Inquiry on Young Black People and the Criminal Justice System

The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee (the Committee) published the report of its Inquiry on Young Black People and the Criminal Justice System (CJS)1 on Friday 15 June 2007. The Inquiry looked at the relationship between young black people and the CJS, focusing on the reasons for their over-representation in the system.

The Government’s response to the Committee’s Report was published on 18 October 20072 and set out a detailed response to each of the Report’s recommendations. The paper included a commitment to publish detailed operating proposals and a governance framework3 for delivery of the cross-Government commitments made in the main response. This framework was published, accompanied by a Written Ministerial Statement(WMS)4 laid by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, on 13 December 2007.

The WMS and the governance framework committed us to reporting progress annually to the Committee. This report is the first such Annual Report.

Addressing unfair disproportionality requires sustained, cross-governmental action to tackle the socio-economic, cultural and CJS issues that may impact adversely on young black peoples’ lives and make them more susceptible to contact with Criminal Justice services. Outlined in this report are the strategies and activities that will make, and are, making a difference. These are the building blocks that will deliver real changes on the ground. We are determined to ensure that we can demonstrate to communities that our work is having a positive impact on the lives of young black people and to do this we must first and foremost improve the data that we collect on their experiences of the CJS. This report outlines the significant work we are undertaking to improve data collection and use. That in isolation will not change outcomes but will inform and underpin the activities that will.

For the first time, the Government’s public service agreement (PSA) targets require departments to work together to deliver the socio-economic and cultural shifts needed to improve the life chances of all young people. PSA 24 (Deliver a more effective, transparent and responsive Criminal Justice system for victims and the public) requires that Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) look critically at the data that tracks the experience of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) people in the CJS in their area and to implement action plans to eradicate unfair disproportionality where it is found.

This report updates the Committee on the progress we are making on the range of commitments we set out in our response to the Committee’s recommendations. Whilst the focus of the Inquiry and report is on young black people in the CJS, we also recognise that many of the recommendations are equally applicable to other over-represented groups in the CJS.

To make it easier for the reader to track progress, we have used the same structure in this report as in our response to the Committee’s original report. Each recommendation or conclusion from the Committee’s report is identified (with its paragraph reference) and is accompanied by an update on progress.

http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/young-black-people-cjs-dec-08ii.pdf