Minority ethnic groups ‘still dealt with more harshly at courts’ new research finds

Members of minority ethnic groups are treated more harshly in the justice system than their white counterparts, new research shows. 

Race and ethnicity has been found to still play a ‘significant’ role in outcomes, six years on from the milestone Lammy Review. 

Defendants in the minority groups are more likely to be sent to crown court for trial and to be remanded in custody when they appear than white British individuals, according to the new report. 

While those from ethnic backgrounds have lower or similar conviction rates, they were found to be more likely to receive custodial and longer prison sentences. Demographics and social and case characteristics were not enough to explain the disparities, according to the research supported by EQUAL, a national independent advisory group which is part of the Action for Race Equality (ARE) charity. 

Defendants self-reporting as Chinese were found to be 60% more likely to be held on remand than those who recorded themselves as white British, the analysis of Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data showed. 

The percentage was 37% for ‘other white’, between 22% and 26% for ‘mixed’ and between 15% and 18% for the Black group.

A custodial sentence was 41% more likely for Chinese defendants, 22% for the mixed white and Black African group, between 16% and 21% for Asian groups and between 9% and 19% for the Black category. 

Jeremy Crook OBE, chief executive of ARE, told Metro.co.uk: ‘Six years since David Lammy MP’s bold and vital review, which laid bare the extent of race disparities across the whole criminal justice system, this new research shows we are a long way from a fair system. 

‘Those who remain sceptical of the reality of structural inequalities across our public institutions often ask for data and proof, well here it is from the MoJ’s own crown and magistrates’ courts databases: race remains a significant factor in the harsher outcomes faced by ethnic minorities. 

‘We, like many in the community, voluntary and civil sector, urge the government to tackle racism in the courts and across all levels of the criminal justice system.’ 

In 2017, David Lammy’s independent review found that individuals defined as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic faced ‘bias’ and ‘overt discrimination’ in parts of the criminal justice system.

Defendants in the group were said by the MP to be around 240% more likely to receive a prison sentence for drugs offences than white offenders. 

The new report found that individual decision-makers in the criminal justice system were not solely responsible for outcomes ‘based on stereotypes’ which ‘caused certain groups to be viewed as more dangerous and blameworthy for their offences’.

The researchers state: ‘Individual decisions are embedded within systemic, institutional, political, and cultural processes which interact to produce racism and ethnic inequalities.’ 

Mr Crook, who is also vice chair of EQUAL, added: ‘We welcome the research findings which, once again, highlight significant systemic race disparities in the criminal justice system. We call on the police, magistrates and judges in the judiciary and the probation service to examine the data and consider our recommendations as a matter of urgency. 

‘There are many complex factors at play in and outside courtrooms including negative racial stereotypes, conscious and unconscious bias and variable quality pre-sentence reports. 

‘Implementing the recommendations will help to remove avoidable and damaging race disparities in remand and sentencing.’ 

Anton Noble, of the Guiding Young Minds youth intervention team, has heard first-hand accounts of discrimination behind bars.

The youth mentor told Metro.co.uk: ‘It’s proven that young black people are more likely to be stopped in the first place and then to receive a custodial sentence when they go in front of the courts. 

‘I was told by a retired white judge that the justice system treats Black people differently to white people. He openly said it, and while he was against it, he said he had seen it happening.

‘A lot of the Black and minority ethnic people we support in prison say they have experienced discrimination. It’s easy for people to be stigmatised and paintbrushed as criminals because they don’t look a certain way or act how society wants them to act, even before they’ve been judged.’

The findings form part of the Ethnic Inequalities in the Criminal Justice System project, which is funded by non-departmental public body the Economic and Social Research Council.

EQUAL was established in 2014 to tackle racism in the justice system in the wake of the Young Review, which found that young Black and Muslim men faced disproportionately negative outcomes.

Dr Kitty Lymperopoulou, lead investigator for the new research, said: ‘The findings demonstrate the existence of unwarranted ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system. 

‘Ethnic disparities in remand and imprisonment cannot be fully explained by legally relevant defendant and case factors, raising concerns about unequal, discriminatory and biased treatment of people from ethnic minorities by police and the courts.’ 

The report makes a number of recommendations, including revaluating ‘guidelines and practices’ that have the potential to contribute to harsher sentencing for ethnic groups and changes to the way pre-sentencing reports are produced.

The authors also call for measures to ensure greater awareness of race and ethnicity at crown and magistrates courts, including through ‘high quality’ training and improved monitoring and reporting of the relevant data. 

Metro.co.uk has approached the MoJ for comment.

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