Magistrates Bench Diversity – Recruitment Criminal justice has among the lowest proportion of senior staff from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. Current research reveals that in the Avon and Somerset Magistracy we currently have  a severe under representation of BAME Magistrates and Magistrates from working class backgrounds, in direct relationship to the populations that we are serving. Analysis  following  a government-commissioned  report by the Labour MP David Lammy found that people from minority backgrounds are more likely to be jailed for certain crimes than those who are white and that they are over-represented at almost all stages of the criminal […]