Two Tier Keir Strikes Again

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No the research says there are small differences and nowhere near enough data.

The whole reason this has come about is because of disparity in sentencing! From the Sentencing Council's letter:

In relation to offenders from ethnic minorities, there is good evidence (both from the Council’s own research and other independent research) that in relation to some types of offence there is a disparity in sentence outcomes as between white offenders and offenders from an ethnic minority. Offenders from some ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to receive an immediate custodial sentence than white offenders. In some offence specific guidelines this fact is highlighted. Why this disparity exists remains unclear. The Council’s view is that providing a sentencer with as much information as possible about the offender is one means by which such disparity might be addressed. This is why ethnic minority offenders were included in the list of cohorts
 
Why this disparity exists remains unclear. The Council’s view is that providing a sentencer with as much information as possible about the offender is one means by which such disparity might be addressed. This is why ethnic minority offenders were included in the list of cohorts
and you can't see the problem with that?
 
They admit the research isn’t robust, they admit they don’t know why there is a disparity and they propose special treatment of offenders in certain ethnic groups to fix it.

There could be a dozen or more reasons why the disparity is valid. Slightly stronger aggravating factors among certain groups, closer links to organised crime, specific targets, slightly more violence etc.

The consequences of this discriminatory policy undermine criminal justice and lead to claims of systemic harsher treatment of those outside the groups.
 
That's not a great source, it's primarily aimed at a different measure rather than directly examining race as a factor in sentencing. There are better studies around.
It is directly related to information in the letter sent by the Lord Justice William Davis to Shabana Mahmood. The letter can be seen in the Spectator article in Post #223.
 
Discrimination in sentencing on the grounds of race actually happens. You can't just wish it away.
If you get a longer sentence because you are from a minority ethnic group, reducing the sentence doesn't create two tier justice it removes it. That said how does sentencing policy reduce the wider crime wave in the UK, much of which isn't even prosecuted.
 

'The research used by the Sentencing Council to justify its proposed “two-tier” justice rules stops short of saying that ethnicity has a significant impact on sentencing outcomes.

The analysis also failed to account for major differences in the types of crimes committed by different ethnicities, which has a significant impact on overall sentencing outcomes. In large part, this comes down to the acknowledged weakness of the analysis.

The difference in the proportion of offenders receiving a community order, however, was found to have grown – amounting to 15 per cent for black offenders in 2018 compared to 19 per cent for white offenders.

However, this resulting “slightly widening gap” was not taken to constitute “evidence of a disparity in outcomes” because of both the imbalance in the numbers sentenced – 13,800 black offenders and 109,500 white offenders in 2019 – and the mix in the severity of the cases they were tried for.

The review said black offenders were far more likely to be sentenced for drug offences, with 39 per cent of them punished for such crimes in 2019, compared with 16 per cent of white offenders.

In contrast, that same year, 33 per cent of white offenders were sentenced for theft, compared with 17 per cent of black offenders.

While black people account for just 4.9 per cent of offenders in magistrates’ courts, they make up 9.5 per cent of offenders in crown courts.

This, in part, explains why community sentence rates are lower for black people, because the crimes they are punished for in crown courts are less likely to have lenient outcomes.

By 2023, examining solely community sentence rates in “either-way” cases in magistrates’ courts, which could have potentially gone to crown court, the gap was just 25.1 per cent for black offenders and 26.7 per cent for white offenders, Telegraph analysis of Ministry of Justice data shows.'
 
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