A short and brief history racism in the criminal

justice system (and the ways in which it has

responded)
The Chambers dictionary definition of racism is: hatred; rivalry or bad
feeling between races; belief in the inherent superiority of some races over
others, usu with the implication of a right to be dominant; discriminative
treatment based on such a belief. !nderson et al. "###: "$%#&.
!bdullah'(han et al. )**$: ")", point out that the notion of +race, is a social
construction: an idea created by, and lin-ed into& the way that our society is
organised, especially in relation to its systems of power and privilege.
.uring the )
nd
/orld /ar blac- immigrants were brought in to the country
from the commonwealth in order to be utilised ' to fight in the 0ritish !rmy
or to help with the war effort. 1olomos, "##2: %$&.
!fter the war, during the late "#2*,s and "#%*,s, immigration continued and
family members arrived to be with their loved ones&: intense debate
developed about the impact of continued immigration on housing, the
/elfare 1tate, crime and other social problems.
1uch debates were not purely about +the practicalities, ' but also about the
effect of immigration on the supposed or constructed& +racial character of
the 0ritish people,, and the national identity. 3ichmond. "#%2; and
1herwood. "#42&.
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Dr. Martin Luther King:
Civil Rights in the US: a
star re!inder of the
effect of the "negative
construction of racial
characteristics#.
Race as a social construct: Ethnicity as cultural difference
The +race, situation became even more pronounced during and after the "#%4
riots in 5otting 6ill and 5ottingham, which served to further politicise the
issue of 0lac- immigration.
The political climate in the aftermath of the riots gave rise to 7noch 8owell,s
+rivers of blood, speech, !pril "#94&. 6is intention was to popularise the
+racial, message, claiming that tighter controls on immigration would not be
enough to deal with the +race problem,.

