Comment

Racial bias and the problem of policing

A Prime Minister keen to show a commitment to tackling racism in the criminal justice system, while minimising the risk of having to deal with politically toxic findings, might well set up a...

22 September 2017
News

Criminal justice agencies must 'explain or reform'

Our Director, Richard Garside, is one of 22 signatories to a letter in today's Guardian newspaper calling on criminal justice agencies to reform if they cannot explain racial disparities.

One of our trustees – Patrick Williams of Manchester Metropolitan University – is also among the signatories.

It will take 'more than simple policy change', the letter states, 'to tackle the racial discrimination that defines – and shames – our criminal justice system'. The letter calls...

12 September 2017
News

Comment on Lammy review on race and criminal justice

The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies welcomes the publication of David Lammy's review into the treatment of and outcomes for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) individuals in the Criminal Justice System.

But it regrets that David Lammy's terms of reference were drawn so tightly that he was not asked to review why BAME people are disproportionately targeted by the police.

The review notes that BAME people are more likely to be arrested than white people. As a consequence, the 'caseload...

8 September 2017
News

Submission to the Lammy Review

The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies has made a submission to the submitted its response to David Lammy's review of racial bias in the criminal justice system.

While welcoming the review, our response raises concerns that its terms of reference limit it to examining racial bias from decisions by the Crown Prosecution Service onwards. To understand and address the over-representation of black and minority ethnic people (BAME)  in the criminal justice...

1 August 2016