Admit guilt to do less time in prison, black defendants told

Criminal justice reform may end disparity between white and ethnic minority numbers going to prison

ETHNIC minority defendants must be encouraged to plead guilty to crimes they have committed to avoid jail sentences that ruin their life chances, a review of the criminal justice system will say this week.

For every 100 white men sentenced to custody after being convicted at a crown court, 112 black men go to jail, despite black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people making up just 13 per cent of the total population.

According to the report by David Lammy MP, one factor that may explain the disparity is that BAME defendants are 52 per cent more likely to plead “not guilty” at crown court, leading to harsher sentences when convicted.

Guilty pleas carry a “discount” of up to a third at the sentencing stage, but BAME defendants are often so distrustful of police and lawyers that they refuse to admit their guilt.

Mr Lammy will tell Theresa May that ministers must find ways of building trust in the system among minority ethnic defendants so they can avoid jail sentences for relatively minor first offences, as whites are more likely to do.

The independent Lammy review, which was commissioned by David Cameron at the start of 2016, has spent 18 months investigating possible racial bias in the criminal justice system.

One of Mr Lammy’s findings is that for every 100 white women given custody for drug offences, 227 black women were jailed. For black men, the figure is 141 for every 100 white men.

Another recommendation will be that reformed offenders should be allowed to withhold their criminal records when they apply for jobs.

Former prisoners find it harder to get work and can end up relying on benefits for the rest of their lives, as well as reoffending in many cases, so Mr Lammy will argue that it is in everyone’s interests to help them into work.

Many ex-offenders are put off applying for jobs that require them to disclose convictions.

Mr Lammy will say the UK should learn from the American system for “sealing” criminal records, used in states such as Massachusetts. He will argue that, in many cases, former offenders should be able to apply to have their case heard by a judge or independent body where they would have the opportunity to prove they have reformed.

The judge would then decide whether to seal the record, based on evidence of rehabilitation and the time that had elapsed since the offence was committed. Sealing records would mean the ex-offender would not need to disclose convictions and employers would have no means of finding out, though the offences remain on record.

A source close to Mr Lammy said: “Our criminal records regime is trapping offenders in their past. David wants fundamental change – reform of criminal records takes ex-offenders off welfare and into work.

“This approach wouldn’t see records ‘wiped,’ but would give ex-offenders who prove they have turned their lives around every chance of a fresh start. David wants flexibility for those who committed low-level crimes as children or young adults – who have often been exploited by others – and who can demonstrate that they have lived lawabiding lives since. He thinks that dealing weed when you’re 17 shouldn’t stop you becoming a plumber at 27.”

The Lammy review will be published on Friday.

‘Our criminal records regime is trapping offenders in their past. We need fundamental change’