Ethnic variation in sentencing

Depressing article in the Guardian yesterday. Note the academic's caution in assigning a causal link with prejudice within the courts system, though. For example, Coretta Phillips from the LSE:

"[But] on the basis of the data published yesterday, it would be hard to conclude anything about prejudice and discrimination from the magistracy or judiciary or that there is greater criminality among minority groups."


I think this shows admirable restraint! She is of course correct that the statistics on their own cannot prove discrimination or prejudice. They are only the raw numbers, and don't therefore take into account things like offending histories, potential mitigating factors and so on. The figures certainly do not prove discrimination. But the data from certain areas, in particular, certainly indicate it. For some prejudice not to be present, at least in some of the local areas mentioned, we would have to believe that the black offenders had very different records and applicable mitigating factors to the white offenders. I wonder how plausible this idea really is......?

What is it about US cops and pepper spray?

Rhetorical question, obviously.

As I think the article notes, this looks like someone spraying bugs. Watch it to the end though - fascinating and rather wonderful to see the crowd turn on the police, in a non-violent way, and apparently shame them into retreat. The looks on the faces of some of the officers speak volumes.

More on the August riots

Stephen Reicher and Clifford Stott have a new e-book on the riots, out today I think. If this summary is anything to go by it looks like an essential read for anyone wanting to understand (as opposed to simply condemn) what transpired.

After a long hiatus .....

..... A new post.

Not much more than a link, though, but at least it's a link to something I've written. That's probably going to be the new plan around here - work orientated posts, less waffle, less often, and links to stuff I think is interesting. We'll see how it goes.

So this is a piece on the London riots for La Vie Des Idees. I think I may have posted some vaguely similar thoughts around the time of the riots. See what you think!