Black People 'More Likely To Be Charged With Cannabis Offences'

420AM&PM

Well-Known Member
Black people are more likely to face criminal charges for cannabis possession than white people, new research by London's Metropolitan Police has found.

The same group are also more likely to be stopped and accused of possession in the first place, the study has shown.

According to the recent monitoring, carried out by Scotland Yard to look at how possession of cannabis offences have been enforced, a total of 24,916 people were accused between January and April 2006.

Of those, the three largest ethnic groups to face accusations were African and Caribbean, with 9,925 people (40%), followed by White Europeans, 9,477 people (38%) and then Indian and Pakistani, 3,260 people, (13%).

Further analysis showed people from an African or Caribbean background were the most likely to go on to be arrested and charged over cannabis possession.

Of those accused of the offence, 18.5% or 1,844 people were later charged, compared to 14% or 1,331 white Europeans.

However, 19.3% of white Europeans (1,837 people) were given a caution, compared to 14.2% of people from African or Caribbean communities (1,411 people).

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said further work was needed to understand why more African and Caribbean people were charged than anyone else.

She said: "The decision to arrest and charge will vary on a case by case basis and is often dependent on a complex variety of factors."

These factors can include the amount of cannabis involved, previous offending history, whether admissions were made in interview, no comment interviews, which prevent the consideration of a caution, or circumstances where the discovery of cannabis is made after an arrest for another offence.

The spokeswoman said the Metropolitan Police recognised there was disproportionality within the Criminal Justice System when it came to the ethnic groups arrested and charge.

She said: "We recognise there is disproportionality within the wider Criminal Justice System and there are complex reasons for this.

"Since the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report the Metropolitan Police Service has made significant progress in working to minimise the impact policies and procedures may disproportionately have. We are undertaking further research of these figures in order to understand what the reason for the over-representation is and it is not possible to reach a conclusion without this further work being conducted.

"We are committed to an improved dialogue at a local level between communities and the MPS, a greater scrutiny of how policies impact on communities and being held to account by the MPA and local communities."

Newshawk: 420AM&PM - 420 Magazine
Source: 24Dash (UK)
Pubdate: September 18, 2006
Author: Ian Morgan
Copyright: Copyright Press Association 2006
Contact: news@24dash.com
Website: 24dash.com | Social housing, communities, local government news
 
Back
Top Bottom