It is impossible to consider the disproportionate number of ethnic minority children in custody without drawing the conclusion that the criminal justice system is institutionally racist. More than half of all children in custody in 2020 were from a BAME background. However, the problem starts with the police…
In the Youth Justice Statistics 2019-20, published on 28 January, more than half of all children in custody in 2020 were from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background.
It is impossible to look at these figures for the disproportionate number of ethnic minority children in custody without drawing the conclusion that the criminal justice system is institutionally racist. However, the problem starts with the police because of their stops and searches. So what is the Ministry of Justice going to do, and how will it approach the Home Office to try to clear up the whole mess?
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb 