Criminal justice system needs further racial equality

Making the criminal justice system fairer for black and ethnic minority communities must be a priority for everyone involved in it, the Home Office has said.

Figures published on Thursday show individuals from these communities: continue to be stopped and searched more regularly than white people; are under represented in the police service; and are more likely to be victims of crime.

Key findings from the 2002/03 research showed:

• Black people are six times more likely to be searched by police than white people.
• Stops and Searches of black people went up by 38%, Asians by 36%, 'other' ethnic backgrounds by 47% and white by 1%.
• Numbers of arrests per 1,000 population were more than three times higher for black people than for others.
• All black and minority ethnic groups continue to be under-represented in the police service.
• Racist incidents have fallen by 11% in the last year and 12% more racist incidents resulted in a prosecution.

Hazel Blears, Home Office Minister for police and counter terrorism, said: "Stop and search remains a contentious issue in black and Asian communities. We have formed a Stop and Search Action Team to ensure that stop and search as a power is used as effectively as possible in the prevention and detection of crime.

"Work is underway in five pilot forces and initial consultations with police officers and residents are already making differences on this important issue. The Action Team will report directly to me and my colleague Baroness Scotland so that lessons learnt will be spread across England and Wales."

Baroness Scotland, Home Office Minister for the Criminal Justice System, added: "Our police, prosecutors and courts are there to serve all communities, so it is vital we build a justice system which represents everyone and in which all people can have confidence.

"We now have the most comprehensive anti-racism legislation in Europe and a recognition that diversity is a strength for the nation."

The Government said it was committed to working closely with police and communities to tackle concerns over stop and search and to ensure police forces reflect their communities by recruiting and retaining more black and minority ethnic staff.

It said work was also underway to provide better witness care to help minority ethnic victims of crime as well as tackling those crimes that most effect these communities, such as gun crime and robbery.

(MB)