Institutional racism and discriminatory practices ingrained within the criminal justice system require examination due to both their disruption to many Muslims and BAME communities’ lives and the long-term consequences on their future social engagement as equal members in society. Institutional racism is not a new concept within analyses of criminal justice systems across the UK, and Scotland’s criminal justice system is no exception. In 2020, reports emerged of the Scottish Government’s alleged “reticence to speak publicly” about institutional racism within Police Scotland for fear of negative media coverage.
“BAME individuals constitute 25% of prisoners and over 40% of young people in custody, despite representing only 14% of the population. Meanwhile, Muslims were found to make up 15% of the total prison population, while amounting to less than 5% of the general population”.
Over recent decades, political discourse has led to a climate wherein Muslim identities have become increasingly securitised and viewed through the lens of counter-terror, violence, and threat. This has led to the public perception of a community ‘at risk’. However, in reality, a wide range of structural inequalities contribute to the conditions wherein Muslims (and BAME communities more generally) suffer disproportionate representation within the criminal justice system.
“It appears that only 253 out of 17,693 officers in Scotland (1.4%) are from BAME backgrounds, and there are no BAME officers amongst Police Scotland’s executive team of senior officers”.
(Information obtained from:
https://www.mend.org.uk/…/MEND_Manifesto_Scotland_2021.pdf)
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