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Race, Crime and the Justice System
This section looks at issues around race, crime and the justice system. It focuses on the link between deprivation, young black people and offending and the over representation of black and ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system. It also highlights some of the grassroots projects that are working with young black people to steer them away from crime.
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Race and Society
"We come across a lot of young black men who are angry. They have had difficulties with racism or bullying at school. They feel they are the ones that get the blame from teachers and that they are treated differently to the white kids. They get excluded and they become trapped in a cycle. I think their anger is justified." Ann Tolaini, Project Manager, The Right Track
Key Facts
Education
African Caribbean pupils are four to six times more likely to be excluded than white pupils although no more likely to truant than other pupils .
In 2002, 36% of black pupils achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C - a fall of 3% since 2000. This compared with 50% of white pupils and 62% of Indian pupils.
Housing
Seven in ten of all minority ethnic people live in the 88 most deprived local authority districts, compared with four in ten of the general population .
Poverty
In 1997, 28% people in England and Wales lived in households with incomes less than half the national average. But this was the case for 40% African-Caribbean people and 80% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi people .
Unemployment
This is considerably higher among minority ethnic communities. In 1998, 5.8% of white people of working age were unemployed but among the minority ethnic community it was more than double at 13%.
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Race and the Criminal Justice System
"If you have been unfairly treated by the system, charged with a harsher crime than was appropriate, given a custodial sentence instead of community service, given a longer prison sentence than others committing the same crime, and been bullied and victimised while in prison, are you likely to emerge from prison as a sane, sanguine, reformed character?" Gurbux Singh, speech to Howard League Conference, September 2000
Black and minority ethnic groups are over represented at all stages of the criminal justice system from stop and search to custody, yet self-report studies show that there is little difference in offending rates between ethnic groups.
People from mixed ethnic groups face significantly higher risks of being a victim of crime than white people especially for personal crime such as common assault and robbery
People from non white groups overall were twice as likely to have high levels of worry about burglary, car crime and violent crime as those from white ethnic groups. One in four of people from white ethnic groups had high levels of perceived anti-social behaviour compared with one in six of the white group
Wide disparities exist for different ethnic groups. Black people were 5.5 times more likely and Asian people nearly twice as likely to be homicide victims than white people.
Black people are six times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched
The arrest rate among for black people is around three times that of White people. The arrest rate for Asian people is 12% higher than for white people
Young black people are more likely to be refused bail than young white people. 11.6% of black and 11.4% of mixed race 10-17 year olds are remanded in custody compared to 7.6% of white 10-17 year olds
Black males are more likely to be sentenced than both Asian and white offenders and if sentenced to custody, were more likely to get a longer sentence than their White counterparts.
Numbers of arrests per 1,000 population were more than three times higher for Black people than for others.
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Race and the Prison Population
The prison population has risen rapidly, with the number of prisoners in England and Wales increasing by more than 25% in the last ten years. This growth has been particularly marked amongst black and ethnic groups.
"Last year...for every African Caribbean male on campus, there were two in jail." Trevor Phillips, Martin Luther King Memorial Lecture, 2004
Key Facts
At the end of December 2005, one in four of the prison population, 19,549 prisoners, was from a minority ethnic group - a rise of 2,000 in just three years. This compares to one in eleven of the general population.
Overall black prisoners account for the largest number of ethnic prisoners (57%) and their numbers are rising . Between 1999 and 2002 the total prison population grew by just over 12% but the number of black prisoners grew by 51%
In 2002 there were more African Caribbean entrants to prison (over 11,500) than there are to UK universities (around 8,000)
Prison receptions of all known Black and Minority Ethnic groups increased by 37 per cent between 1998 and 2002 - more than 8 times the increase for white prisoners
Black British prisoners make up 12 per cent of the prison population and two per cent of the general population.
Over half of Black and Minority Ethnic groups perceived that they had been subject to racial discrimination while in prison
__________________________________________
Projects working with young black people
"Young people start our programme filled with anger and confusion they can't explain. They feel their community blames them for every crime and it's easy for them to be hostile back. Acting bad gives them an identity, it attracts the attention they want and gets people's recognition. At FBMF we help them to find a self-esteem that doesn't need to be proved on the streets every night," Uanu Seshmi, From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation.
"Teachers today only see us as rappers, 100 metre runners and graffiti artists, but if you look through our eyes and listen you'd see that we want to be doctors, lawyers, teachers," Sean Bailey, 16, graduate of the Black Boys Can Association.
SmartJustice has identified several groups that are steering young black people away from the criminal justice system at an early stage. These are largely voluntary groups set up by concerned members of the black community.
They concentrate on helping young black people deal with racism, raising aspirations and self-esteem, providing positive role models and raising education standards, training and skills.
Click here to read about these projects.
"If I'd been given the opportunity and been treated more like a human being - I'd have developed this potential earlier on. Instead I was labelled as a black offender from Peckham," Chris, 38, actor and ex-prisoner
__________________________________________
References
This section looks at issues around race, crime and the justice system. It focuses on the link between deprivation, young black people and offending and the over representation of black and ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system. It also highlights some of the grassroots projects that are working with young black people to steer them away from crime.
__________________________________________
Race and Society
"We come across a lot of young black men who are angry. They have had difficulties with racism or bullying at school. They feel they are the ones that get the blame from teachers and that they are treated differently to the white kids. They get excluded and they become trapped in a cycle. I think their anger is justified." Ann Tolaini, Project Manager, The Right Track
Key Facts
Education
African Caribbean pupils are four to six times more likely to be excluded than white pupils although no more likely to truant than other pupils .
