Nine Out of 10 Children on Remand in London Come From BAME Background

London: Statistics obtained under freedom of information requests by Transform Justice and the Howard League for Penal Reform show 87% of children on remand in the capital between July and September were from a BAME background, while 61% were black. Individuals held on remand are awaiting court hearings after being charged with an offence. In England and Wales, the figures show the percentage of BAME children on remand in the same period had risen from 54% to 57%, while 33% were black. BAME people account for 15.5% of the population in England, according to 2016 figures.

David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, who published a review into the treatment of and outcomes for BAME individuals in the criminal justice system in 2017, said: “The government’s failure to act on racial disproportionality across the justice system is resulting in unfair treatment for black, Asian and minority ethnic people. “The government must now implement the Lammy Review recommendations it ignored and go further to ensure that all people – regardless of their racial background – are treated the same. The justice system must be fair for everyone.”

The Lammy Review found evidence of racial bias across the criminal justice system. He said at the time there was “greater disproportionality” in the number of black people in prisons in England and Wales than in the US. The figures will add weight to accusations that black people are not treated equally by the justice system, which have been at the heart of global protests this summer. In June, Boris Johnson was accused of misleading MPs in the House of Commons after the prime minister claimed 16 of Lammy’s 35 recommendations had been put in place, when in fact only six had been fully implemented.

Read more: Jamie Grierson, Guardian, https://is.gd/3Rv2KD