| Foreword | |
| The Need for Research | p. 1 |
| Race and the Prison Population | p. 1 |
| Discrimination by the Courts: Facts and Beliefs | p. 7 |
| Problems of Method: the Validity of Current Knowledge | p. 11 |
| Plan of the Report | p. 23 |
| Approach and Method | p. 25 |
| Choosing a Strategy | p. 25 |
| Sources of Information | p. 30 |
| The Sample | p. 33 |
| Collecting the Data | p. 35 |
| Some Basic Comparisons of Sentencing Practices | p. 38 |
| The Racial Composition of the Sample | p. 38 |
| Variations in the Use of Custody between Courts Irrespective of Race | p. 39 |
| Racial Disparities in the Use of Custody | p. 41 |
| Variations between Judges | p. 44 |
| Did Case Characteristics Vary According to Race? | p. 49 |
| Overall Differences in the Characteristics of White as Compared to Black Defendants | p. 49 |
| Characteristics of Black and White Defendants at Birmingham and the Dudley Courts | p. 57 |
| Asian Defendants Compared with White Defendants | p. 59 |
| Comparing Custody Rates | p. 63 |
| Which Variables were Linked to Race Differences in the Use of Custody? | p. 63 |
| Devising a Multivariate 'Matching' Method | p. 65 |
| The Probability of Custody Scores | p. 68 |
| Comparing the 'Custody Rates' of White, Black and Asian Defendants in the West Midlands Crown Courts as a whole | p. 75 |
| Comparing Blacks and Asians as if they had been Treated Like Whites | p. 79 |
| Attempting to Locate Where Racial Differences Occurred | p. 83 |
| Race and Varying Court Practices | p. 89 |
| Comparing the Use of Custody at each of the Five Courts by Race of the Defendant | p. 89 |
| Seeking to Locate the Race Difference amongst cases sentenced by the Dudley courts | p. 95 |
| Variations Between Judges | p. 108 |
| The Status of the Judge | p. 108 |
| Variations between Individual Judges | p. 110 |
| Length and Severity of Sentences | p. 121 |
| Length of Sentences | p. 121 |
| Accounting for the over-representation of Black Males in the Prison Population | p. 126 |
| The Range of Sentences and the Use of Non Custodial Alternatives | p. 132 |
| Adults | p. 133 |
| Males Under the Age of 21 | p. 137 |
| Pre-Sentence Factors | p. 143 |
| How the Incident Came to Light | p. 143 |
| The Effect of Having Been Remanded in Custody | p. 146 |
| The Influence of Social Inquiry Reports | p. 150 |
| Sentencing Women | p. 161 |
| Comparing the Sentences Imposed on Women of different Ethnic Backgrounds | p. 161 |
| Comparing the Sentences Imposed on Females and Males | p. 169 |
| Discrimination in the Courts? | p. 179 |
| A Summary of the Main Findings | p. 193 |
| Appendices | p. 209 |
| References | p. 339 |
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