1n 1989, the National Association of Probation Officers published a report entitled "Black People and the Criminal Justice System". The paper looked at the experiences of black people as employees and clients of the Criminal Justice System. It found that black people were over represented as defendants and prisoners and under represented as staff in all agencies. It also found that both groups reported experiences of racism from their white counterparts. During March 1996 NAPO, in partnership with the Association of Black Probation Officers, has re-examined the data and experiences.
             The current report concludes that black people remain over-represented in prisons and at all other stages of the Criminal Justice System. The case histories submitted by probation officers illustrate the range of negative experiences. The fact that black people are far more likely to be stopped and challenged by the police, in part, explains the over representation in prison and on probation caseloads. The rate of increase, however, is markedly slower than in previous periods. The majority of Criminal Justice agencies appear still to fall to employ or promote suitably qualified. black candidates. However, a few, notably the Probation and Crown Prosecution Services, have improved their rates of recruitment.
             For the majority of agencies, however, direct comparison with 1989 was not possible.
             Ethnic monitoring has arrived relatively late in the Criminal Justice System. Most only commenced systematic monitoring of staff and caseloads during the early 1990's.
             I) Judges Significantly, data on the ethnic background of members of the judiciary was not collated until 1992. Comparisons between that year and 1995 reveal that there are no black high court judges. Further, just 5 out of 514 Circuit judges are black compared with 3 from 480 in 1992. There was one black Stipendiary Magistrate in 1995, but it seems that no statistics were available on this group i...