search-your-rights
(Accessed: 28 December 2020).
Home Office (2013) Police And Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Codes Of Practice. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/police-and-criminal-evidence-act-1984-pace-codes-of-practice
(Accessed: 31 December 2020).
Home Office (2020) Stop And Search. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest#by-ethnicity
(Accessed: 31 December 2020).
Jefferson, T. and Grimshaw, R. (1984) Controlling the constable: police accountability in England and Wales. London: Frederick Muller.
Lea, J. and Hallsworth, S. (2012) Understanding the riots: crime and justice. Available at: https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/09627251.2012.671013.pdf
(Accessed: 29 December 2020).
Law, I. (2015) The Scarman Report. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316227240_Scarman_Report_The
(Accessed: 30 December 2020).
Lammy D. (2017) The Lammy Review. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643001/lammy-review-final-report.pdf
(Accessed: 3 January 2021).
Macpherson, W. (1999) The Stephen Lawrence inquiry. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277111/4262.pdf
(Accessed: 3 January 2021).
Ministry of Justice (2017) Statistics on race and the criminal justice system 2016. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/669094/statistics_on_race_and_the_criminal_justice_system_2016_v2.pdf (Accessed: 28 December 2020).
Ministry of Justice (2017) Lammy publishes historic review. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lammy-publishes-historic-review
(Accessed: 31 December 2020).
Pyper, D. (2019) The twentieth anniversary of the Macpherson Report. House of Commons Library. Available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2019-0052/
(Accessed: 4 January 2021).
Sanders, A., Young, R. and Burton, M. (2017) Criminal Justice. 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Shepherd, B. (2017) ‘The Lammy Review: treatment of and outcomes for BAME adults and young people in the CJS’, Probation Journal, 64(4), pp.422-425.
Horton, J. (1979) ‘Stuart Hall, et al.: “Policing the Crisis: Mugging, the State, and Law and Order”’, Crime and Social Justice, (12), pp.59-63.
Trueman, C. (2015) Left realism and crime. Historylearningsite.co.uk. Available at: https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/crime-and-deviance/left-realism-and-crime/
(Accessed: 6 January 2021).
Waddington, D. (2012) The law of moments: understanding the flashpoint that ignited the riots. Available at: https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/09627251.2012.670993.pdf
(Accessed: 31 December 2020).
