Institutional Racism

What is institutional racism?

• One argument for the over-representation of some ethnic minority groups in crime statistics is institutional racism

• Policies and procedures designed to place one or more groups at a disadvantage in society

• Extends from education through to crime with many excluded in education going on to be victimised by police

How is institutional racism over-represented in the statistics?

• Black citizens 9 times more likely to be stopped and searched according to the 2019 CSEW

• Arrest rates are higher for black and mixed-ethnicity citizens

• Higher representation of BAME groups in prison population than in society (16% compared to 27%)

What is canteen culture?

• Waddington (1999) - police have a subculture when off-duty of stereotyping groups and individuals based on social characteristics

• This informs their behaviours when at work and leads to making decisions based on their preconceptions

• Less discretion is shown when tackling those who negatively stereotype

What is legal racism of institutional racism?

• The first legal recognition of institutional racism in the police force was the trial of Mangrove 9 in 1970

• Further recognition came with the MacPherson Report in 1999 which made 70 recommendations to tackle institutional racism in Metropolitan police following the murder of Stephen Lawrence

What is the Lammy Review?

• Labour MP David Lammy highlighted the over-representation of ethnic minority citizens in crime statistics

• 25% of adult prisoners and 41% of youth offenders were from ethnic minorities *

• 14% of the population in 2017 were from ethnic minority backgrounds

How does the Lammy Review link to education?

• Black and mixed-ethnicity pupils are most likely to be temporarily excluded from school (5.56% and 5.89%)

• Also had the highest rates of permanent exclusion (0.28 for black Caribbean and 0.27 for mixed white and black
  Caribbean

• The School Exclusion Project (2015) suggested that 85% of prisoners had been excluded from school

What are the evaluations of institutional racism?

• Following the MacPherson Report, the Metropolitan Police BAME Officers Association suggested the force was institutionally racist

• Police act upon reports from the public in arresting suspects - however, this does, not account for stop-and-search statistics

• Role of media in creating moral panics which leads to stereotypes of behaviour that inform police actions