Member

The White Paper is also about fairness. Not all children in our justice system are equal. Those in care are still far more likely to be drawn into the system. Black children remain vastly overrepresented—22% of the youth custodial population, compared with 6% of 10 to 17 year-olds overall. Black children are also overrepresented among victims, being around six times more likely to be victims of homicide. I warned about this disproportionality when David Cameron asked me to do the Lammy review, nearly a decade ago, and the fact that it persists today should shame us all. These reforms will begin to address that, building a system that is fairer and more consistent.