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Anti‐racism and the Limits of Equal Opportunities Policy in the Criminal Justice System
Author(s) -
Denney David
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
social policy and administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1467-9515
pISSN - 0144-5596
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9515.00076
Subject(s) - racism , criminology , sociology , criminal justice , economic justice , institutional racism , law and economics , social justice , political science , law , gender studies
In this paper some of the evidence relating to the incidence of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system will be critically examined. It will be argued that equal opportunities policies have been adopted in the British case with the stated aim of tackling the exclusionary effects of racial discrimination. The notion of equal opportunities has been contested not least by those who have advocated anti‐racist approaches towards discrimination. Anti‐racism has been represented by some of its advocates as reflecting a critique of the authentic source of racism which is loosely defined in terms of social structure and capitalist social relations. The case for reconstituting anti‐racism in such a way as to make it relevant to the lives of black offenders will be made. Finally, a framework for developing policies based upon the implementation of specific and clearly stated rights will be made.