We need more politicians willing to support unfashionable causes, NLJ columnist Jon Robins writes this week
The powers that be leaped into action following public outrage after the broadcast of ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office but are slow to address injustice where there is less public demand.
Robins highlights two issues in particular: imprisonment for public protection (IPP) and joint enterprise. Both have caused shocking injustice yet, despite political wringing of hands, little has been achieved in practice.
Robins writes: ‘The overuse of joint enterprise—in particular, its racist overuse—has been a concern. Ten years ago, witnesses told the justice committee that the common law doctrine was being used as a “dragnet… hoovering up young people from ethnic minority communities” who had “peripheral, minor or in some cases even non-existent involvement” in serious criminal acts.’
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