Black people are 16 times more likely to be charged under joint enterprise laws than white people, according to data form a Crown Prosecution Service pilot study published following the threat of legal action by the campaign group JENGbA and Liberty earlier this year. For years campaigners have highlighted the racial disparity of the use of joint enterprise however the courts and CPS have always resisted publishing data despite such calls from, for example, the House of Commons justice committee which called for cases to be monitored as long ago as 2012 and again in 2015.
The new statistics confirms the degree to which the controversial common law doctrine is targeted at Black defendants aged 18-24, who comprise more than one in seven of all joint enterprise cases. JENGBA said this ‘scandalous’ data ‘vindicated’ their legal challenge: ‘The data has proven that joint enterprise charging is not simply disproportionate against Black and working class defendants, it is a useful tool to gather up as many convictions as possible using what is clearly a racist doctrine that has no place in the British justice system.’
LIBERTY, the human rights charity, said: ‘These figures show that the racial bias in the system is even more stark than we thought… It’s unconscionable that such a practice exists, sweeping countless people unfairly into the criminal justice system, with many serving very long prison sentences – in some cases for life – for crimes they did not commit.
‘Now that the racial injustice in the system is plain for all to see, the Government must urgently end the use of joint enterprise to prevent the lives of more young people and their families from being ruined’.
The current data is imperfect due to the nature of the pilot scheme, which covers a sample of six areas for approximately six months, and limitations of the CPS computer system. However, the CPS intends to begin a national scheme in February 2024, and scrutinise its approach to gang-related crimes.
Joint enterprise is a controversial legal doctrine whereby individuals who ‘assist or encourage another to commit a crime’ can be prosecuted as though they were principal defendant, even if they themselves were not directly involved. It is estimated that as many as four out of ten men serving 15-year sentences under this scheme are Black, and six out of ten ethnic minority. As of February 2024, the CPS will flag on its case management system all cases of homicide and attempted homicide brought on a joint enterprise basis. ‘A report of homicide and attempted homicide cases brought on a joint enterprise basis broken down by the protected characteristics of ethnicity, sex, age and disability will be produced annually,’ the report says.
