Clive Lewis For Norwich South
Today I co-chaired alongside Bell Ribeiro-Addy the All Party Parliamentary Group on Race and Community.
This event explored racial disproportionalities in charging, prosecution and judicial decision-making. We invited the Crown prosecution Service (CPS), legal professionals, and civil society campaigners to discuss why racial disparities exist in the legal system, and what can be done to mitigate them.
Racial disproportionalities are evident everywhere we look in the criminal justice system.
- Black people are 9 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.
- Data from the children’s commissioner shows Black children are up to 6 times more likely to be strip searched compared to national population figures.
- Just 1% of the judiciary are black, none of whom sit in the court of appeal, and there has never been a supreme court justice of colour.
Transformative change is the only path forward. It is now time to reimagine justice.
Read more about the event here.