1. Why do black and minority ethnic young people experience differential treatment in the youth justice system? This essay will explore whether equality exists in the criminal justice system. The aim is to examine statistics, legislation and studies from the last 30-40 years to gain an in-depth analysis of the processes and experiences that different races, particularly black and minority ethnic young people, have experienced within the system of criminal justice. There have been various changes to the definition of “Black”. In the United States Frederickson (1987) Illustrated in 1705, the state of Virginia boldly declared that any child, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild of a Negro, would be considered a Negro. Accordingly, in 1866, Virginia stated that any individual with one-fourth Negro property should be considered a “colored person.” This percentage was changed again in 1910; Individuals with one-sixteenth Negro blood would be classified as black. The last amendment was made in 1924 with the implementation of the Racial Black Purity Act; however the previous percentages were eradicated and a penultimate decision was made: a black person is any person with black ancestry. This definition was often referred to as the “One drop” rule. However, the act was seen as problematic, as it became apparent that not all individuals knew or had the resources to access or trace their ancestral roots. The term Black and Minority Ethnicity (BME) is now widely used. BME was primarily used to prescribe to people of color (predominantly black), usually of Caribbean, African or Asian origin (Somerville & Steele, 2002). Communities (BME) are made up of people from different "national backgrounds and ethnicities" living within the UK (Casey & B...... middle of paper ......awerence Inquiry. London: Home Office.Moore, W.E. (1971).American Negro Slavery and Abolition: a sociological study.United States of America: Arno press.Smedley, A. (1997). P., & Steele, A. (2002).Kinsglsy Publishers.Uunever,T (1980).Racial Differences in the Criminal Justice System.Sociological Quarterly, 197-205.Walters, R. (1990). (1980).Formal rationality, substantive justice and discrimination.Law and human behavior, 103-115.Newcastle: Flo House Inc.young, j should be done about law and order crisis in communities. London: Pluto Press.