Racism and fascism - new material (12)
01 July 2009
The Macpherson Report — Ten Years On, Home Affairs Committee. House of Commons (Twelfth Report) 14.7.09. Despite reservations, this report observes that: “The police have made tremendous strides in the service they provide to ethnic minority communities and in countering racism amongst its workforce”. It praises police leaders who “have shown a clear commitment to increasing awareness of race as an issue throughout the service.” Among its reservations it notes that: “Black communities in particular are disproportionately represented in stop and search statistics and on the National DNA Database” and “black people’s over-representation in the criminal justice system”. A more realistic assessment of the lack of progress has been expressed by the former Stephen Lawrence Inquiry member, Richard Stone: ”...there are many ways in which the relationship today between the police and Black and minority ethnic groups has not changed significantly from what it was 10 years ago. This is evident in terms of the challenges faced by officers from these backgrounds who work for the police service and, in a chilling echo of the old ‘sus’ laws, the continued over-representation of black people infigures..[for] Stop & Search procedures.”:http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmhaff/427/427.pdf
Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2007/8: a Ministry of Justice publication under Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, James Riley, Davnet Cassidy and Jane Becker. Ministry of Justice April 2009, pp. 213. This bulletin provides details of how members of black and minority ethnic communities in England and Wales are represented in the UK’s Criminal Justice System. It includes data on: Developments in ethnic monitoring; Victims and homicide; Stops by the police; Arrests and cautions; Prosecution and sentencing; Youth offending; Probation; Prisons; Complaints against the police, prison & probation services; Deaths in custody and Practitioners in the Criminal Justice System. Available as a free download: http://www.justice.gov.uk/stats-race-criminal-justice-system-07-08-full.pdf
Racism, Elections and the economic down-turn, Liz Fekete. European Race Bulletin No. 68 (Summer) 2009, pp. 32. This issue covers June’s European parliamentary elections and also has an article by Phil Scraton on the recent attacks on Roma in South Belfast and a piece on the racist murder of Marwa al-Sherbini in a Dresden courtroom. For further information on the bulletin email: liz@irr.org.uk
Hidden from public view? Racism against the UK’s Chinese population, Sue Adamson, Bankole Cole, Gary Craig, Basharat Hussein. Luana Smith, Ian Law, Carmen Lau, Chak-Kwan Chan and Tom Cheing. Nin Quan project and The Monitoring Group 2009, pp 142. This investigation provides an insight into the situation of Chinese victims of racism in three areas of the UK: London, Manchester and Southampton. Its research reveals that the Chinese community suffers from high levels of racism which, because they are under-reported, “are perhaps even higher ... than those experienced by any other minority group.” When Chinese victims report race crimes, including serious offences, “they frequently face a response that is shaped by institutional racism – a state of inaction and denial.” It raises serious questions for the official bodies responsible for challenging racism. Available at: http://www.monitoring-group.co.uk/publications/ publications/bm09019-HiddenFromPublicView.pdf