CINXE.COM

<!doctype html>      <html class="no-js not-ie gt-ie6 gt-ie7 gt-ie8 gt-ie9 good-browser" lang="en">  <head> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge" /> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, minimum-scale=1" /> <meta name="theme-color" content="#6b2c91" /> <meta http-equiv="last-modified" content="2024-05-08" /> <meta name="pageID" content="388069" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Compound Injustice | Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity | The University of Manchester" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.ethnicity.ac.uk//discover/briefings/compound-injustice/" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/shared/css/main-35.min.CSSO.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/shared/css/subdomain-03.min.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/shared/css/accordion-05.min.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/shared/css/additional-13.min.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/shared/css/cookie-banner-03.min.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://assets-dev.manchester.ac.uk/shared/css/banner-block-02.css?1740556291" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans:300,400,600,700" /> <script src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/corporate/js/libs/modernizr/modernizr-3.7.0-custom-02.min.js"></script> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="//humassets.manchester.ac.uk/rwd-assets/favicon/ethnicity/favicon.ico" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.ethnicity.ac.uk//discover/briefings/compound-injustice/" /> <title>Compound Injustice | Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity</title> <script>dataLayer = [{ 'pageType': 'inner' }];</script>  <script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-TZF2KKX');</script>  </head> <body class="inner subdomain" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/WebPage">  <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-TZF2KKX" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden" title="Google Tag Manager"></iframe></noscript>  <div class="pageWrapper">  <header class="headerContainer" data-swiftype-index="false"> <div id="skipnav"><a href="#navigation" class="screenreader">Skip to navigation</a> <span class="screenreader">|</span> <a href="#content" class="screenreader">Skip to main content</a> <span class="screenreader">|</span> <a href="#footer" class="screenreader">Skip to footer</a></div> <div class="secondMenuBar"> <button class="mobile-menu-icon" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="mobile-menu-container" data-position="fixed" disabled><img src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/corporate/images/design/icon-menu.gif" width="25" height="20" alt="Menu" /></button> </div>  <div class="headerContent clearfix"> <div id="headerContent-container"> <div class="mainLogo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a href="/" id="logolink" itemprop="url"><img src="https://humassets.manchester.ac.uk/rwd-assets/logos/ethnicity/code_2021_logo-01-338x86.png" width="206" height="86" alt="Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity home" id="logo" itemprop="logo" /></a> </div> <a href="/" class="home-link">Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity</a> <div class="menu-search-icons"> <button class="search-icon" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="search-options"><img src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/corporate/images/design/icon-search-mobile.png" width="20" height="20" alt="Search the site" /><span>Search</span></button> <div class="search-options" id="search-options"> <div class="row"> <div class="searchContainer2"> <form method="get" action="/search/" name="Website search"> <div class="searchInputWrapper2"> <label for="searchBox" class="offScreen">Search text</label> <input type="text" id="searchBox" name="q" class="q" value="" placeholder="Search the website" /><input type="submit" value="Search" /> </div> </form> </div> </div> </div> <button class="mobile-menu-icon" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="mobile-menu-container" data-position="top"><img src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/corporate/images/design/icon-menu.gif" width="25" height="20" alt="Menu" /></button> <nav id="mobile-menu-container" class="initial" data-openedby="" aria-label="Section menu for small screen devices"> <ul> <li class="closeMenuItem"><button class="closeMenuLink">Close menu</button></li> <li class="breadcrumbItem"><a href="/">Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity</a></li> <li class="breadcrumbItem"><a href="/discover/">Discover</a></li> <li class="sectionHeader"><a href="/discover/briefings/">Briefings and reports</a> <ul class="sectionMenu"> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/racism-scotland/">Racism in Scotland</a></li> <li><span><a href="/discover/briefings/compound-injustice/">Compound Injustice</a></span></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/whose-campus/">Whose