Young, imprisoned and black
Black children and those of mixed ethnicities are disproportionately represented throughout the youth criminal justice system
NEARLY three in every 10 inmates in prisons are black boys, despite this group only representing around one in 20 of all 15- to 17-yearolds.
A report from the Ministry of Justice found that there were 184 black 15 to 17-year-olds in young offenders institutes and secure training centres across England and Wales, as of June 2018.
It means black teens make up 29% of the youth prison population.
However, fewer than 5% of all 1517-year-olds across England and Wales are black.
It means the number of black youths in prison is six times higher than would be expected based on the general population.
The gap is much higher for black children than for adults.
Among prisoners aged 18 and over, 13% are black - four times as high as the proportion of the overall population (3%).
Boys of mixed ethnicity are also overrepresented in prisons, making up 11% of those aged 15 to 17 in jail, but 5% of the population for this age group.
In comparison, white people made up 49% of the 642 15- to 17-year-olds in prison, all of whom were male, compared to 80% of the population.
The Ministry of Justice report also suggests the disparity is getting worse.
Since 2014, there has been a decrease in the number of white children in prison (dropping from 432 in 2014 to 312 in 2018) while the number of young black prisoners has risen (from 162 to 184).
Similar trends were seen in convictions and sentencing - in 2018, 57% of children sentenced to immediate custody were white, down from 68% in 2014. Over the same period, the percentage who were black rose from 18% to 28%.
Young people from black and minority ethnic groups are also disproportionately represented in arrests.
Between 2014/15 and 2018/19, the proportion of children arrested who were identified as white decreased from 76% to 69%.
Arrests of children identified as black rose from 12% to 16% over the same period.
A spokesperson from the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: “We know that black men and boys continue to be over-represented in the criminal justice system, but these figures worryingly show that the situation is getting worse in some cases, particularly for children.
“The reasons are complex and include issues like educational attainment, role models and poor employment opportunities. The justice system must work fairly for everyone and the Government should renew its efforts to tackle disproportionality.”