Page 12 - JUSTICE Tackling Racial Injustice - Children and the Youth Justice System

I. INTRODUCTION

The youth justice system is not working for everyone – Keith Fraser, Chair of the
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Youth Justice Board
Background

1.1 This Working Party was convened in October 2019 because JUSTICE was
increasingly concerned about the continuing rise in racial disparities among
children in the youth justice system of England and Wales (YJS). At the time,
we did not consider there to be a sufficient focus on this serious issue, with
racial disparity in UK prisons as severe as in the United States. During the
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course of our work, the killing of George Floyd sparked a wave of protests
across the US against police brutality. These protests found resonance in the
UK, with diverse movements highlighting the grief, frustration and anger
which culminated in reinvigorated protests under the banner of Black Lives
Matter. This has resulted in much-needed public attention on the treatment of
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people within the criminal justice
system (CJS), accompanied with increasing hopes for real, lasting change.
These issues must be addressed with sincerity and not merely paid lip service.

1.2 The mistreatment of BAME groups is well documented; supported by a litany of
reports and inquires which have examined the problem and made
recommendations for its improvement. Key among these are:
a) The Scarman Report: Following the Brixton riots in 1981, Lord
Scarman chaired an inquiry, resulting in a report, which warned that
urgent action was required to prevent racial disadvantage becoming an
“endemic, ineradicable disease threatening the very survival of our
society”;
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b) The MacPherson Report: The racially motivated murder of Stephen
Lawrence in 1993 led to an inquiry into his murder and its subsequent

1 Keith Fraser, 100 days as chair of the Youth Justice Board, 28 July 2020.
2 J. Grierson, ‘More than half of young people in jail are of BME background’, The Guardian, 29 January
2019.
3 BBC, ‘George Floyd: what happened in the final moments of his life’, 16 July 2020.
4 BBC, ‘Q&A: The Scarman report’, 27 April 2004.

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