In 2002, 36% of black pupils achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C - a fall of 3% since 2000. This compared with 50% of white pupils and 62% of Indian pupils.
Housing
Seven in ten of all minority ethnic people live in the 88 most deprived local authority districts, compared with four in ten of the general population .
Poverty
In 1997, 28% people in England and Wales lived in households with incomes less than half the national average. But this was the case for 40% African-Caribbean people and 80% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi people .
Unemployment
This is considerably higher among minority ethnic communities. In 1998, 5.8% of white people of working age were unemployed but among the minority ethnic community it was more than double at 13%.
__________________________________________
Race and the Criminal Justice System
"If you have been unfairly treated by the system, charged with a harsher crime than was appropriate, given a custodial sentence instead of community service, given a longer prison sentence than others committing the same crime, and been bullied and victimised while in prison, are you likely to emerge from prison as a sane, sanguine, reformed character?" Gurbux Singh, speech to Howard League Conference, September 2000
Black and minority ethnic groups are over represented at all stages of the criminal justice system from stop and search to custody, yet self-report studies show that there is little difference in offending rates between ethnic groups.
People from mixed ethnic groups face significantly higher risks of being a victim of crime than white people especially for personal crime such as common assault and robbery
People from non white groups overall were twice as likely to have high levels of worry about burglary, car crime and violent crime as those from white ethnic groups. One in four of people from white ethnic groups had high levels of perceived anti-social behaviour compared with one in six of the white group
Wide disparities exist for different ethnic groups. Black people were 5.5 times more likely and Asian people nearly twice as likely to be homicide victims than white people.
Black people are six times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched
The arrest rate among for black people is around three times that of White people. The arrest rate for Asian people is 12% higher than for white people
Young black people are more likely to be refused bail than young white people. 11.6% of black and 11.4% of mixed race 10-17 year olds are remanded in custody compared to 7.6% of white 10-17 year olds
Black males are more likely to be sentenced than both Asian and white offenders and if sentenced to custody, were more likely to get a longer sentence than their White counterparts.
Numbers of arrests per 1,000 population were more than three times higher for Black people than for others.
__________________________________________
Race and the Prison Population
The prison population has risen rapidly, with the number of prisoners in England and Wales increasing by more than 25% in the last ten years. This growth has been particularly marked amongst black and ethnic groups.
"Last year...for every African Caribbean male on campus, there were two in jail." Trevor Phillips, Martin Luther King Memorial Lecture, 2004
Key Facts
At the end of December 2005, one in four of the prison population, 19,549 prisoners, was from a minority ethnic group - a rise of 2,000 in just three years. This compares to one in eleven of the general population.
Overall black prisoners account for the largest number of ethnic prisoners (57%) and their numbers are rising . Between 1999 and 2002 the total prison population grew by just over 12% but the number of black prisoners grew by 51%
In 2002 there were more African Caribbean entrants to prison (over 11,500) than there are to UK universities (around 8,000)
Prison receptions of all known Black and Minority Ethnic groups increased by 37 per cent between 1998 and 2002 - more than 8 times the increase for white prisoners
Black British prisoners make up 12 per cent of the prison population and two per cent of the general population.
Over half of Black and Minority Ethnic groups perceived that they had been subject to racial discrimination while in prison
__________________________________________
Projects working with young black people
"Young people start our programme filled with anger and confusion they can't explain. They feel their community blames them for every crime and it's easy for them to be hostile back. Acting bad gives them an identity, it attracts the attention they want and gets people's recognition. At FBMF we help them to find a self-esteem that doesn't need to be proved on the streets every night," Uanu Seshmi, From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation.
"Teachers today only see us as rappers, 100 metre runners and graffiti artists, but if you look through our eyes and listen you'd see that we want to be doctors, lawyers, teachers," Sean Bailey, 16, graduate of the Black Boys Can Association.
SmartJustice has identified several groups that are steering young black people away from the criminal justice system at an early stage. These are largely voluntary groups set up by concerned members of the black community.
They concentrate on helping young black people deal with racism, raising aspirations and self-esteem, providing positive role models and raising education standards, training and skills.
Click here to read about these projects.
"If I'd been given the opportunity and been treated more like a human being - I'd have developed this potential earlier on. Instead I was labelled as a black offender from Peckham," Chris, 38, actor and ex-prisoner
__________________________________________
References
- Commission for Racial Equality
- Youth Cohort Study: The Activities and Experiences of 16 year-olds England and Wales (2002)
- Commission for Racial Equality
- Social Exclusion Unit, Reducing Re-offending By Ex-Offenders (2002)
- ibid
- Institute for Criminal Policy Research - Race and The Criminal Justice System: an Overview to the complete statistics (2002 - 2003)
- British Crime Survey (2004)
- Institute for Criminal Policy Research - Race and The Criminal Justice System: an Overview to the complete statistics (2002 - 2003)
- Institute for Criminal Policy Research - Race and The Criminal Justice System an Overview to the complete statistics (2004 - 2005)
- ibid
- Fielder and Hood - Differences or Discrimination, Minority Ethnic People in the Youth Justice System - Youth Justice Board (2004)
- ibid
- Home Office - Population in Custody(2005)
- ibid
- Home Office - Population in Custody (2005)
- HM Prison Service /CRE - Implementing Racial Equality in Prisons (2003)
- Trevor Phillips, Martin Luther King Memorial Lecture (2004)
- Home Office Figures (2004)
- Hollis et al (2003) Prison Population Brief England and Wales October 2003, London: Stationery Office
- Edgar, K and Martin, C (2004) ´Perceptions of race and conflict: perspectives of minority ethnic prisoners and of prison officers´, Home Office Online Report 11/04, London: The Home Office.
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