campus? policing and security report</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/judiciary/">Racial bias in the judiciary</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/covid-briefings/">Covid briefings</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/creative-industries/">Creative industries</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/census/">Census briefings</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/policy-briefings/">Policy briefings</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/sewell-report-response/">Response to Sewell Report</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </div>  <nav class="primaryNav showAtDesktop none" id="navigation" aria-label="Site menu"> <ul class="megaMenu clickOut clearfix"> <li class="menuItem homeItem"> <a class="home" href="/">Home</a> </li> <li class="menuItem"> <a class="megaLink" href="/research/">Research</a> <div class="megaContent"> <div class="row"> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/research/projects/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Projects">Projects</a></strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="/research/projects/evens/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Projects%20%BB%20Evidence%20for%20Equality%20National%20Survey%20%28EVENS%29">EVENS: Evidence for Equality National Survey</a></li> <li><a href="/research/projects/the-accumulation-of-disadvantage-across-the-life-course/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Projects%20%BB%20Accumulation%20of%20disadvantage%20across%20the%20life%20course">The accumulation of disadvantage</a></li> <li><a href="/research/projects/contesting-statues/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Projects%20%BB%20Contesting%20statues">Contesting statues</a></li> <li><a href="/research/projects/decolonising-history/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Projects%20%BB%20Decolonising%20history">Decolonising history</a></li> <li><a href="/research/projects/diversity-in-creative-industries/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Projects%20%BB%20Diversity%20in%20creative%20and%20cultural%20industries%20">Diversity in creative and cultural industries </a></li> <li><a href="/research/projects/entrepreneurship-and-the-high-street/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Projects%20%BB%20Entrepreneurship%20and%20the%20high%20street">Entrepreneurship and the high street</a></li> <li><a href="/research/projects/gig-economy-and-labour-market-insecurity/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Projects%20%BB%20Gig%20economy%20and%20labour%20market%20insecurity">Gig economy and labour market insecurity</a></li> <li><a href="/research/projects/response-to-the-policing-of-the-crisis/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Projects%20%BB%20Response%20to%20the%20policing%20of%20the%20crisis">Response to the policing the crisis</a></li> <li><a href="/research/projects/young-people-transitioning-into-education-and-employment/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Projects%20%BB%20Young%20people%20transitioning%20into%20education%20and%20employment">Young people transitioning education and employment</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/research/associated-projects/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Associated%20projects">Associated projects</a></strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="/research/associated-projects/judiciary/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Associated%20projects%20%BB%20Diversity%20and%20racial%20bias%20in%20the%20judiciary">Diversity and racial bias in the judiciary</a></li> <li><a href="/research/associated-projects/code-research-assoc_projects-race_class_mobility/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Associated%20projects%20%BB%20Race%2C%20class%20and%20mobility%3A%20learning%20to%20labour%20in%20Manchester%20and%20Morecambe">Race, class and mobility</a></li> <li><a href="/research/associated-projects/ethnic-inequalities-later-life/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Associated%20projects%20%BB%20Ethnic%20inequalities%20in%20later%20life">Ethnic inequalities in later life</a></li> <li><a href="https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/prosecuting-rap/">Prosecuting rap</a></li> <li><a href="/research/associated-projects/racism-at-work/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Associated%20projects%20%BB%20Racism%20at%20Work">Racism at work</a></li> <li><a href="/research/associated-projects/left-behind/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Associated%20projects%20%BB%20Reframing%20the%20%27left%20behind%27%3A%20Race%20and%20class%20in%20post-Brexit%20Oldham">The 'Left Behind'</a></li> <li><a href="/research/associated-projects/localities-studies/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Associated%20projects%20%BB%20Localities%20studies">Localities studies</a></li> <li><a