Ethnicity, Racism and Criminal Justice System

• Institutional Racism is policies/practises in society that promote bigotry
• Canteen Culture is when an organisation denounces racism but members of the institution support it
• The MacPherson Report concluded after the killing of Stephen Lawrence, the police force was institutionally racist
• In 2018, it was found BAME people were 4 times as likely than a white person to be stopped and searched
• In particular, black people were 9.5x more likely to be stop and searched than white people
• Once arrested black and Asian people were less likely to be cautioned than white people
• Bowling and Phillips say that the prosecution of individuals is mainly based on stereotypes
• Ethnic minorities are more likely to elect to be tried in front of a jury and in a crown court rather than magistrates which can lead to more severe sentences
• Hood says seriousness of a crime and previous convictions are considered when convicting so black people are convicted 5x more than white
• Asian people are 3x more convicted than white people (Hood)
• Black people on average receive sentences 9 months longer than white people