MPs Demand Explanation for Disproportionate Numbers of Black Teens in Custody

London: A parliamentary committee is demanding an explanation from ministers for the “disproportionate” incarceration of Black and minority ethnic (Bame) teenagers, after a report found they make up more than half of inmates youth custody. A drive to keep young people out of the justice system by offering social, psychiatric and educational help or drug rehabilitation has been successful in dramatically cutting the numbers of cautions and convictions handed out to 10-17 year-olds in England and Wales over the past decade, found the House of Commons Justice Committee. But it has benefited white youngsters dramatically more than those from Bame backgrounds, who now make up twice the proportion of children in the youth justice system as in 2009. Crime reduction charities gave evidence to the committee’s inquiry that the change was driven partly by increased use of stop-and-search, a “gang narrative” which defined black teenagers as a risk and mandatory sentencing for possessing knives.

The disproportionate use of custody for black youngsters was highlighted in 2017 in a report for then PM Theresa May by Labour MP David Lammy, who said ministers must explain the disparity between the treatment of white and ethnic minority youths or reform the system. The Justice Committee echoed Mr Lammy’s concerns, stating that “we are not convinced that disproportionality has satisfactorily been ‘explained or reformed’” and calling on the Ministry of Justice to set out its research on the issue, including explaining whether unconscious bias may play a part. The inquiry heard that the number of white children receiving a caution or conviction decreased by 79 per cent over the past 10 years, compared to 55 per cent for those from Bame backgrounds. As a result, the proportion of ethnic minority youngsters in the system doubled from 14 per cent to 27 per cent over the period. And among those actually held in custody, some 51.9 per cent were from a Bame background in May this year – 29 per cent Black, 11.7 per cent mixed race and 11.2 per cent Asian and other – compared to 27 per cent in 2009. The ethnic make-up inside youth custody centres was way adrift from the general 10–17 population, where 82 per cent are white, 4 per cent Black, 4 per cent mixed race and 10 per cent Asian and other, said the report.

Read more: Andrew Woodcock, Independent, https://is.gd/6tkJfz