href="/research/associated-projects/local-ethnic-inequalities/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Associated%20projects%20%BB%20Local%20Ethnic%20Inequalities">Local ethnic inequalities</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/research/books/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Books">Books</a></strong></p> </div> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/research/data-sources/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Research%20%BB%20Data%20sources">Data sources</a></strong></p> </div> </div> </div> </li> <li class="menuItem"> <a class="megaLink currentBranch" href="/discover/">Discover</a> <div class="megaContent"> <div class="row"> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/discover/briefings/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Briefings%20and%20reports">Briefings and reports</a></strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/racism-scotland/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Briefings%20and%20reports%20%BB%20Racism%20in%20Scotland">Racism and belonging in Scotland report</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/compound-injustice/">Compound Injustice rap music report</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/whose-campus/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Briefings%20and%20reports%20%BB%20Whose%20campus%3F%20policing%20and%20security%20report">Whose campus? Policing and security report</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/judiciary/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Briefings%20and%20reports%20%BB%20Racial%20bias%20in%20the%20judiciary">Racial bias in the judiciary report</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/covid-briefings/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Briefings%20and%20reports%20%BB%20Covid%20briefings">Covid briefings</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/creative-industries/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Briefings%20and%20reports%20%BB%20Creative%20industries">Creative industries report</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/census/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Briefings%20and%20reports%20%BB%20Census%20briefings">Census data briefings</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/policy-briefings/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Briefings%20and%20reports%20%BB%20Policy%20briefings">Policy briefings</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/sewell-report-response/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Briefings%20and%20reports%20%BB%20Response%20to%20Sewell%20Report">Response to Sewell Report</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/discover/audio-video/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Audio%20and%20video">Audio and video</a></strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="/discover/audio-video/podcast/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Discover%20%BB%20Audio%20and%20video%20%BB%20Race%20and%20Ethnicity%20in%20Britain%20podcast">Race and ethnicity in Britain podcast</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </li> <li class="menuItem"> <a class="megaLink" href="/connect/">Connect</a> <div class="megaContent"> <div class="row"> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/connect/events/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Connect%20%BB%20Events">Events</a></strong></p> </div> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/connect/email-newsletter/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Connect%20%BB%20Email%20newsletter">Email newsletter</a></strong></p> </div> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/connect/early-career-race-network/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20Connect%20%BB%20Early%20career%20researcher%20network">Early career researcher network</a></strong></p> </div> </div> </div> </li> <li class="menuItem"> <a class="megaLink" href="/about/">About</a> <div class="megaContent"> <div class="row"> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/about/our-people/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20About%20%BB%20Our%20people">Our people</a></strong></p> </div> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/news/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20News">News</a></strong></p> </div> <div class="megaSubPanel"> <p><strong><a href="/about/contact/" title="Home%20%BB%20Shared%20%BB%20Humanities%20%BB%20Centre%20on%20the%20Dynamics%20of%20Ethnicity%20%BB%20About%20%BB%20Contact%20us">Contact us</a></strong></p> </div> </div> </div> </li> <li class="menuItem"> <a class="megaLink" href="/news/">News</a> </li> </ul> </nav>  </div>  </header>  <article class="contentContainer">   <div id="breadcrumb-share-container" class="row showAtDesktop">  <nav class="row breadcrumbNav showAtDesktop" aria-label="Breadcrumb"> <ul itemprop="breadcrumb"><li><a href="/">Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity</a></li><li><a