Black and mixed ethnicity children face systemic bias in UK youth justice system, says YJB chair

Highlights

• Black children 37.2 percentage points more likely to be assessed as high risk of reoffending than White children.
• Black Caribbean pupils face permanent school exclusion rates three times higher than White British pupils.
• 62 per cent of children remanded in custody do not go on to receive custodial sentences, disproportionately affecting ethnic minority children.

Black and Mixed ethnicity children continue to be over-represented at almost every stage of the youth justice system due to systemic biases and structural inequality, according to Youth Justice Board chair Keith Fraser.

Fraser highlighted the practice of "adultification", where Black children are viewed as older, less innocent and less vulnerable than their peers as a key factor driving disproportionality throughout the system.

Independently commissioned research on pre-sentence reports revealed that language used differed depending on a child's ethnicity, with Black children referred to using more formal terminology expected in adult courts. This potentially minimises their vulnerability and circumstances.

Analysis shows practitioner assessments of reoffending likelihood are inflated for Black children by 37.2 percentage points almost double that of White children. "This is adultification in action," Fraser stated.

Disparities begin early in children's lives and persist throughout the system. In 2022, 21 per cent of Black children and 32 per cent of Asian children lived in persistent low-income households compared with 17 per cent of White children.

Black Caribbean pupils face permanent school exclusion rates three times higher than White British pupils, while the child death rate for Black children is 55.4 per 100,000—more than double the rate for White British children at 22.9 per 100,000.

Custody and reform

Remand outcomes reveal significant bias. Black and Mixed ethnicity children are more likely to receive custodial remand, with Black children's likelihood remaining seven percentage points higher even after accounting for offence severity.

In the year ending March 2024, 62 per cent of children remanded in custody did not subsequently receive custodial sentences.

This unnecessary detention is actively detrimental, explaining that higher remand rates for ethnic minority children actively disadvantage them more than their White peers.

The Youth Justice Board is investing in community-based alternatives and promoting culturally sensitive programmes.

The Ether Programme has achieved an 86 per cent reduction in reoffending amongst ethnic minority boys, while Islington's revised pre-sentence reports have reduced over-representation of Black and Mixed ethnicity children in remand and sentencing outcomes.

Fraser acknowledged that "despite progress being made, it is too slow." He concluded "This is systemic racism. We must actively choose to reduce it."