10. Inequalities and criminal justice

Abstract

This chapter pulls together some of the issues mentioned in earlier chapters through a specific lens of inequality. The chapter highlights key areas of inequality in the criminal process by focusing on class, race and sex, but identifies intersections with a broader range of marginalised populations where information exists (and points to the need for research where the information does not yet exist). It discusses what we mean by inequality; key areas in which inequality in relation to class, race and sex manifest and intersect; inequity manifested in the criminal law; inequality as it manifests in policing; inequality as it manifests through sentencing; inequality experienced by victims; hate crimes; and ways that inequality could be reassessed and evaluated through discourses of rights and belonging.