href="/discover/">Discover</a></li><li><a href="/discover/briefings/">Briefings and reports</a></li><li><a href="/discover/briefings/compound-injustice/">Compound Injustice</a></li></ul> </nav>  </div> <div class="row tripleVertPadding">  <div class="leftMenuContainer showAtDesktop"> <nav class="primaryLeftNavNew" aria-label="Section menu"> <ul> <li class="breadcrumbItem"><a href="/">Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity</a></li> <li class="breadcrumbItem"><a href="/discover/">Discover</a></li> <li class="sectionHeader"><a href="/discover/briefings/">Briefings and reports</a> <ul class="sectionMenu"> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/racism-scotland/">Racism in Scotland</a></li> <li><span><a href="/discover/briefings/compound-injustice/">Compound Injustice</a></span></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/whose-campus/">Whose campus? policing and security report</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/judiciary/">Racial bias in the judiciary</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/covid-briefings/">Covid briefings</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/creative-industries/">Creative industries</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/census/">Census briefings</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/policy-briefings/">Policy briefings</a></li> <li><a href="/discover/briefings/sewell-report-response/">Response to Sewell Report</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </nav>  </div>   <div class="oneColLayoutContainer">  <div class="mainContentContainer" data-swiftype-name="body" data-swiftype-type="text" id="content" role="main"> <span id="d.en.954222"></span> <h1>Compound Injustice</h1> <p class="subHeading">A review of cases involving rap music in England and Wales.</p> <p>Authors: Eithne Quinn (<a href="mailto:%20eithne.quinn@manchester.ac.uk">eithne.quinn@manchester.ac.uk</a>), Erica Kane, Will Pritchard.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=72455">Download the report 'Compound Injustice: A review of cases involving rap music evidence in England and Wales'</a></li> </ul> <div class="sixcol imageFloat floatRight"> <figure class="noIndent"> <img class="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAPT09AAAACH5BAAAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" data-original="/discover/briefings/compound-injustice/compound-injustice-500-x-298px.jpg" width="500" height="298" alt="graphic of gig" /> <noscript><img src="/discover/briefings/compound-injustice/compound-injustice-500-x-298px.jpg" width="500" height="298" alt="graphic of gig" /></noscript> </figure> </div> <span id="d.en.954224"></span> <p>This report outlines how rap music is being used as evidence to build cases again children and young adults in serious crime prosecutions. Rap lyrics and videos are regularly used as prosecution evidence in youth violence cases in England and Wales.</p> <p>The lyrics and videos selected by the prosecution typically have violent or anti-social themes, many from the popular ‘drill’ rap music genre, and are composed by one or more of the defendants or by one of their friends. This use is deeply controversial because of concerns that rap is an unreliable form of evidence, and that its use is unfairly prejudicial.</p> <p>Despite mounting criticism, there is very little regulation or monitoring of how rap is being used as criminal evidence, and it continues to be used to build ‘gang-related’ prosecutions under highly contentious Secondary Liability laws. In turn, gang labels - which have been discredited as imprecise and racist even by some law enforcers - are ‘evidenced’ by rap music, often to build large Joint Enterprise trials in which more than one person is prosecuted for a single crime. The authors argue that this process risks innocent people being convicted of the most serious crimes.</p> <p>In this research project, they found 68 cases between 2020-2023 that involved 252 defendants, the overwhelming majority of whom were Black or mixed race, in which rap music was used as evidence for serious charges - including murders.<br /><br />Joint Enterprise cases involving rap music evidence were found to have a higher average number of defendants per case than those without a rap music soundtrack, which they say supports the suggestion that rap is encouraging overcharging and mischarging by prosecutors.<br /><br />Those charged in cases involving rap evidence - including those charged with murder under secondary liability laws, which carries a life sentence - tend to be young and Black, suggesting that these groups are being targeted disproportionately. This lends weight to those who see the rising use of rap in cases as systematically racist, and who are raising the alarm about the overcriminalisation of young people - including children.