Teh One Who Knocks
03-07-2017, 12:51 PM
By Heat Street Staff
http://i.imgur.com/AxRxP86h.jpg
Criminals in Britain who come from black or ethnic minority backgrounds may be given more lenient sentences under new guidelines.
Judges in the UK will be instructed to consider the “discrimination and negative experiences of authority” offenders may have suffered.
The new rules – to be introduced by the Sentencing Council on June 1 – are apparently designed to persuade judges to be more considerate to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
But critics have hit out at the idea, saying the change means the idea of one for all people has been discarded.
Criminologist Dr David Green, director of the Civitas think tank, said: “The principle should be that the law is the same for everyone regardless of background, race or gender. This is a complete reversal of that.”
The guidelines state judges should consider when young offenders have “deprived homes, poor parental employment records, low educational attainment, and early experience of offending by other family members”.
They must also think about “experience of abuse and/or neglect, negative influences from peer associates and the misuse of drugs and/or alcohol” when sentencing.
Judges are then told: “There is also evidence to suggest that black and minority ethnic children and young people are over-represented in the youth justice system. The factors contributing to this are complex. One factor is that a significant proportion of looked after children and young people are from a black and minority ethnic background. A further factor may be the experience of such children and young people in terms of discrimination and negative experiences of authority. When having regard to the welfare of the child or young person to be sentenced, the particular factors which arise in the case of black and minority ethnic children and young people need to be taken into account.”
The new guidelines tell courts that different treatment should apply to black or minority criminals whether or not they have been brought up in state care.
A spokesman for the Sentencing Council said yesterday: “The guidelines recognise that black and ethnic minority children are over-represented in the care system, and children in care are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system. Children should not be blamed for factors beyond their control.”
http://i.imgur.com/AxRxP86h.jpg
Criminals in Britain who come from black or ethnic minority backgrounds may be given more lenient sentences under new guidelines.
Judges in the UK will be instructed to consider the “discrimination and negative experiences of authority” offenders may have suffered.
The new rules – to be introduced by the Sentencing Council on June 1 – are apparently designed to persuade judges to be more considerate to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
But critics have hit out at the idea, saying the change means the idea of one for all people has been discarded.
Criminologist Dr David Green, director of the Civitas think tank, said: “The principle should be that the law is the same for everyone regardless of background, race or gender. This is a complete reversal of that.”
The guidelines state judges should consider when young offenders have “deprived homes, poor parental employment records, low educational attainment, and early experience of offending by other family members”.
They must also think about “experience of abuse and/or neglect, negative influences from peer associates and the misuse of drugs and/or alcohol” when sentencing.
Judges are then told: “There is also evidence to suggest that black and minority ethnic children and young people are over-represented in the youth justice system. The factors contributing to this are complex. One factor is that a significant proportion of looked after children and young people are from a black and minority ethnic background. A further factor may be the experience of such children and young people in terms of discrimination and negative experiences of authority. When having regard to the welfare of the child or young person to be sentenced, the particular factors which arise in the case of black and minority ethnic children and young people need to be taken into account.”
The new guidelines tell courts that different treatment should apply to black or minority criminals whether or not they have been brought up in state care.
A spokesman for the Sentencing Council said yesterday: “The guidelines recognise that black and ethnic minority children are over-represented in the care system, and children in care are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system. Children should not be blamed for factors beyond their control.”