Differential treatment in the youth justice system - Equality and ...

www.equalityhumanrights.comThis report presents findings from a study on disproportionality and discrimination inthe youth justice system. The study, combining qualitative and quantitative researchmethods, sheds light on the competing claims about the extent to which the youth justicesystem delivers unfair treatment on the grounds of ethnicity.WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC:•n Ethnic groups are unequally represented in the criminal justice system, aninequality which is replicated in the youth justice system.•n Disproportionality is largely (but not entirely) preserved as young offenders passthrough the system. Many of the differences between those from ethnic minoritiesand those from the white majority could not be accounted for by features of theoffence or criminal history of the defendant, indicating possible discrimination.WHAT THIS REPORT ADDS:•n The study confirms that ethnic minority youngsters are disproportionally presentin all stages of the youth justice system and that elements of discrimination arestill evident.•n A greater proportion of young people are drawn into the youth justice systemthrough reactive policing than through proactive policing tactics such as stop andsearch. However arrests through proactive policing still account for a significantminority of the total, leaving ample scope for differential policing to shape inflowsinto the system.Styles of policing vary markedly across area and between policing units, and these•nstyles can affect the profile of young people entering the system.© Equality and Human Rights CommissionPublished March 2010