</p> <h2>Endorsements</h2> <h3>Tyrone Steele, Deputy Legal Director, JUSTICE</h3> <p>"Every child and young person deserves to have their voice heard and their creativity nourished. Yet the criminal justice system routinely disregards this basic standard for Black children, regarding their musical expression as criminal and suspicious. The consequences are clear, with families broken by prosecutions based on dubious evidence that is treated distinctly differently to other forms of art.</p> <p>Rap music is one of the most popular genres of music in the UK – it’s time to end the marginalisation and punishment of its creators through its use as prosecution evidence. JUSTICE welcomes this important and timely report and its recommendations, which will undoubtedly help tackle the corrosive practice of portraying a genre of music as innately illegal and dangerous."</p> <h3>Liz Fekete, Director of the Institute of Race Relations</h3> <p>“Once again, three of the best researchers on the subject are doing what the state refuses to do. They have scrutinised the data on rap prosecutions, exposed the racism that lies within the law - particularly the joint enterprise doctrine - and suggested targeted reforms to end the wide-ranging criminalisation of Black expressive culture.”</p> <h2>Media coverage</h2> <p class="dcr-d5iddn"><a href="https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/campaigners-urge-cps-to-remove-drill-music-from-guidance-on-gang-related-offences/5119597.article">Art, not evidence: Crown Prosecution Service urged to remove 'drill music' from guidance on gang-related offences</a> - Monidipa Fouzder, <em>The Law Society Gazette</em>, 6 May 2024. </p> <p class="dcr-d5iddn"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/apr/30/rap-music-used-as-evidence-in-scores-of-trials-in-england-and-wales-study-finds">Rap music used as evidence in scores of trials in England and Wales, study finds</a> - Jamie Grierson in <em>The Guardian</em>, 30 April 2024. </p> <p class="dcr-d5iddn"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jun/21/behind-bars-how-rap-lyrics-are-being-used-to-convict-black-british-men">Behind bars: how rap lyrics are being used to convict Black British men</a> - Will Pritchard in <em>The Guardian,</em> 21 June 2023. (Article trails some early findings from research.)</p> <h2>Academic articles</h2> <p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03063968241234539">Racist inferences and flawed data: drill rap lyrics as criminal evidence in group prosecutions</a> - Eithne Quinn in <em>Race and Class</em> (Vol 65, issue 4) April 2024. Open Access.</p> <h2>Funding</h2> <p>This University of Manchester project was funded by an Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) IAA grant and the data was gathered by research associate Will Pritchard in partnership with Professor Eithne Quinn as part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) <a href="https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/prosecuting-rap/">Prosecuting Rap</a> project. The quantitative analysis was conducted by research associate Erica Kane. </p>  </div>  </div>  </div> </article>  <footer class="footerContainer" id="footer" data-swiftype-index="false"> <div class="row tripleVertPadding"> <div class="fourcol halfSizeUntilLargeMobile"> <h2 class="h2Small">Contact us</h2> <ul class="noBullets"> <li><a href="tel:+441612751980">+44 (0)161 275 1980</a></li> <li><a href="tel:+441613062810">+44 (0)161 306 2810</a></li> <li><a href="/about/contact/">Contact details</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="fourcol halfSizeUntilLargeMobile lastAtMobile" id="footer-find-us"> <h2 class="h2Small">Find us</h2> <address><a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/maps/interactive-map/?id=32">Based at <br />The University of Manchester</a></address> </div> <div class="fourcol last"> <h2 class="h2Small">Connect with us</h2> <ul class="inlineList footer-socialIcons"> <li> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CoDEMcr" class="socialMediaLinks"> <img class="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAPT09AAAACH5BAAAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" width="40" height="40" data-original="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/phase1/templates/images/icon-facebook-50.png" alt="Facebook page for Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity" /> <noscript><img src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/phase1/templates/images/icon-facebook-50.png" width="40" height="40" alt="Facebook page for Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity" /></noscript> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://twitter.com/EthnicityUK" class="socialMediaLinks"> <img class="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAPT09AAAACH5BAAAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" width="40" height="40" data-original="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/phase1/templates/images/icon-x-twitter.svg" alt="X (formerly Twitter) page for Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity" /> <noscript><img src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/phase1/templates/images/icon-x-twitter.svg" width="40" height="40" alt="X (formerly