Let's get it right: race and justice 2000 - Nacro

Let’s get it rightCHAPTER5Employmentand training‘For my part, I am disappointed thatmore has not been achieved towardsincreasing the number of ethnicminorities employed in the criminaljustice system. There continues to beregrettably low proportions of blackstaff in key areas, such as the police,and Prison Service, and they arealmost totally absent from senior orspecialist posts throughout thesystem.’Sylvia Denman, CJCC member from1992-96, writing in the CJCCnewsletter in February 1997EmploymentEthnic monitoring of staff has been in place in somecriminal justice agencies, such as the Prison Service, sincethe 1980s. It was introduced later in others, such theMagistrates’ Courts Service and among the judiciary, andis now generally in place across all the relevant agenciesand professions. This means it is possible to look back tosee what progress has been made towards creating acriminal justice system whose composition reflects widersociety.The courts and legal professionsIn 1986, there were (it was thought) two circuit judgesfrom minority groups; in 1998, there were believed to befive, out of 561. There are still no minority judges at anyhigher judicial level. Although High Court Bench postsare now advertised, and both the previous and presentLord Chancellors have actively encouraged more minorityapplicants, very little progress seems to have been madeover the past 12 years.In 1998, 26 (or 2%) of the 1,269 recorders and assistantrecorders were from minority groups; in 1992, there hadbeen six out of 722, or 0.2%. Two of the 91 stipendiarymagistrates, four of the 107 acting stipendiary magistratesand 17 (1.7%) of the 974 Queen’s Counsel were fromminority groups.In 1987, an optional survey (which had a low return rate)of lay magistrates in England and Wales (except those inLancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside who areappointed separately) suggested that about 1% were fromminority groups. A similar survey in 1997 had a returnrate of 93.4%. Of those who responded, 4.4% said theywere of ethnic minority origin.At present, complete information about the ethnic originof magistrates is only recorded about new appointments.In 1996, 6.5% of newly appointed magistrates were fromminority groups; this rose to 6.8% in 1998.There were no minority justices’ clerks in 1986. In 1998,for the very first time, there were four minority justices’clerks, representing 3% of the total. There are still nominority justices’ chief executives. 7% of magistrates’court staff and 4% of Crown and Combined Court staffwere from minority communities.20