Black and minority ethnic defendants are significantly more likely to be charged for a comparable offence than white British defendants in England and Wales, a study commissioned by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has found.
The findings, described as “troubling” by the CPS and experts, show that defendants from mixed ethnic backgrounds are most likely to be charged, with 79.1% of the suspects charged, almost 10 percentage points higher than the rate of white British defendants charged.
Black defendants had a charge rate of 76.2%, which was seven percentage points higher than the rate of white British defendants; while 73.1% of Asian defendants were charged, 3.5 percentage points above the white British rate.
In response to the findings, the CPS has established an independent disproportionality advisory group, made up of academics and third sector specialists, to oversee further research that can establish the factors driving these disparities.
The CPS commissioned the University of Leeds to examine the outcomes of charging decisions of almost 195,000 cases. Researchers used regression analysis to control for different variables, such as age, sex, ethnicity, and crime type, to find any evidence of racial disparities in decisions that had led to a charge, caution, or no further action.
The three highest charge rates were among mixed ethnicites. When ethnicity was isolated as a variable, the researchers found that white and black Caribbean defendants were most likely to be charged, with a rate of 81.3%, a near 12 percentage point difference from white British defendants.
White and African defendants had the second highest rate of charges and white and Asian defendants had the third highest, with a charge rate of 79.5% and 78.4% respectively.
White British suspects had the lowest charge rate compared with all other ethnicities with 69.9% of cases resulting in a charge.
Max Hill KC, the director of public prosecutions, said: “We undertook this research to ensure that in every case we uphold the highest standards of integrity. It is troubling that it has found evidence of unexplained disproportionality in the outcomes of our legal decision making.
“We cannot yet identify what is driving the disparities we have found, and therefore we must do further work as a matter of urgency. I am committed to taking whatever action is needed and am grateful for the scrutiny of our independent advisers as we prioritise this vital work.”
Labour’s Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, said: “These results are deeply troubling, and must be taken very seriously. It is right that the CPS has committed to investigating immediately why this is happening, and we want to see equally swift action taken to deal with it. There is still a vast amount of work to be done to eliminate racial bias throughout the criminal justice system, but it starts with being clear and honest about where the issues lie.”
Prof Leslie Thomas KC welcomed the research, and noted it followed a study last year that described the judiciary in England and Wales as institutionally racist.
“One can only conclude that the triple pillars of the criminal justice system, namely the police, the prosecutors and the judges, are failing in their roles and do not appear to be upholding the rule of law if you are a person of colour. This is not an expressed opinion but is simple arithmetic,” Thomas said.
“There is disproportionality in the treatment of black and brown people at every stage of the justice system from stop and searches, arrests, who get bail, who doesn’t, sentencing and treatment in prisons. The question rather is what can be done and done now to address it. The good news is the CPS are aware that there is a problem. That is a step in the right direction because you cannot solve a problem if you are blind to it or in denial.”
