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More controversial remarks on race by judges

01 January 1991

More controversial remarks on race by judges
artdoc June=1991

The Society for Black Lawyers and other organisations have
attacked Judge James Pickles for comments about Rastafarians
made in an interview with the Voice. He is quoted as saying,
`A Rastafarian standing in front of you with dreadlocks can
look rather intimidating. If we could understand their minds
better, we might be able to better understand what they are
doing and why they are doing it... There is no deliberate
racism but there may be unconscious bias because we don't know
enough about the people'. (Voice 11.9.90)
Judge Pickles' statement comes in the middle of a debate
about how to tackle race issues within the criminal justice
system, particularly brought about by evidence that black
people are receiving heavier sentences than whites for the same
offences. The Home Office have called a seminar on the issue
and the Society for Black Lawyers have demanded anti-racist
training backed-up by strict guidelines on sentencing, a fairer
system of appointing judges, and ethnic monitoring of courts.
The Government is being criticised for the fact that, while it
supposedly is promoting greater use of non-custodial sentences
in order to reduce the overall prison population, nothing is
being done in its planned Criminal Justice Bill specifically
to reduce the high proportion of black prisoners. (Independent
5.9.90)
Measures to deal with racism in probation reports have met
with criticism from another judge. Judge Finney described the
equal opportunities policies of the probation service, whereby
reports were vetted for racial and other bias, as sinister.
The system had been introduced by the Home Office to try to
increase the use of non-custodial sentences for black people.
But Judge Finney claimed that, `In 30 years at the bar and
four-and-a-half years on the bench, I have never seen a
probation report which contained any remark I could describe
as racist, sexist or stereotyped.' (Times 13.9.90)

IRR Police-Media Bulletin No 64. Institute of Race Relations,
2-6 Leeke Street, London WC1X 9HS