8owell created an image of white 0ritons becoming increasingly isolated:
+strangers in their own country,.
:n ;uly "#9< the 6ome =ffice issued to Chief Constables, the circular: +The
8olice and Coloured Communities, which issued advice and recommendations
on the appointment of liaison officers, with the intention to develop better
relations with blac- communities, and to educate the police themselves on
the comple> problems of policing such areas ?iles. "##$&.
@rom "#9<'"#<* articles began to appear in specialist Aournals discussing the
impact of policing multi'racial localities, many of which began to highlight
inappropriate behaviour by the police in blac- communities ?ason. "##%&.
!t least in part as a result of these initiatives, the police began to recognise
the need to develop an understanding of the conte>t of policing multi'racial
areas.
The impact of the 1tephen Bawrence murder and the ?c8herson report
"###& and its verdict of +institutional racism, in relation to the ?etropolitan
police force also reCuire consideration:
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$
the 1tephen Bawrence case became a potent symbol and
catalyst for change; it became a +mediatiDed public crisis,
challenging the 0ritish system of in&Austice and proved to be a
litmus test of the e>tent to which 0ritish society was prepared to
move beyond the anachronistic practices of the past, ac-nowledge
institutional racism, and embrace cultural diversity. Cottle. )**%:
%"&.
8olicing and racial diversity was brought into star- focus in the E( by
?c8herson, who also made reference bac- to the earlier findings of the
1carman report "#4*,s&:
9.< :n "#4" Bord 1carmanFs 3eport into The 0ri>ton .isorders was
presented to 8arliament. :n that seminal report Bord 1carman
responded to the suggestion that G0ritain is an institutionally racist
society,G in this way:'
G:f, by Hinstitutionally racistI it is meant that it H0ritainI is a society
which -nowingly, as a matter of policy, discriminates against blac-
people, : reAect the allegation. :f, however, the suggestion being made
is that practices may be adopted by public bodies as well as private
individuals which are unwittingly discriminatory against blac- people,
then this is an allegation which deserves serious consideration, and,
where proved, swift remedyG. 8ara ).)): "" ' 1carman 3eport&.
5eyroud J 0ec-ley )**"& refer us to: !rticle ) of the :nternational
Convention on the 7limination of all forms of 3acial .iscrimination, which
reCuires positive steps to be ta-en to +amend, rescind or nullify,
discriminatory practices. p, >>i&.
They also point out that in this post'?c8herson world organisations must
actively wor- towards eliminating racism. /ith this in mind, we will move on
to ta-e a loo- at how the 8olice force have ta-en steps to attempt to
remedy the inherent problems of intra'force +racism,.
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8age "# of the 8olice Training ?anual 7nglish J 7nglish. "##9& documents
the +8olice .iscipline Code,, in relation to 3acially .iscriminatory 0ehaviour:
This offence is committed where a member of a police force:
a& /hile on duty, on the grounds of another person,s colour,
race, nationality or ethnic origins, acts towards that other
person in a way involving abuse of authority or;
b& :n any other way, on any of these grounds, treats improperly
a person with whom he may be brought into contact while on
duty.
The disciplinary code for a constable, who is found guilty of such an offence,
is liable to be subAect dependant on severity& to the following sanctions:
a& .ismissal from the force
b& 3eCuirement to resign
c& 3eduction in 3an-
d& @ine
e& 3eduction in pay for " year
f& 3eprimand
g& Caution. 7nglish J 7nglish. "##9: "9&.
6owever, despite this 8hilips J 0owling )**): %#2& highlight that national
police data for "###K)*** found that the number of 8!C7 searches of
0lac- people, to be five times higher than those for whites.
1o some progress obviously still needs to be made. =ther strategies that
have been implemented to attempt to address and remedy problems
associated with racism are the creation of the 5ational 0lac- 8olice
!ssociation 508!& in "##4 www.nbpa.co.u-&.
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8risons
:n "#4) the =ffice of 8opulation Censuses J 1urveys conducted a large
survey of 8rison 1taff and found that in the best scenario, establishments
had one in five prison staff who had perceived racist behaviour, in the worst
case scenario, it was over half Biebling J 8rice. )**": $$&.
8illing "##)& argues that in order to combat the destructive effects of
preAudice and discrimination, the service needs to generate and nurture
relationships between prisoners and staff, based on principles of respect
and care for prisoners as individuals, where:
! well ordered, and safe environment is characterised by open,
rela>ed relationships of mutual respect between staff and
prisoners. pgs, )'$&.
=ne of the -ey strategies in the pursuit of such an ideal has been to
increase the representation of minority ethnic people within the ran-s of
the prison service.
The 6? 8rison 1ervice !ims J =bAectives )***')**", documents the
following principles:
8rinciple ": .eal fairly, openly and humanely with prisoners and all others who
come into contact with us.
8rinciple 2: 8romote eCuality of opportunity for all and combat discrimination
wherever it occurs.
.espite these positive moves Taylor J ?uir )**9& highlight that minority
ethnic prisoner,s within many prisons, still e>perience e>treme, racially
motivated violent hate'crimes and aggressively discriminatory attitudes:
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Police inquiry into racist attacks at jail
Diane Taylor and Hugh Muir
Monday January 30, 2006
Guardian
Police have launched an investigation into claims of "systematic" racial assaults, racist abuse and
brutality by prison officers at maximum security Whitemoor prison, it emerged last night.
Cambridgeshire police confirmed to the Guardian that an investigations team was set up last
October to examine an alarming number of serious allegations at the ail.
!he Guardian has learned of a variety of incidents alleged by inmates and their solicitors,
including an assault to the head by an officer using a riot shield and an assault which resulted in a
spinal inury. "t has also been alleged that staff used a range of racial abuse including "blac#
bastard" and "blac# cunt". $ number of officers have been named in complaints.
!hough police are declining to comment on specific incidents being examined by Operation Pond,
the Guardian has established that several firms of solicitors are pursuing complaints on behalf of
prisoners. %lac# prisoners also claim to have been referred to as "nigger" and "mon#ey man"
while &uslim prisoners have complained of being denied access to prayer facilities and being
referred to as "Pa#i".
One source with close #nowledge of the investigation said there was a fear of systematic abuse
being meted out by "a hard core of rogue officers". "n one case, a prisoner claims he was hit on
the head with a riot shield, dragged into a cell and stripped na#ed. 'e says an officer then
climbed on top of him and pushed his thumbs into his eyes as if he were trying to blind him.
(ubia %egum)*ob, a solicitor at the Prisoners+ $dvice ,ervice, said- "" am most concerned that
the largest numbers of complaints " deal with are persistently from prisoners held in '&P
Whitemoor."
,olicitor .an *ubinstein, who is representing several Whitemoor prisoners, said- ""+m very
concerned because of the sheer number of incidents occurring in one prison. !his has got to be
more than a coincidence. !he situation appears to be worse in Whitemoor than anywhere else."
'e said the "scale and the repetitiveness of the assaults" indicated a serious problem.
""+m led to believe that there+s an organised pattern to these incidents because of the similarities
between them. !here is provocative behaviour from prison officers which encourages prisoners to
react, which then gives the officer a pretext to use excessive or unreasonable force. !he constant
reassurances given by the Prison ,ervice that they are tac#ling racism at grassroots level seems
yet to become a reality."
"rene /embhard, another solicitor bringing a case against '&P Whitemoor on behalf of a
prisoner, said- "!here is a worrying continuation of allegations that prisoners are subected to
assaults and racist behaviour."
"n 0112, the Commission for *acial 34uality carried out an investigation into racism in prisons
and produced an action plan which was to be ointly pursued by the commission and the Prison
,ervice. %ut it is #nown that there has been criticism from the C*3 that improvements have been
slow in coming.
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$nne Owers, the prisons inspector, has also completed a review of racism in prisons which says
$sian prisoners, and particularly young offenders, are more li#ely to report racist bullying, and
blac# men are more li#ely to claim victimisation.
'&P Whitemoor, in &arch, Cambridgeshire, specialises in managing and treating prisoners with
dangerous and severe personality disorders.
$ Prison ,ervice spo#esman said it could not comment on an ongoing investigation.
%rian Caton, general secretary of the Prison Officers+ $ssociation, said the union would fully
cooperate with the investigation. "Our union has done more than any other to rid itself of racism,"
he said. "We have expelled members when we have discovered actions to be racially motivated.
We don+t want racists in the union or in the Prison ,ervice."
?organ )**)& also highlights that: 5ineteen per cent of male prisoners and
)% per cent of female prisoners are members of ethnic minorities, two'
thirds of them !fro'Caribbean blac- residents are imprisoned at roughly
eight times the rate of white residents ?organ. )**): ""$$&.
This trend is also further bac-ed up by Chouhan )**)& who documents the
race'hate murder of Lahid ?ubare- in @eltham M=:, whose death occurred
as a result of him being forced to share a cell with a vicious racist, who used
a wooden table leg to repeatedly hit him over the head.
1o again, much institutional and cultural change still needs to ta-e place in
order to start to effectively confront and change this.
Where do you think racial aression comes from (what social
processes create a !icious racist)"
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East Lancs Institute of Higher Education.
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