Understanding the Intersections between Care Experience and Ethnicity in Criminal Justice Involvement

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Currently, the government does not know how many of its looked after children (for example, children who have lived in foster care or children's homes) become involved with the youth justice system, or how many of those children reside in youth custody (see Hunter, 2019; Laming, 2016). It does not know how many care experienced individuals fall into criminal justice involvement and imprisonment (see Fitzpatrick et al. 2019). There is no data which outlines the ethnicity of care experienced individuals who become justice involved. The new MoJ/DfE linked administrative datasets funded by ADR UK will make it possible to analyse the intersections between ethnicity, care experience, and criminal justice involvement for the first time.This Fellowship will directly build upon my PhD research on the over-representation of looked after children and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) children in the youth justice system in England and Wales. The research utilised official statistics and 27 in-depth interviews with youth justice and children's services experts. Principally, the research indicated that existing inequalities in relation to ethnicity and looked after status have intensified and that BAME looked after children experience compounded disadvantage (Hunter, 2019). However, the thesis found that much is still unknown about the intersections between ethnicity and looked after status in youth justice involvement, largely as a result of insufficient official data. The research evidence suggests that failings in the care system can both increase the risk of justice system contact and influence routes through the justice system (see Hunter, 2019). Evidence also points to frequency of incidents, as opposed to seriousness, having the greatest impact on criminal justice interventions for looked after children (see Shaw, 2014). The new linked datasets mean that it is now possible to explore when offending began and frequency of offending for care experienced individuals, as well as the role of ethnicity. Furthermore, information about care histories means that we can explore the effect of various experiences on criminal justice outcomes. Research suggests that age entering care and multiple placements may influence offending (e.g. Baskin & Sommers, 2011; Darker, Ward & Caulfield, 2008; Jonson-Reid & Barth, 2000). However, no study has considered how certain features of care experience might impact upon criminal justice outcomes for different ethnic groups. The Laming Review estimated that 44 percent of all looked after children in custody come from an ethnic minority background (PRT, 2016: 65). The international research also suggests that there is a relationship between ethnicity and involvement in systems of care and justice, which warrants further investigation. Studies from the USA and Australia suggest that minority ethnic children in care have higher rates of youth justice involvement (see for example, Dollan et al. 2013; Goodkind et al., 2012; Ryan, Testa & Zhai, 2008; Stewart et al. 2008) and receive harsher outcomes than their white peers (Herz, Ryan & Bilchik, 2010). The research aims to address gaps in knowledge with regards to the intersections between ethnicity and looked after status in offending and youth/adult criminal justice involvement. It will utilise new linked MoJ/DfE data to investigate the onset and frequency of offending of care experienced individuals and their ethnic group. It will explore the impact of various care system experiences (such as number of placements) on criminal justice outcomes, and whether this varies by ethnic group. In doing so, it will produce findings which will benefit professionals and policymakers and most importantly, BAME care experienced individuals.