Abstract
Concerns about structural racism and policing have fuelled public demands in the US, UK and elsewhere to ‘defund’ and demilitarize the police. However, given the interlinked nature of the entire criminal justice system – the police, courts and prisons – further thought needs to be given to how the system should be reformed. This article summarizes research on the nature of injustice experienced in magistrates’ courts in London from the point of view of defendants from black, Asian and ethnic minority communities and ‘the precariat’.
Highlights
Official statistics reveal the reach and impact of these courts
While the police may charge the majority of suspects with an offence, they fail to investigate a large percentage of offences6 and they may issue a ‘caution’,7 which diverts many suspects out of the criminal justice system
The effect of the above factors means that in 46 per cent of the cases I observed, defendants pleaded ‘guilty’ when they were initially arraigned and were immediately sentenced
Summary
These can be dealt with either by magistrates or before a judge and jury at the Crown court. These offences include theft, handling stolen goods, fraud, drug offences, domestic violence, sexual assaults on a minor, carrying a concealed/bladed weapon, assault on a police officer, GBH (grievous bodily harm) etc. Magistrates can decide that a case is so serious that it should be dealt with in the Crown court – which can impose tougher sentences if the defendant is found guilty. Theft, shoplifting, possession of drugs, public order offences, drink driving, threatening and abusive behaviour, racially aggravated assault, travelling on public transport without a ticket, begging, breach of bail, indecent exposure, fleeing arrest etc
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