A Study of Sentencing in the Leeds Magistrates' Courts

Bibliographic Data

ID8401154
AuthorsIMOGEN BROWN (Centre for Social Justice, corresponding author), ROY HULLIN, R P Hullin (Leeds City Council)
Year1992
Volume32
Issue1
Pages41-53
Publication date1992-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe British Journal of Criminology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-0955 • E-ISSN: 1464-3529
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjc.a048179
OpenAlexW2318306527
LanguageEN
Citations received9

A survey conducted in Leeds magistrates' courts over a nine-month period in 1988 collected data on 3,700 defendants charged with offences triable either way (summarily or on indictment). Analysis was undertaken to determine whether any racial bias was apparent in the treatment of Afro-Caribbean and Asian as compared with while defendants. In sentences passed by magistrates no overall differences were detected between the different ethnic groups. In three sub-groups—defendants in the 26–30 years age group, female defendants, and those charged with theft-significantly more offenders of Afro-Caribbean origin did receive custodial sentences. However, in each case the variation in sentencing was accounted for by the criminal record of the defendant. No significant difference could be detected in the passing of non-custodial sentences; however, significantly more Afro-Caribbean than white defendants were committed by magistrates for trial at the Crown Court

Criminology · Ethnic group · Indictment · Political science · Prejudice (legal term) · White (mutation) · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Law · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies

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