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

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Let’s get it rightmonitoring. It is also involved in developing guidance onstop and search and the pilot projects that are under wayin London and elsewhere.Winning the Race RevisitedIn its 1999 report on police and community relations,‘Winning the Race Revisited’, the Inspectorate ofConstabulary noted that:‘Whilst a number of forces are at the cutting edgeof progress in this field, the approach by a largesection of the police service is less thansatisfactory …There is a lack of consistency andthe pockets of good practice identified tend to bethe product of a committed few rather thanrepresenting corporate endeavour.’The Inspectorate found that many recommendations in itsearlier report had been ‘sidelined’ with few forces puttingthem high on the agenda. Community and race relationsissues ‘remain peripheral rather than at the core ofpolicing for many forces’. Only a quarter of forces hadconducted community and race relations audits; only halfhad procedures in place to ensure that policy, strategic andoperational decision-making took account of communityand race relations; under half included assessments ofattitudes towards policing diverse communities in theirappraisal systems. Work with schools and colleges haddeteriorated.In April 1999 a new police disciplinary regime wasintroduced for all police forces.Crown Prosecution ServiceThe CPS Code of Practice specifies that CrownProsecutors must be fair, independent and objective;personal views of the ethnic origin of the victim, witnessor offender must not influence their decision.In 1989, the CPS adopted an equality policy and aprogramme of action on race which covers all aspects ofCPS work. The previous chapter described employmentand training developments in the CPS, and a later chapterdiscusses the CPS work on prosecuting racial incidents.A Consultative Group on Race was established nationallyin 1996. The Commission for Racial Equality andNACRO are members. The aim of the group is to adviseon CPS policy and practice on race issues. It meetsregularly and reviews progress on the programme ofaction on race issues.In addition to its racial incident monitoring, the CPS plansto start monitoring casework decisions as soon astechnology allows. Meanwhile at Hull University, DrBonny Mhlanga is conducting a study in 20 branchesaround the country to see whether ethnicity plays a part inthe CPS treatment of young offenders. The study islooking at discontinuances, bail recommendations, modeof trial recommendations and reduction of charges inassaults and robberies. It will look at age, sex,employment status, principal offence, previous record andplea as well as ethnic origin. It is expected to report in1999.The CPS is in the process of a reorganisation so that itsbranches match police force areas, and other changes arelikely in the light of the Glidewell Review. There havebeen previous reorganisations, and it is to the credit of theCPS that race issues have not lost their priority during thisperiod.The Glidewell report raises the question of ‘localanswerability’ and suggests that the new police and localauthority crime prevention partnerships would be asuitable forum in which CPS branches could participate.It is often difficult for the CPS at local level to keepcommunities informed about its work, as it cannotcomment on individual cases before they go to court. Thiswould be a positive way in which communities couldhave contact with the CPS without compromisingconfidentiality or breaching the legal process.Legal professionAs noted in the previous chapter, both the Law Societyand the Bar Council have equality policies; each also havelong-standing race relations committees. A great deal ofprogress has been made in regard to entry into the legalprofessions, although problems remain.In terms of suspects and defendants and criminal work,the proposed restrictions to jury trial and new fast trackprocedures for bringing cases to court may adverselyaffect minority defendants.36
RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 6 SUSPECTS AND DEFENDANTSResearch shows that black defendants are more likely toopt for trial by jury – although the reasons for this are notclear. Although there is no formal plea bargaining systemin the UK, discounts are given at sentencing for timelyguilty pleas. New rules about disclosure of evidence andplea and direction hearings may further increase thepressure on defendants to plead guilty to lesser chargesrather than risk trial. Pressure to hold early first hearingsleaves less time for duty solicitors to get backgroundinformation about the defendant and the case. Given thepossibility of institutional discrimination at earlier stages,it is crucial that solicitors are not pressured into rushingtheir clients or going to court without enough time to geta complete picture.It is important that the Government takes account ofpossible discrimination when considering comments onthese new proposals, to ensure that there is not adisproportionate impact on black and other minoritydefendants. According to Courteney Griffiths QC:‘Black people appear to be treated differentlythroughout the criminal justice system. Trial byjury is a key safeguard and African Caribbeans aremore likely than Asians or whites to use it.’In its work at local level with Area Committees, theNACRO Race and Criminal Justice Unit has welcomedthe commitment and enthusiasm shown by most criminaljustice practitioners in the statutory agencies. However, itis rare for the legal professions at this level to be soclosely involved – with some exceptions. Bar Council andLaw Society national policies do not always seem to havean impact in terms of services for minority defendants atlocal level.Local firms of solicitors and chambers need to play theirpart in ensuring a fair and equitable justice system. Forsolicitors, new arrangements for legal aid franchisinginclude a condition that to qualify for a franchise, firmsmust have a written equal opportunities policy that is ineffective operation.At courtAs described in the previous chapter, the work of theJudicial Studies Board in training for sentencers was akey development in the 1990s. The introduction of theCourt Charter, and the work of the Trials Issues Groupnationally and locally has also brought aboutimprovements in court services for all users, includingwitnesses, victims, suspects and defendants. Moreinformation is available in different languages, andfrontline staff such as ushers have been trained in humanawareness and customer care so that they may deal fairlyand courteously with everyone coming to court.The Justices’ Clerks’ Society (JCS) published a report in1993, ‘Black People in Magistrates’ Courts’. It includes34 recommendations covering all aspects of court workfrom employment of staff to facilities for court users.According to the report:‘As the representative body for the principal legaladvisors to magistrates the JCS recognises itsresponsibility for taking action to ensure that thesystem of magistrates’ courts operates fairly, andis seen to do so. Unless all sections of thecommunity have confidence in the justice systemthe system is undermined.‘It is the view of the JCS that all who work withinthe justice process in whatever capacity have aresponsibility to act.’As a result of its report, more and more courts areadopting equality policies and programmes of action onrace.A working group continues to meet and is reviewing theextent to which these recommendations have been putinto practice.The value of these developments is without doubt for allcourt users. But while there has been significant progressin terms of training, recruitment and services forwitnesses, there is an urgent need for ethnic monitoring ofsentencing decisions.As chapter 4 of this report described, the Hood researchfound that black defendants had a five to 8% greaterchance of receiving prison sentences at Crown Courtsthan similar white defendants. Research also shows thatblack defendants found guilty receive longer averageprison sentences than white defendants. However, anotherstudy published in 1998, ‘Sentencing Practice: AnExamination of Decisions in Magistrates’ Courts and theCrown Court in the Mid-1990s’, looked at 3,000 cases atmagistrates’ courts and 2,000 cases at Crown Courts. Itfound that:37
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