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

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DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT IN THE YOUTH JUSTICE SYSTEMespecially the case for those interactions in which a young person must be overseenby an appropriate adult.‘There are now a lot of antisocial behaviour type issues that didn’t used to bein the statute books years ago, which the police could deal with informally witha ticking off or a warning, provided that the legislation allowed us to withoutthe presence of an appropriate adult being there. If we’re not allowed to dothat, instead of that youth being ticked off or given some sort of fixed penaltyor a formal warning on the street, he unfortunately has to be brought to apolice station so we can go through the formal process with an appropriateadult present… Maybe for youths between 14 and 17, maybe we could saythere are some offences there that we could just tick them off or give them astreet caution or something like that without need for parents or appropriateadults to be present and that would stop people being dragged into thesystem.’Suspicion and respectThe policing of high crime areas clearly involves a difficult balancing act betweenintervention based on reasonable suspicion – which itself may be seen as an act ofdisrespect – and treating suspects with proper respect. For complex historicalreasons, officers in Area A1 are now tasked with the policing of an area which isbeset by high levels of petty crime, high levels of violence, a significant problem withgangs and a visible drug market. These problems have to be policed against abackdrop of uneasy – or outright hostile – relations between the police and somelocal residents that dates back more than 40 years. As much as the police maystereotype some young people, some local residents also stereotype the police.When the police are making a fully justified arrest in response to calls from the public,their actions are often viewed as illegitimate or with suspicion – further alienating thepolice from the public. The following case study is an example.Public-initiated arrest18.00 The police control room receive numerous calls about two groups of teenagerswho are fighting on a local estate. Weapons, in particular a gun, have beenmentioned by several callers. The two groups are said to be of various ages and from49
UNDERSTANDING THE POLICING OF YOUNG PEOPLEvarious ethnic groups. The police I am with know the two gangs and agree that thereis a distinct possibility that a gun could be involved. A number of officers and thefirearms unit decide to attend the call. The officers I am with are en route with theirsiren and lights flashing. As they approach the fight they see two black teenage boyswalking down the street. On hearing the siren one of them takes something out of hispocket and throws it over a wall. The police stop the car as they suspect the two maybe on their way to join the fight. The teenagers walk in opposite directions away fromthe police. The officers ask them to stop but they carry on walking. The two arestopped. They are both 15 years old. The officers ask the two what they are doingand what they have just thrown away – neither replies. One of the officers retrieves atable leg from the front garden where the object had been thrown. They are askedwhat they were doing with a table leg.While this is going on, a number of passers-by have stopped and people have comeout of their houses to see what is happening. Some are shouting at the police thatthey have only stopped the two boys because they are black and that they shouldleave them alone. The officers tell the two that they are going to be searched. One ofthe boys is happy for this to happen; the other is happy to be searched but will not letthe officer touch a small bag he is carrying. The officer starts to try and pull the bagaway from him, a scuffle ensues and both the officer and the boy end up falling overon the street struggling with one another. At this point the boyfriend of the boy’smother turns up in a car and jumps out asking, ‘What the hell is going on?’ Theofficer is unaware at this point who he is and tells him to leave well alone aseverything is under control. The boy stays silent.The bag is eventually taken from the boy and the officer opens it up – there is nothingin the bag. The officer exclaims to the boy: ‘Why the bloody hell have we just had aruck over an empty bag?’ The boy replies: ‘Because you didn’t ask if you could lookin it, you just took it - it’s about respect, innit.’At this point the boy’s mother arrives by car and jumps out. The crowd around theofficers has now grown to about 35 people. The mother walks up to the officer anddemands to know ‘What the hell are you doing with my boy?’ The officer asks whoshe is and tells her to calm down. The woman tells the officer she is his mother. The50
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Equality and Human Rights Commissio
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© Equality and Human Rights Commis
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Appendix A: Area profiles 97Appendi
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Tables and figuresPageTables3.1 Pop
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GlossaryBCUBasic Command UnitCJSCri
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYAssessing the reas
Page 15 and 16: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYPolice training•
Page 17 and 18: INTRODUCTIONover-represented in rob
Page 19 and 20: INTRODUCTIONthe increase in prosecu
Page 21 and 22: INTRODUCTIONIn contrast, a MORI sel
Page 23 and 24: INTRODUCTIONexplanation is that you
Page 25 and 26: INTRODUCTIONin itself, if the socia
Page 27 and 28: RESEARCH METHODS2. Research methods
Page 29 and 30: RESEARCH METHODS29% was white; 6% b
Page 31 and 32: RESEARCH METHODSfor several differe
Page 33 and 34: YOUNG PEOPLE’S ENTRY INTO THE YOU
Page 51 and 52: UNDERSTANDING THE POLICING OF YOUNG
Page 63: UNDERSTANDING THE POLICING OF YOUNG
Page 81 and 82: PASSING THROUGH THE YOUTH JUSTICE S
Page 105 and 106: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS6. Discus
Page 107 and 108: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONSdefendant
Page 109 and 110: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONSdifficult
Page 111 and 112: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONSFurther r
Page 113 and 114: APPENDICES10- to 17-year-old popula
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APPENDICES16s making up 23% of the
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APPENDICESAppendix B:Tables of offe
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APPENDICESCustody record dataTable
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APPENDICESTable B7Area C custody re
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APPENDICESAppendix C:YOT data sampl
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APPENDICESTable C3ONS estimated 10-
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APPENDICESTable C5Profile of crimes
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APPENDICESTable C6 Profile of crime
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APPENDICESTable C7aCase profile% Ma
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APPENDICESTable C8Proportion of off
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Table C10Proportion of disposals gi
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Table C12Proportion of sentenced di
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Appendix D:Multivariate logistic re
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APPENDICESTable D3Model of prosecut
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APPENDICESTable D6Model of dismissa
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APPENDICESTable D8: Model of Remand
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APPENDICESTable D10Asset sample, mo
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APPENDICESTable D11Asset sample, mo
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Table D13Model of community sentenc
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APPENDICESTable D15 Model of custod
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APPENDICESTable D17Length of custod
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REFERENCESReferencesAudit Commissio
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REFERENCESMirrlees-Black, C., Budd,
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ContactsEnglandEquality and Human R
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