Lecture 'Race' Ethnicity

8/12/2019 Lecture 'Race' Ethnicity

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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&.

East Lancs Institute of Higher Education. 1

Dr. Martin Luther King:

Civil Rights in the US: astar re!inder of the

effect of the "negative

construction of racial

characteristics#.


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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 8owells

+rivers of blood speech, !pril "#94&. 6is intention was to popularise the

+racial message, claiming that tighter controls on immigration would not beenough 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 onthe comple> problems of policing such areas ?iles. "##$&.

@rom "#9


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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-nowledgeinstitutional 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,Gin this way:'

Gf, 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 madeis 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

reuires 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 persons 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& 3euirement 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-&.

East Lancs Institute of Higher Education. &
http://www.nbpa.co.uk/http://www.nbpa.co.uk/


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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 euality of opportunity for all and combat discrimination

wherever it occurs.

espite these positive moves Taylor J ?uir )**9& highlight that minority

ethnic prisoners within many prisons, still e>perience e>treme, racially

motivated violent hate'crimes and aggressively discriminatory attitudes:

East Lancs Institute of Higher Education. '


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Police inquiry into racist attacks at jailDiane Taylor and Hugh MuirMonday January 30, 2006

Guardian

Police have launched an investigation into claims of "systematic" racial assaults, racist abuse andbrutality 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 lastOctober 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 aspinal 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 ofprisoners. %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 beingreferred to as "Pa#i".

One source with close #nowledge of the investigation said there was a fear of systematic abusebeing meted out by "a hard core of rogue officers". n one case, a prisoner claims he was hit onthe head with a riot shield, dragged into a cell and stripped na#ed. 'e says an officer thenclimbed 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 thatthe 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 veryconcerned because of the sheer number of incidents occurring in one prison. !his has got to bemore 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 similaritiesbetween them. !here is provocative behaviour from prison officers which encourages prisoners toreact, which then gives the officer a pretext to use excessive or unreasonable force. !he constantreassurances given by the Prison ervice that they are tac#ling racism at grassroots level seemsyet to become a reality."

rene /embhard, another solicitor bringing a case against '&P Whitemoor on behalf of aprisoner, said- "!here is a worrying continuation of allegations that prisoners are subected toassaults and racist behaviour."

n 0112, the Commission for *acial 34uality carried out an investigation into racism in prisonsand produced an action plan which was to be ointly pursued by the commission and the Prisonervice. %ut it is #nown that there has been criticism from the C*3 that improvements have beenslow in coming.

East Lancs Institute of Higher Education. (


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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, andblac# men are more li#ely to claim victimisation.

'&P Whitemoor, in &arch, Cambridgeshire, specialises in managing and treating prisoners withdangerous 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 fullycooperate 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)"

East Lancs Institute of Higher Education. )


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#iblioraphy

*+dullah,Khan- . /lac!ore- M. 0inn- D. Haden- C. Kas2ersson- M. 3 Mitchell- M. 4$55%6

Understanding Social Problems: Level 1Institute of Cri!inal 7ustice. Universit of 8orts!outh.

*nderson- S9 Care- L9 Cullen- K9 0lacett- S9 randison- *. 41;;;6 The Chambers Dictionary New

Edition. Edin+urgh. Cha!+er Harra2 8u+lishing.

Chouhan- K. 4$55$6Race isses in Probation!In D.

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Lecture 'Race' Ethnicity