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

DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT IN THE YOUTH JUSTICE SYSTEMHe tells the boy’s mother that the man is wanted for a particularly nasty domesticviolence incident. He said that as soon as he unzipped the boy’s hooded top he knewthat they had the wrong person and he explained this to her son. The officer also tellsthe mother that given the boy’s age and the fact that he had been handcuffed hethought he should call round to explain what had happened and why it hadhappened. He further comments that he would be very unhappy if his son camehome and recounted a similar experience. The young boy’s mother explained thather son had had a bad experience with his own father and as a result did not trustmen, which is why he probably refused to talk to the officer when he was firstapproached. She concluded by telling the officer that she had decided to make acomplaint but since he had taken the time to come and visit her she wasn’t going to.She thanked him for taking the time to do this. The officer apologised to both theyoung man and his mother and we leave the house.In Area B1, the neighbourhood policing team dealt with young people in much thesame way as uniformed officers from Area C1. The next case study shows how twoneighbourhood police officers handled a suspected break-in at a house.A public-initiated stop22.00 Officers I am with respond to a 999 call from a member of the public reportinga break-in at a house. The house is a large Victorian property that on first glanceappears to be derelict. As officers approach the property they find two young boysaged 12 and 13, both Pakistani, sitting in the garden. The two boys see the officersand look rather sheepish. One of the boys talks first and tells the officers that he andhis friend were playing ‘Tiggi’. The officer asks the boys to stand still and tell himwhat they are doing. Both boys start to speak at once and are told to quieten downand talk one at a time. It is obvious that they are both very nervous. The 12 year oldtells the officer that he and his friend were playing in the garden when his friendthrew his mobile through the broken door of the house. He explains that one of themhad to retrieve the phone and hence enter the property. The officer looks at the doorand decides that the door has not been forced. The officer asks them why they wereplaying near the house. The young boys respond by saying that they weren’t doinganything wrong; they were just playing ‘running games’. The officer asks them if thereis anyone else in the property, they tell him there isn’t.55