Race Relations Act Essay Example

Race Relations Act Essay Example Race Relations Act Essay Race Relations Act Essay There has been a great deal of pressure on the government and on the police after the Stephen Lawrence murder to get things right and bring justice to the murders, in spite of this the Damilola case was not conducted properly. Some people blame the system and the police for not providing enough protection for the main witness and checking out the statements fully before the trial. Some people think that the amount of money spent on this case could have been used for safety and prevention measures, as children should be brought up in a safe environment, not in constant terror. Others believe that the local community let Damilola down by not answering to police enquiries. The police are not to blame for not getting the answers needed, but his neighbours and local area for refusing to help to solve his murder. Legislation in themselves do not stop discrimination just like speed cameras do not stop people speeding. The existence of a law does send out a very clear message that discrimination is not acceptable under any circumstances and there are consequences for those who decide to disregard the laws. All policies are only effective in promoting their aims if staff are committed to implementing them, if they are properly resourced and regularly evaluated, reviewed and updated. Policies can increase awareness, but will not in themselves, change attitudes or practice. Beaver et al. (1999) This quote shows that policy guidelines need to be carried out with good practice; just having the policy is not enough to prevent racism occurring in the future. Good practice is essential for children to enhance their social, physical, emotional, intellectual and linguistic development. Even with all these Acts, policies and legislation present in the current law, if racism related cases are taken to court, according to Beaver (2001) Successful prosecutions are comparatively rare. The law in its current state needs to be amended so that the legal system defends the accused more than witnesses and the suffering families. The criminal judicial service needs to be reformed so that prosecutions are more achievable. As the strongest way of promotion the media should encourage anti-discriminatory practice. Race Relations Act 1976 The passing of this Act makes it illegal to discriminate anyone on grounds of race, colour, nationality (including citizenship), ethnic origin or national rights in housing, education, employment, entertainment and provision of services and goods. This Act also set up the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), which carries out research, sends out information, and carries out investigations into cases of alleged racial discrimination both directly and indirectly. Method This is how I carried out my investigation. 1. I asked my supervisor for permission to do an investigation about racism and anti-discrimination / bias. 2. I photocopied the Equal Opportunities Policy 3. I devised a resources tick chart for all the rooms at the nursery 4. I devised a questionnaire for the staff at the nursery 5. I used textbooks to help me with theory With the resources tick chart I walked around all the rooms of the nursery checking whether each room had all the resources on the list. If they did it got a tick, if not then a cross. I showed the manager a copy of the questionnaire for approval before I gave them out to each member of staff. I asked politely if they could fill them in if they had time over the next few days. I collected the completed questionnaires and compiled the results together with the results from the resources. Presentation of my Results Only one person knew of any relevant legislation out of the 6 people I asked, but still could not name any. This shows that more training is needed to promote the awareness of Racial Equality within the day nursery so that adults know they can be protected against racial allegations and also be a good role model for the children in their care. All 6 people were aware of any posters or statements, but only half of staff knew where the Equal Opportunities Policy was kept. The majority of people knew there was a poster promoting children from different cultures. There could be more staff meetings to discuss and refresh staff on the whereabouts of important policies. 60% of staff thought that the resources were adequate but these opinions were from the staff from rooms of the older children 3-5years, where they appear to use the resources more than the under 2s children. The staff from the baby unit felt dolls with disabilities were missing.