Page 104 - JUSTICE Tackling Racial Injustice - Children and the Youth Justice System

5.4 We acknowledge that criminal justice agencies do a difficult job, not least in a
context of regular cuts to their budgets and personnel. In this context, we have
seen how staff in such agencies take pride in rising to these challenges. We
consider that the perceptions of bias that they face should be met with a similar
pride in wanting to convince BAME communities, and their children, that they
can be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Rather than closing
ranks and becoming defensive, the best responses to tackling racial injustice
have arisen from a culture of transparency, openness, and a willingness to take
ownership of the issue. We have seen this philosophy underpinning much of
the Crown Prosecution Service’s work, as well as promising initiatives from
the Metropolitan Police Service with respect to child custody. There is no
reason why a similar spirit cannot be invoked widely across the criminal justice
system.

5.5 At the same time, this report finds that procedural changes, while necessary,
cannot be sufficient to fully address some of the most egregious examples of
racial injustice. A system is only as strong as the individuals within it. A
cultural shift is therefore vital in this effort. Children must first and foremost
be seen as children, with their unique vulnerabilities and needs fully
appreciated. A failure to do so fully can only lead to the future compounding
of issues.

5.6 This means ensuring that the justice system, in its entirety, works specifically
for BAME children, and refrains from applying adult standards and
expectations to those who are growing up and maturing, both in their sense of
self and their behaviours. It means understanding why BAME children might
be afraid of the police, and see the system as working against, rather than for,
them. It means, in sum, that agencies within the system must earn the
confidence of those communities, and not take it for granted.

5.7 This report calls for all parts of the criminal justice system to embed an
understanding that it is their duty to meet the needs of BAME individuals, and
their responsibility to directly address the circumstances in which
discrimination and bias arise. BAME children have a right to expect proper
treatment. They are in no way obliged to trust a system where they see and
experience its evident failures on a daily basis.

5.8 For this reason, our report’s recommendations seek to take best practices from
across the criminal justice system and ensure they are disseminated widely.

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