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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Let’s get it rightForewordby LORD DHOLAKIA OBEChair of NACROChair of Race Issues Advisory CommitteeThis is the first major report from NACRO’s Race IssuesAdvisory Committee since 1993. It comes at a time whenrace and criminal justice has a high profile.Since the publication in February 1999 of the StephenLawrence Inquiry Report, there has been an acceptance –by Government, by senior police officers, by the leadersof the other criminal justice agencies, and even to someextent by the public - that drastic change is needed. Faithand trust in British justice has been damaged enormously.The damage must be repaired.There have been more reports, more action, and more newpolicies over the past 12 months than in the 12 yearsbefore that. We have a new high level government forumon race issues; we have new legislation to deal with racistcrime; there is new training for police officers; newguidance on racist crime; new targets for recruiting – andkeeping – more black and Asian police; and a new policedisciplinary code to deal with officers who do not meetthese new high standards.Why is this? After Lord Scarman’s report into thedisturbances in Brixton and elsewhere in 1981 we werepromised change. Indeed, to be fair, there have beenmany, many important developments since then, and ourreport described the major milestones of recent years.But somehow, the real impetus for change was lost;events of the early 1980s faded from memory; criminaljustice faded from public view. Crime, however, and fearof crime, became a major public preoccupation. Did thisfear of crime help to demonise certain groups in thepublic mind? We are all familiar with the image of theuncontrollable pre-teens stealing car after car on deprivedestates; we are all familiar with the portrayal of ‘muggers’as being, on the whole, young black men; we are familiarwith the derogatory terminology of ‘rat boys’, the barelyconcealedmessage of ‘bogus asylum seekers’. Thesemessages help us identify people to blame instead ofmaking us look for solutions.As Wilfred Wood, Bishop of Croydon, wrote recently:‘My personal belief is that a Macpherson typeenquiry into any of the professions – education,2
RACE AND JUSTICE 2000trade unions, political parties, Parliament, law,medicine, broadcasting, the church, civil service,etc – would have revealed much the same state ofaffairs, in similar devaluing of people.’There has been positive change in recent years which Iwelcome. Many people have quietly and determinedlypersisted in their commitment to equality in theadministration of justice, whatever the pressures to avoid‘political correctness’ and to put race on the back burner.But what has not changed, apparently, is street levelcontacts between the police and black communities. Thesimilarities between some of the Scarman and Lawrencefindings are startling and extremely disheartening.Statistics continue to show more black people than whitebeing stopped and searched, from the 1983 Policy StudiesInstitute’s report to the present day.What has not changed is the high proportion of blackpeople in prison – women as well as men.What changed a little (but not nearly enough!) is the lowproportion of black people working as police and prisonofficers, judges or magistrates.And although we see commitment to change for the betterat the highest levels, I wonder whether the need fororganisational change is really accepted further down,where it really matters. The nature of those contacts atlocal level – not only with the police, but with the CPSand the courts, the legal professions and the prison andprobation services – is the real test. We have not passedthat test.It has taken the tragic death of a young man to shock thesystem into action. Action is needed, as the InquiryReport tells us, from all the agencies and professionalbodies in the system, not only the police. The police havegot off to a flying start, which the others must follow. Andit is just a start. The momentum, the impetus, must not belost this time around.Let’s get it right this time.3
Page 1 and 2: Let’sget itrightRace and Justice
Page 3: ContentsForeword page 21 A decade o
Page 7 and 8: RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 1 A DE
Page 9 and 10: RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER A DECA
Page 11 and 12: CHAPTER2NACRO’s workon race andcr
Page 13 and 14: CHAPTER3Commitmentfrom the topOne o
Page 15 and 16: CHAPTER4Research andethnicmonitorin
Page 17 and 18: RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 4 RESE
Page 23 and 24: RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 5 EMPL
Page 31 and 32: RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 6 SUSP
Page 43 and 44: RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 7 AFTE
Page 49 and 50: CHAPTER8Victimsof crimeAt the end o
Page 51 and 52: RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 8 VICT
Page 53 and 54: RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 8 VICT
Page 55 and 56:
RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 8 VICT
Page 57 and 58:
RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER9After
Page 59 and 60:
RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 9 AFTE
Page 61 and 62:
CHAPTER10Summary ofaction pointsCRI
Page 63 and 64:
RACE AND JUSTICE 2000CHAPTER 10 SUM
Page 65 and 66:
BIBLIOGRAPHYBland et al (1999), ‘
Page 67 and 68:
NACRO Race Issues Advisory Committe
show all

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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?