BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Racism 'rife in justice system'

Vikram Dodd

Every key stage of the criminal justice system is riddled with racism, leaving black people with a greater prospect of being arrested and jailed than whites, according to a study by a penal reform group.

British Afro-Caribbean people are seven times more likely to be in jail despite being no more likely to commit crimes, says the Howard League.

Its analysis of official figures throughout the criminal justice system, from arrest to incarceration, is due to be published on Wednesday.

The report suggests that the unequal treatment suffered by black people at the hands of the police, identified by the Macpherson report, is practised by all parts of the criminal justice system.

The study shows the discrimination occurs despite people in ethnic minorities being in greatest need of protection by the criminal justice system as they are more likely to be victims of crime. Data from the British Crime Survey shows that Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are worst affected.

Furthermore, no evidence exists to suggest the disparities are due to greater lawlessness by Afro-Caribbeans. An official study of 18- to 24-year-olds who had admitted crimes found 43% of Afro-Caribbeans and 44% of whites had confessed to law breaking, compared with 30% of British Indians and 28% of British Pakistanis.

Afro-Caribbean people are six times more likely than whites to be stopped and searched by the police and more likely to be arrested.

Of 1.3m arrests in 1998-99, 7% were of Afro-Caribbean people, who make up 2% of the population, 4% were of Asian people, who comprise 3% of the nation, with 1% of other ethnic minority groups.

But after arrest the same amount of ethnic minority people as whites were charged - 59%.

Afro-Caribbean and Asian suspects were more likely than whites to be remanded in custody after being charged - 35% of Afro-Caribbean people and 34% of Asians had bail requests refused, compared with 26% for whites.

Some evidence on sentencing suggests it is carried out fairly, while the study says other research has found "significant discrepancies in the use of imprisonment and the length of sentences".

Afro-Caribbeans are far more likely than any other ethnic group to be imprisoned. In June 1998 the rate of incarceration per 100,000 of the general population was 1,245 for black people, 185 for whites and 168 for Asians.

White people, who are 94% of the British population, made up 82% of male prison inmates, Afro-Caribbeans were 12% of those imprisoned, Asians 3%, and other ethnic minorities 3%.

The Howard League study noted that ethnic minorities were under-represented in the criminal justice system as employees, in posts such as police and prison officers, lay magistrates and at all senior levels.

Frances Crook, director of the Howard League, said: "The number of black people in our prisons is out of all proportion to the size of the black community, yet there is no evidence to suggest that people from ethnic minority groups commit more crime.

"The reasons for this are complex. It is partly a matter of social deprivation.

"But it is also clear that discrimination operates at every stage in the criminal justice system, from the chances of being arrested to the decision of the court and the length of the sentence.

"These individuals must then endure the culture of racism which still operates in many of our prisons."