U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Ethnic Minorities and the Criminal Justice System

NCJ Number
127900
Author(s)
R Waters
Date Published
1990
Length
192 pages
Annotation
Using literature reviews and research by the author, this study examines the history of race relations in Great Britain and manifestations of racial discrimination in criminal justice decisionmaking.
Abstract
A brief historical review of key points in the evolution of race relations, from Graeco-Roman times to the 19th century, sets the scene for a more detailed examination of multi-racial Britain in the 20th century. The discussion notes a current public consensus on a policy of minimal immigration for ethnic minorities and maximum integration. Some of the research evidence indicates there is widespread racial disadvantage and racial discrimination in Britain. This tends to translate into economic and social disadvantages for ethnic minorities that spawn criminal behavior. An examination of manifestations of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system focuses on the use of police discretion, sentencing, and presentence reports. The evidence does not support overt discrimination in criminal justice decisionmaking. Criminal justice decisions are related more to offense severity and evidence of guilt than to the race of the defendant or offender. The author envisions a multi-racial criminal justice system where both criminal justice staff and criminal justice clients reflect the racial mix in society. Such a system presupposes that the criminogenic factors in the larger society will not be disproportionately experienced by ethnic minorities. Given that this is not currently true, the criminal justice system should give special attention to the economic and social disadvantages impacting minority offenders. Figures, appended data, and a 155-item bibliography