A ‘good job’ in difficult conditions: Detectives’ reflections, decisions and discriminations in the context of ‘joint enterprise’

Abstract

‘Joint enterprise’ is described as a ‘dragnet’ that draws disproportionate numbers of black and minority ethnic young men into the criminal justice system in England and Wales. While stereotyping by the police and prosecution has been blamed for this distributive injustice, empirical research on joint enterprise is limited. This article presents the findings from a study of homicide and ‘gang’ detectives in London in which they rebut accusations of racial stereotyping when investigating multi-handed crimes. Instead, they claim that the disproportionality reflects the involvement of larger numbers of primarily black men in violent crime. Using Margaret Archer’s social realist theory, detectives frame their actions as being driven by their ‘ultimate concerns’ to do a good job of protecting the public and obtaining justice for victims within the difficult social and cultural context in which they operate. However, in this article, we expose the racialized notions of risk in detectives’ narratives and argue that such ‘colour-blind racism’ is likely to contribute to young black and mixed-race men being overrepresented in cases that draw on the principles of joint enterprise dragging those on the periphery of group violence into the criminal justice net.

Silence, joint enterprise and the legal trap

“…especially young Black men and because it’s a cultural thing they just don’t trust us’. Such narratives ignored the structural, racialised, prejudicial practices that young Black and Mixed-race people are exposed to in the criminal justice system, which increase their risk of being convicted, including in the context of joint enterprise specifically (see Young et al, 2020; Williams and Clarke, 2016; also see Bonilla-Silva, 2003; Smith Lee and Robinson, 2019).…”

“…It is worth noting that the vacuum created by young people’s silence in a criminal investigation provides space for the police and prosecution to insert their own case narrative. In ‘joint enterprise cases’ involving Black and Mixed-race suspects, research has shown that the ‘gang’ narrative dominates, as it offers a deeply embedded, normatively understood explanation for serious violence involving multiple defendants (see Williams and Clarke, 2016; Young et al, 2020). Thus, silence among young Black and Mixed-race suspects is likely to put them at particular risk of legal harm.…”

“Being Diverse and Being Included, Don’t Go Together in Policing”—Diversity, Inclusion, and Australian Constables

“…The bias constables expressed towards recognition of diversity was overwhelmingly negative and constables in this research are recalcitrant to work with diverse officers who they believe are not competent and who are perceived to be unfairly supported within the organization. The diminished positivity constables in this research have towards working alongside diverse officers is surprising because research suggests that lack of enthusiasm for policing and police work generally diminishes over time as policing careers unfold, not in the early stages of a police career [14,[27][28][29][30].…”

“…However, the body of this research has not examined the impact of diversity and inclusion on police practice and mainly focused on workplace interaction and interpersonal treatment and how these change over time [22]. Whilst research suggests that police officers' attitudes towards work are shaped by police culture, time in the job, organizational policies, and practices, positive and or negative interactions with colleagues, and conscious and unconscious biases and stereotypes (see [14,[27][28][29][30]), it is unknown whether diversity and inclusion have an impact on internal workplace practices in Australian policing. This is a distinct gap in knowledge and one that needs further research.…”

Defending ‘Co‐offending’ Women: Recognising Domestic Abuse and Coercive Control in ‘Joint Enterprise' Cases Involving Women and their Intimate Partners

“…The second study explored the application of 'joint enterprise' in practice and young people's knowledge and experience of this area of law. 7 Semi-structured interviews were completed in 2018 with four different samples, including prisoners who had been convicted of a serious violent offence at a trial involving complicity liability (see Young, Hulley and Pritchard (2020) and Hulley and Young (2021) for more details). This article draws on interviews with the female prisoners, of whom there were five in total.…”