On 31/01/16 UK prime minister David Cameron announced that he has asked Tottenham Labour MP David Lammy “to lead a review of the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales to investigate evidence of possible bias against black defendants and other ethnic minorities.” The Tottenham MP has been tasked with reporting back in spring 2017, with recommendations “to ultimately reduce the proportion of BAME individuals in the criminal justice system and make sure that all suspects and offenders are treated equally, whatever their ethnicity.” (1)The prime minister expressed his concern that: “If you’re black, you’re more likely to be in a prison cell than studying at a top university. And if you’re black, it seems you’re more likely to be sentenced to custody for a crime than if you’re white.” However, more than “seeming” to be the case, Ministry Of Justice research reveals “’Unjust’ treatment of black people by the criminal justice system confirmed by new MoJ report” (2):
“BAME offenders (particularly male BAME offenders) were more likely to be sentenced to prison than White offenders (particularly White female offenders), under similar criminal circumstances.” (3)
The not insignificant existing body of evidence has led some commentators to query if another report is really necessary to highlight already well documented disparities. One such example Joint Enterprise, which remains intact in spite of calls for its reform by no lesser body than the House of Commons Justice Committee in January 2012. Indeed, the committee’s report criticises the Crown Prosecution Service and the police’s use of Joint Enterprise to “foster gang mentality or draw people into the criminal justice system inappropriately.” (4)
However, the criminalisation imperative can be clearly evidenced by government initiatives like the UK’s planned first ‘supersized’ Titan jail in Wrexham which will hold more than 2,100 inmates. The facility will be run by the public prison service, with a third of its services being outsourced. The government is keen to extol the benefits: The prisons minister, Andrew Selous said “Our combination of benchmarking and outsourcing services is saving taxpayers around £300m a year.” (5). Elsewhere it was reported that the £250m “super-prison” will bring £23m a year to the local economy and 1,000 jobs. (6)
So in context when the prime minister says “we need a prison system that doesn’t see prisoners as simply liabilities to be managed, but instead as potential assets to be harnessed.” (7) He could be referring as much to prison reform as to the Prison–industrial complex or the school-to-prison pipeline.
In spite of being an opposition MP Lammy accepted the role and offered his credentials: “I’ve been working in this area for almost 2 decades and am very pleased to accept the Prime Minister’s invitation to lead this comprehensive, independent review across our criminal justice system. With over a quarter of the prison population coming from a BAME background the urgency here is clear.” (8).
However, there are those query his “2 decades” working citing his avoidance of openly advocating on behalf of his community for most of his tenure as an MP, certainly in contrast to his predecessor the late Bernie Grant. Activists are demanding that the urgency should for action in addressing the issue rather than for another report and that Lammy’s may be better spent working with the community rather that endorsing the government agenda.
A starting point could be Report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its mission to United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1 to 5 October 2012), which states:
“People of African descent raised serious issues regarding racial disproportionality in all aspects of the administration and functioning of the justice system. This situation cannot be justified; it damages trust and confidence in the justice system and has a serious impact on individuals of African descent, communities and the wider society.” (9)
The UN report has been utilised by the interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament (iNAPP) in the Law & Justice section of its draft manifesto, which also places the issue in the context of reparatory justice, which they suggest is an approach that challenges rather than rubber stamps the status quo. There has been questionable changein the 35 years since the first National Black People’s Day of Action (NBPDA) and the upcoming commemoration on march 2nd organised by iNAPP. In addition to highlighting the horrors of the New Cross Massacre, the NBPDA also shone a bright light on the perilous plight of Afrikans in the UK criminal justice system.
(1) Press release: Review of racial bias and BAME representation in criminal justice system announced(31/01/16). https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-of-racial-bias-and-bame-representation-in-criminal-justice-system-announced.(2) Dayspring, Ruth (09/12/15) ‘Unjust’ treatment of black people by the criminal justice system confirmed by new MoJ report, Black Mental Health UK. http://www.blackmentalhealth.org.uk/index.php/news/news-archive/1653-unjust-treatment-of-black-people-by-the-criminal-justice-system-confirmed-by-report-moj-report. (3) Hopkins, Kathryn (2015) Associations between police-recorded ethnic background and being sentenced to prison in England and Wales, Ministry of Justice Analytical Services. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479874/analysis-of-ethnicity-and-custodial-sentences.pdf.(4) House of Commons Justice Committee (2012) Joint Enterprise: Eleventh Report of Session 2010–12, The Stationery Office Limited. p 14.(5) Travis, Alan (24/02/2015 UK’s first ‘supersized’ Titan jail to be run by public prison service, The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/24/uks-first-supersized-titan-jail-to-be-run-by-public-prison-service.(6) BBC North East Wales (30/01/15) Wrexham’s super-prison’s £23m for local economy. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-31061559. (7) Press release: Prime Minister outlines plan for reform of prisons (08/02/16). https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-outlines-plan-for-reform-of-prisons. (8) Press release (31/01/16). (9) Report of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its twelfth session (05/08/13), United Nations.
So we ask the question:
Do we need another review of the Criminal Justice System?
1. Why is this review being announced now?
2. Is David Lammy the right man to lead it?
3. Does the building of ‘super-prisons’ reveal the governments agenda?
4. What action should the community take to address the issue?
5. Do we need a national strategy?
6. If so who should provide it?
Our special guests are:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and UNIA-ACL Ambassador for the UK and national co-Chair of the interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of over 30 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An Africentric Guide To Excellence.
Matilda MacAttram: is founder and director of Black Mental Health UK (BMH UK), a human rights campaigns group established in 2006 to raise awareness and address the stigma associated with mental illness within African Caribbean communities. She is a member of the stakeholder group of the Independent Advisory Panel (IAP) on Deaths in Custody, which is part of the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody and also a member of an advisory panel for the Government’s Ministerial Advisory Board on Mental Health and Equalities. She was also on the working group of the Centre for Social Justice’s Mental Health Review and she currently sits on the advisory board of Mental Health and Justice Research Project, which is examining how law enforcement agencies treat victims of crime who have used mental health services. In addition, Sis. Matilda sits on the editorial board for the Journal of Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care and is a Fellow United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.
AFRIKA SPEAKS with ALKEBU-LAN on GALAXY RADIO!
Hear weekly discussions and lively debate on all issues affecting the Afrikan community, at home and abroad. We talk it straight and make it plain!
ASwA Hosted by Sis Kai Ouagadou-Mbandaka and Bro. Omowale Kwaw
CLICK HERE to view latest AFRIKA SPEAKS show details. Leave a comment and contribute to the discussion.
Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan
Galaxy Radio | 102.5fm | www.galaxyafiwe.com (To listen live)
MONDAY 8pm-10pm
4-6 pm Eastern Caribbean Time
12-2 pm Pacific Standard Time
1-3 pm Mountain Standard Time
2-4 pm Central Standard Time
3-4 pm Eastern Standard Time