'Racist' judges are MORE likely to jail black and Asian criminals for the same offences - and give them longer sentences, says Ministry of Justice

Judges and magistrates have been branded 'institutionally racist', following the publication of an official government study which found white defendants are handed more lenient sentences.

The report, produced by the Ministry of Justice, found black and Asian criminals were almost 20 per cent more likely to be jailed than whites for similar offences, the Independent on Sunday reports.

It also revealed that the average sentence handed to an Afro-Caribbean offender is seven months longer than the average sentence for a white criminal.

In cases when white defendants were found to have had previous convictions, many were still found to be being treated more leniently than non-whites with cleaner records.

 

The MoJ described the disparities as area of 'increasing concern' and said they were working to address the issue.

Criminal Justice Minister Damian Green told the Independent on Sunday: 'The Criminal Justice System should work to promote equality, and should not discriminate against anyone because of their race.

'Targeting a person or a group based on their race or religion is unacceptable, it is divisive and harmful to individuals and has no place in a civilised society.'

The report found that in 2011/12, a black person aged ten or older was six times more likely than a white person to be stopped and searched and nearly three times more likely to be arrested.

The report, entitled Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2012, compared conviction and sentencing rates for comparable offences taking into account guilty or non guilty pleas.

It found that 26 per cent of white criminals were handed immediate custodial sentences compared to 31 per cent for black criminals and 32 per cent for Asian criminals.

The average custodial sentence for black prisoners was 23.4 months but for white it was just 15.9 months.

Crown court judge and chairman of the Society of Black Lawyers Peter Herbert said the figures showed 'institutional racism', within the justice system.

 

: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/