Kate Osamor – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Racial Disparities in Convictions for Joint Enterprise

The parliamentary question asked by Kate Osamor, the Labour MP for Edmonton, in the House of Commons on 10 January 2023.

Kate Osamor (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)

If he will make an assessment of the reasons for racial disparities in the level of convictions for joint enterprise.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mike Freer)

The Government recognise that convictions based on joint enterprise appear to affect ethnic minority groups disproportionately. However, the Crown Prosecution Service can only apply the law when making charging decisions and plays no part in the decision making on individual joint enterprise cases. Data is collected on the ethnicity of defendants who are prosecuted and convicted of a criminal offence, but not on whether the crime was part of a joint enterprise. However, we are considering whether such data could be collected as part of the common platform programme.

Kate Osamor

I thank the Minister for his response but research by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies suggests that the doctrine of joint enterprise is routinely applied in a racist way leading to many miscarriages of justice. Assessing why it disproportionately targets ethnic minority communities, especially young black men, is only the first step; what is needed is urgent action. Will the Minister tell us what he is doing to right historical wrongs and prevent future miscarriages of justice due to joint enterprise?

Mike Freer

What I can do is confirm that the Government have of course implemented many of the recommendations of the Lammy review. I understand how passionately the hon. Member feels about this, so I would like to sit down with her and go through some of the specific issues she wants discussed in more depth, rather than talk across the Dispatch Box; I think that would be more fruitful and practical and I hope the hon. Member will accept my invitation.