Jails in England and Wales contain a disproportionate number of youths from BAME backgrounds. This is the result of flaws in the justice system that urgently need to be addressed.
HMP Wandsworth. Photograph: Derek Harper
Brits have always taken pride in separating ourselves from our American counterpart: ‘we’re not the same! Have you seen how their prison system is run?’
There is no doubt that the US prison system is rife with institutionalised racism and bias against individuals of BAME background. However, we must open our eyes to how our own prison system quietly operates almost as unjustly as the US’ system.
England and Wales are now hitting an American scale of disproportionality in our youth justice system David Lammy - Member of Parliament for Labour (MP) for Tottenham since 2000.
BAME (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic) citizens make up 14% of the UK’s population. Yet, this number doesn’t translate to the number of BAME citizens behind bars. Amongst boys and men in young offender institutions, the numbers are as high as 51%.
This problem is getting worse. In just 2 years, the percentage of BAME individuals in Youth Offender Institutions has increased by a staggering 11%.
This alarming rate sparks concern amongst politicians and social commentators. David Lammy published a review in December 2017 on BAME representation in the criminal justice system. He has since advocated for change in the youth justice system.
When Theresa May became Prime Minister in July 2016, she promised to fight ‘burning injustice’ in British society and create a union ‘between all of our citizens’. In her speech, she said: If you’re black, you’re treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than if you’re white.’ But what has been done about this since 2016?
The disproportionality in prisons can be seen as a symptom of the lack of diversity in the English and Welsh judiciary. The judiciary lacks an equal representation of gender, as well as BAME members. In 2017, 10% of tribunal members identified as BAME, while only 7% of judges are. These numbers in the judiciary are not representative of the population, which can lead to many problems.
The lack of judicial diversity means the judiciary can be out of touch with the needs of the community which it serves.
For example, BAME defendants are less likely to plead guilty on the advice of their solicitors – 41% of white defendants plead not guilty, in comparison to 31% BAME defendants. This can lead to harsher sentences and longer court procedures.
We can also see that the police force are playing a large role in the figures outlined above. The Metropolitan police increased its use of stop and search in 2018 by 19%. This led to a rise in the number of searches among London’s minority black population.
The Lammy Review made 35 recommendations on how to reform the criminal justice system. One of them is the suggestion that if CJS agencies cannot provide an evidence-based explanation for apparent disparities between ethnic groups then reforms should be introduced to address those disparities. This principle of ‘explain or reform’ should apply to every CJS institution.
Early intervention works to close the gaps in outcomes between children growing up in poorer and better-off households. It’s an equaliser. That’s why it’s such an important plank of any government strategy for social mobility. Donna Molloy - the Director of Policy and Practice at the Early Intervention Foundation.
Additionally, non-departmental public Commissions, such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission have urged the government to respond to the racial disparity and put in place a strategy to reduce race inequality.
It is clear that action needs to be taken; however, these reforms are difficult to implement and take time. The government also needs to decide on which strategies it thinks would be best to implement.