Disturbing elements of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill no-one is talking about.
A blog by EQUAL Head of Policy, Shadae Cazeau as part of the #EndCJSinequality campaign - coordinated by a coalition of race equality and criminal justice organisations.
Even if you are not a keen follower of new government legislation, the chances are you are already familiar with the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts (PCSC) Bill.
It entered parliament in March 2021 and seeks to bring into legislation the proposals included in the Ministry of Justice's Sentencing White Paper. It has also garnered a level of public protest unseen since the Poll Tax Riots of the 1980s. But most of the protests and media coverage has focussed on just one narrow aspect of the Bill – those which limit the right to protest.
The PCSC Bill is far more wide-ranging in its repercussions than just our right to march. We at EQUAL are concerned that a number of these proposals risk further entrenching racial inequality in what is an already deeply unequal criminal justice system.
Over one quarter (27%) of people in prison are from a minority ethnic group despite making up only 14% of the total population in England and Wales.
Black people are 53%, and Asian people 55% more likely to be sent to prison for an indictable offence at the Crown Court with Black and Asian people more likely to be given longer custodial sentences than their white counterparts.
In fact, Black men are 26% more likely than white men to be remanded in custody. And this disparity starts from childhood. Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) children make up over 50 percent of all children in custody and are more likely to be sent to prison to await trial and receive harsher sentences than White children.
In this context, here is how just some of the proposals in the new Bill will make this inequity even worse:
Children and young people
According to research by the Independent, 1 in 4 black teenage boys convicted of homicide were given maximum jail sentences while their white counterparts were more likely to be convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter. BAME children are already overrepresented across the youth justice system, but the government is planning to move the release point to two-thirds for custodial sentences of 7 years or more for children. It is also increasing the minimum term for a life sentence for a child. One of the other proposals of the Bill is to change the starting points for murder committed by under 18-year-olds - up to 27 years for 17-year-olds in more severe cases.
In short, Black and Asian children will spend even longer periods in prison.
Diversion from crime
Another of the proposals is for Out-of-Court Disposals and problem-solving courts to depend on a guilty plea. if you are from a BAME community, you may be less likely to benefit from an out-of-court disposal as evidence shows that Black and Asian people are less likely to plead guilty because they have less confidence that the system will treat them fairly.
Stop and Search
Clause 139 of the Bill refers to Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVRO), which will allow police to stop and search people without suspicion if they have previously been convicted for carrying a knife. Breach of an SVRO can result in up to two years imprisonment an unlimited fine or both. As we know, Black and Asian men are already disproportionality affected by stop and search and more police powers will only increase these racial disparities.
In drafting the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill the government must pay due regard to their Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. The Government has already acknowledged in an equality impact assessment that the changes in sentencing will further increase racial disparity, yet it justifies the unequal impact of these changes as a ‘proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aim of protecting the public.’
In response to this EQUAL has joined forces with a coalition of organisations including Agenda, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Criminal Justice Alliance, Clinks, Do it Justice, Leaders Unlocked, Prison Reform Trust, Race on the Agenda, Alliance for Youth Justice and Zahid Mubarak Trust to write an open letter to the Prime Minister and create an online petition asking for the government to withdraw elements of the Sentencing Bill and to launch a proper public consultation.
We are calling for the government to withdraw relevant clauses in the PCSC Bill and consult with the public on its proposals before the Bill becomes law. The views of those from BAME groups and voluntary sector organisations working with BAME communities can then be sought to avoid further discrimination against BAME groups in the criminal justice system.
You can view the open letter we sent to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson here.