Literature Review: Institutional Racism and Criminal Justice System

This literature review examines the pervasive issue of institutional racism within the UK criminal justice system. It begins by exploring the historical context, including the establishment of the police force and the persistent mistrust between law enforcement and ethnic communities. The review analyzes various stages of the criminal justice process, focusing on stop and search procedures, the role of the judiciary, and the impact of the MacPherson report. It highlights the disproportionate treatment of ethnic minorities, citing statistical evidence of racial disparities. Furthermore, the review compares UK laws with human rights legislation, including the Race Relations Act and the Human Rights Act, to assess the legal framework's effectiveness in combating racial discrimination. The conclusion suggests that despite some improvements, institutional racism remains a significant challenge, and the review calls for further steps to eradicate the root causes of these disparities within the criminal justice system.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
LITERATURE REVIEW
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
One thousand words Literature review (1000)............................................................................3
1.0 Literature review................................................................................................................3
1.1 Criminal Justice system.....................................................................................................3
1.2 Stop and search power.......................................................................................................4
1.3 Role of the judiciary..........................................................................................................5
1.4 MacPherson report.............................................................................................................5
1.5 Comparison of the UK Laws with the Human Rights laws...............................................6
1.6 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................6
2.0 Reference...........................................................................................................................7

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One thousand words Literature review (1000)
1.0 Literature review
This literature’s author will provide the research evidence overview regarding the
remaining of the race as a leading factor in the disparity understanding within the system of
Criminal Justice. As the research evidence supports strongly the fact of the disproportional
dealing of the ethnic and racial minorities in each and every Criminal Justice system stage. This
literature will mainly focus on comparing various UK population races and the research of their
experiences in the system of Criminal Justice at each and every stage by way of analysis of the
legislation, procedures, current statistics and guidelines in England and Wales.
1.1 Criminal Justice system
The system of Criminal Justice works in making partnership with the police, courts, and
the office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Justice, the Home office and the other
agencies. The responsibility of investigating the crimes, collecting evidences, arresting or
detaining the suspected offenders are given to the 43 police forces in England and Wales. The
less serious offenses are generally dealt by the Magistrate’s Court and the serious charges are
generally dealt by Special Magistrate’s Court. The most serious offenses are dealt by the Crown
Court. The role of chief legal adviser is generally fulfilled by the Attorney General. The Home
office is considered as the lead department of the Government for the purpose of immigration
and the passports, crimes, drug policies, counter terrorism, fire and the police. The given
sentences of the court are carried out by the Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service. The

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works which the CPS and other prosecuting agencies carry out are inspected by the Her
Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI).
Since the MacPherson report’s findings have been considered as a topic by various
peoples stating no changes have been made and the continuation of institutional racism is present
in recent times, not just only in police department but also in the entire system of Criminal
Justice. By examining the police force establishment by the then Home Secretary Robert Peele in
the year 1826 in London, which showed from the early days the presence of mistrust between the
police and the citizens which has been unaddressed for centuries or has been reformed better
relationship creating intention with the England and Wales citizens and the police irrespective of
their ethnic background. Every stage of the system of Criminal Justice throughout decades will
be explored by this literature which highlights the recorded incidents in history that have
illustrating disparities of racial injustice and discrimination1.
1.2 Stop and search power
The procedures of stop and search are considered as an important catalyst throughout the
UK in the rising of the police service’s unfair racial discrimination in the year 2017/18 in the
England and Wales which shows that 3 stop and search were assigned for every 1000 peoples
who are white, in comparison with 29 stop and search process for every 1000 peoples who are
black. It can be shown by this figure that the people who are black are stopped more than 9 and a
half times than any people who is white2.
1 Warde, Bryan. "Black male disproportionality in the criminal justice systems of the USA, Canada, and England: A
comparative analysis of incarceration." Journal of African American Studies 17.4 (2013): 461-479
2 Delsol, Rebekah. Stop and search: The anatomy of a police power. Springer, 2015

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1.3 Role of the judiciary
In this stage, looking the judiciary’s role in great depth, examining the involvement of the
criminal courts in the racial discrimination and institutional racism with the guideline of the
sentencing council reference is necessary. The guidelines of the sentencing council has been
designed for assisting the court for the defendant’s sentencing to explore the disproportionality
level reasons in judiciary. The comparison of the rate if conviction and defendant’s sentence
length from different involved ethnicities in the same and/or similar incident facts in analyzing
and forming the accurate result record for enabling the identification process of the institutional
racism area within the judiciary that is continuously affecting the justice and fairness and the
law’s direct contravention3.
1.4 MacPherson report
In the year 2009, after Stephen Lawrence who was a Caribbean teenager, was murdered
in a racially motivated nature, the establishment of the MacPherson inquiry was being made. The
Metropolitan police failed in various ways after Stephen Lawrence’s racially motivated murder
even after having the substantial evidences against five of the persons who are were then
suspected of committing the murder. The intrusive investigation order was then merited into the
action of the Metropolitan police that has been the Home Secretary’s order for the investigation
of Mr. Lawrence’s murder incident to the trial conclusion. A report came out as a result of the
inquiry of MacPherson where the allegations were substantiated regarding the institutional
racism of the service of the Metropolitan police and has resulted in immensely failing the family
of Lawrence4.
3 Matthews, Roger, and Jock Young, eds. The new politics of crime and punishment. Routledge, 2013
4 Rowe, Mike, ed. Policing Beyond Macpherson. Routledge, 2013

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1.5 Comparison of the UK Laws with the Human Rights laws
The Race Relations Act 1976 banned the racial discrimination, however, the legislation
was considered to be of robust and advanced for that time. In the year of 1999, the Macpherson
Inquiry’s publication made into the investigation of the Metropolitan Police on the murder case
of Stephen Lawrence, which resulted in the making of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act
2000. The move had finally extended the legislation of racial discrimination for covering the
public and police authorities. All race relations legislation are now being brought under
the Equality Act 2010. The Human Rights Act 1998, incorporating the Human Rights
Convention into the UK laws, is also protecting against the racial discrimination5.
1.6 Conclusion
The research outcome shows that there are improvements which have been made into the
England and Wales police forces since Stephen Lawrence’s death and the MacPherson report has
attempted of eradicating the racism in Metropolitan police. The collected data will be considered
beneficial for discerning of the institutional racism in the system of Criminal Justice has resulted
in the betterment or in the worsening of the situation, and of identifying the steps of eradicating
the root of the system of Criminal Justice after the decades of the debates and the flaws of the
system beyond the on-going reforming of institutional racism that is embedded in the system of
Criminal Justice root.
2.0 Reference
Alston, Philip, and Ryan Goodman. International human rights. Oxford University Press, 2013.
Delsol, Rebekah. Stop and search: The anatomy of a police power. Springer, 2015.
5 Alston, Philip, and Ryan Goodman. International human rights. Oxford University Press, 2013

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Matthews, Roger, and Jock Young, eds. The new politics of crime and punishment. Routledge,
2013.
Rowe, Mike, ed. Policing Beyond Macpherson. Routledge, 2013.
Warde, Bryan. "Black male disproportionality in the criminal justice systems of the USA,
Canada, and England: A comparative analysis of incarceration." Journal of African American
Studies 17.4 (2013): 461-479.