Race equality and probation – a view from the frontline

This issue of the journal includes an important piece by Mariam Rashid, a practitioner working in England. Mariam’s practice note reflects on what she describes as ‘complex complicity’ as a woman of colour working in a criminal justice system that disproportionately processes people from racial and ethnic minorities. Evidence of this disproportionality has been set out in a range of research and reports over many years, including most prominently in the Lammy Report published in 2017 which documented differential treatment and outcomes for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic individuals at all stages of the criminal justice system (Lammy, 2017). The Lammy Report outlined that people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds are disproportionately targeted by police Stop and Search practices and are over-represented at all stages of the system and especially in the youth justice system and prison population. The data cited in the Lammy Report is from 2015/16, but a look at the most recent statistics shows that depressingly the dial has not shifted on this issue, despite a series of recommendations aimed at addressing the causes of disproportionality. In 2020 Black people comprised 3% of the population in England and Wales, but constituted 18% of all Stop and Searches, and 13% of the prison population (Ministry of Justice, 2021). In the interim of course, we have also seen the publication of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Report (2021), which was widely criticized from a range of quarters for diluting the concept of ‘institutional racism’ and downplaying the structural factors impacting on people from racial and ethnic minorities living in the United Kingdom (Runnymede Trust, 2021;Walker and Parveen, 2021). This has raised questions about this government’s commitment to meaningfully addressing the impacts of racial and ethnic disparities in all areas of society, including in the criminal justice system. In 2021 we also saw the publication of the Probation Inspectorate’s Thematic Review of Race Equality in probation (HMIP, 2021). Importantly this review looked at the experiences of both probation service users and staff. Several issues of concern are documented including gaps in service provision and a decline in probation services’ focus on racial equality following the implementation of Transforming Rehabilitation reforms. The thematic review also noted black, Asian and minority ethnic staff concerns’ regarding transparency of recruitment and selection practices and a lack of confidence in raising issues of racial discrimination. Editorial The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice