Originally published here.

Legislative and judicial state power has been the preserve of rich, elite, White men over centuries of patriarchal leadership. Consequently, the criminal justice system has a long history of recruiting and empowering a monochromatic section of society to deliver and implement justice, resulting in a system that is culturally and operationally both White and male. Such a lack of diversity within the criminal justice system has maintained institutional inequalities within its foundations and enforced and reinforced social and structural inequalities more generally.

According to McLaughlin and Muncie,1 due process is a criminal justice model that emphasises the need to administer justice according to legal rules and procedures which are publicly known, fair, and seen to be just … Such procedures do not weight the process against the accused or in favour of those in power, but rather seek to guarantee a measure of judicial equality to all parties.

Whilst this model underpins legal practice within England and Wales, there is a wealth of criminological evidence to suggest that the criminal justice system rarely delivers in its principles of equality and fairness. Indeed, members of minoritized racial communities, Young people, individuals who are economically deprived, women and girls, and LGBT+ people3 experience disadvantage and discrimination within the criminal justice system. Institutional bias in favour of those with high social and economic status can be of benefit by shielding them from the consequences of justice.

For example, Conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel received little accountability for the workplace harassment she perpetrated against her co-workers, despite an admission of guilt and a six-figure government pay-out as compensation for her victims.4 Contrastingly, members of minoritized racial communities, LGBT+ individuals, and individuals who are economically disadvantaged have seen historic over-policing and persecution from police forces. Issues of marginalisation in relation to race, gender, and sexuality have led to lasting tensions and mistrust between diverse groups and criminal justice agencies.

Such tensions have raised questions over the validity and legitimacy of the criminal justice system’s treatment of these groups. Key landmark events, such as the Wolfenden Report,5 the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry,6 and the Brixton Riots,7 have therefore led to changes in how justice is delivered to diverse groups. In response to these events, calls for diverse groups to be included in criminal justice agencies, practices, and policies have been made, in order to implement wider social change, build bridges with those who are marginalised, and improve the delivery of justice.

Contemporary criminological evidence demonstrates that diversity within criminal justice agencies helps to implement appropriate organisational change and agility.8 Previous work on diversity and policing emphasises an exploration of social class in determining police practice, specifically in persecuting working class groups. Thus, there is a large body of work already available for readers interested in these topics. There has been less said on how sexuality is responded to by the criminal justice system, or how this intersects with gendered and racial dynamics. This chapter therefore examines how gender, race, and sexuality have been historically represented in the criminal justice system and explores contemporary modern mechanisms of diversity inclusion.

As a consequence of growing public scrutiny on the unethical maltreatment of minority groups at the hands of the criminal justice system, greater emphasis is placed on diversity measures and representation to ensure equitable and respectful treatment of those working within and standing before criminal justice. As a social institution, the criminal justice system and its agencies are reflective of wider social power dynamics, being premised upon the patriarchal, White-centric, and heteronormative structures that organise society.

In this context, pressure to reform criminal justice practice and adapt its legal measures by adopting higher levels of diversity have been seen in the contemporary system. This chapter has questioned the extent to which this has been achieved and has highlighted the historic contexts from which issues facing minoritized and diverse groups emerged. Improvements in the treatment of women, representation of Black and Asian people, and attitudes towards LGBT+ communities have been made in the past decade.

In particular, there is at least an awareness by criminal justice agencies of the role diversity has to play in better policing and processing minoritized communities. However, it would be erroneous to assert that the criminal justice system is truly representative of the general population or that the improvements made have been radical. Many of the positive changes pertaining to recruitment have only seen marginal improvement and minoritized groups still continue to face prejudicial treatment and over-zealous policing from the criminal justice system. Contemporaneously, legitimacy of the current system is in serious question globally, as modern-day movements seek to address the prejudicial and sometime lethal treatment of minoritized social groups.

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