England & Wales

The criminal justice system in England & Wales is institutionally racist

Arguably, the criminal justice system in England & Wales is institutionally racist and following this argument, there are several issues and happenings that have confirmed it. In connection to this point, women experiences of the criminal justice system have reflected this factor. As such, Chigwada-Bailey (2003, p.vii) points out to the fact that England and Wales criminal justice system, the level of women prisoners is high along with them providing a pattern of being sentenced either to death or given to long sentences. As well, the black women have been marginalized just because they are women and for that matter blacks, a factor that affects black men as well (p.vii).

Equally important, Ramesh (2010) in the guardian newspaper pointed out that there were more black people who were jailed in England and Wales more than in US. This factor supports the aspect of institutional racism. In relation to Stephen Lawrence case, he was a black student 18 years old stabbed to death in Etham, South London on the night of April 22, 1993. The murder was motivated by racism and as such, the investigations favoured the whites who were Jamie, Neil Acourt, Gary Dobson, David Norris and Luke Knight.

The police failed to bring charges successfully against them for the reason that Stephen Lawrence was a black. This further supports the fact that the CJS of England and Wales is institutionally racial according to the report by guardian newspaper (Barkham 1999). Walklate (2005, p.156) points out to the institutional racism following the Stephen Lawrence killing and as such, this clearly points out to the racial based operations of the Criminal Justice System. Along with this point, Stan Cohen commented on crime as a moral panic of which the police reaction exaggerated it in regard to the minority groups in the society. Player & Jenkins (1994, p.6), points out to the Woolfe riots in the established prisons and as such, the riots came to the view of the public with claims of minority exceptionally difficult prisoners coming out. There were also the 1981 Toxteth riots which were as a result of a long term tensions between the local police and the black community for arresting the young black men (Griffiths 2004). This is a further point that supports the institutional racism being mentioned highly in the England and Wales Criminal Justice system.

Following the given accounts and points for the criminal justice system in England & Wales being institutionally racist; it is imperative to bring out the point that the argument is true that the criminal justice system in England & Wales is institutionally racist. Women being victims of crime and the most interesting thing being a black in England and Wales, means that the CJS is institutionally racist.