Twitter) page for Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity" /></noscript> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZGYunEQLW2VPyhSmdNXUbw" class="socialMediaLinks"> <img class="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAPT09AAAACH5BAAAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" width="40" height="40" data-original="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/phase1/templates/images/icon-youtube-50.png" alt="YouTube page for Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity" /> <noscript><img src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/phase1/templates/images/icon-youtube-50.png" width="40" height="40" alt="YouTube page for Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity" /></noscript> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/codemcr/" class="socialMediaLinks"> <img class="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAPT09AAAACH5BAAAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" width="40" height="40" data-original="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/phase1/templates/images/icon-instagram-50.svg" alt="Instagram page for Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity" /> <noscript><img src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/phase1/templates/images/icon-instagram-50.svg" width="40" height="40" alt="Instagram page for Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity" /></noscript> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <hr /> <div class="row singleVertPadding"> <div class="twelvecol"> <ul class="inlineList" id="footer-links"> <li><a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/disclaimer/">Disclaimer</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/privacy-information/data-protection/">Data Protection</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/copyright/">Copyright notice</a></li> <li><a href="/web-accessibility/">Accessibility</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/privacy-information/freedom-information/">Freedom of information</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/governance/charitable-status/">Charitable status</a></li> <li><span>Royal Charter Number: RC000797</span></li> </ul> </div> </div> </footer>  </div> <div class="closeOverlay"></div> <script src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/corporate/js/libs/jquery-3.6.0.min.js"></script> <script src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/corporate/js/libs/jquery-migrate-3.3.2.min.js"></script> <script src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/corporate/js/iscroll.js"></script> <script src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/corporate/js/libs/global-plugins2.js"></script> <script src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/shared/js/global56.js"></script> <script src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/corporate/js/mobile-menus-04.js"></script> <script src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/corporate/js/mega-menu-keyboard-01.min.js"></script> <script src="https://assets.manchester.ac.uk/shared/js/additional-08.js"></script> <script src="https://assets-dev.manchester.ac.uk/shared/js/banner-block-01.js?1740556291"></script>  <script>$(document).ready(function(){if($("body").hasClass("cookie-banner-active"))$(".embed-container-twitter script:not([class^='optanon-category-'][type='text/plain'])").each(function(){$(this).addClass("optanon-category-C0004").attr("type","text/plain")}),$(".embed-container.videoportal iframe[src*='video.manchester.ac.uk']").each(function(){$(this).attr("data-src",$(this).attr("src")).attr("class","optanon-category-C0002").removeAttr("src")}),$("p iframe[data-src*='video.manchester.ac.uk']").each(function(){$(this).unwrap().wrap('<div class="embed-container videoportal"></div>')}),$("p iframe[data-src*='vimeo.com'], .embed-container iframe[data-src*='vimeo.com']").each(function(){$(this).unwrap().wrap('<div class="embed-container"></div>')}),$("iframe[src*='soundcloud.com']").each(function(){$(this).attr("data-src",$(this).attr("src")).attr("class","optanon-category-C0004").removeAttr("src").wrap('<div class="soundcloud-container"></div>')}),$("p iframe[src*='cdn.knightlab.com']").each(function(){$(this).attr("data-src",$(this).attr("src")).attr("class","optanon-category-C0003").removeAttr("src").unwrap().wrap('<div class="knightlab-timeline-container"></div>')});else{let t=document.querySelectorAll("script[class^='optanon-category-'][type='text/plain']");t.forEach(function(t){let a=t.getAttribute("src"),e=t.textContent,r=t.parentNode;var c=document.createElement("script");if(null!==a)c.src=a,c.classList.add("cookie-banner-prep"),r.appendChild(c);else{var n=document.createTextNode(e);c.appendChild(n),c.classList.add("cookie-banner-prep"),r.appendChild(c)}t.remove()});let a=document.querySelectorAll("iframe[class^='optanon-category-'][data-src]");a.forEach(function(t){t.setAttribute("src",t.getAttribute("data-src")),t.removeAttribute("data-src")})}});</script> </body> </html>