discriminatory exercise, particularly in the absence of effective independent oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, police practices that impact a certain minority excessively tend to reinforce the sentiment among the members of the group that they are not an integral part of society. Such practices can also contribute to the creation of a vicious circle of tension between the police and minority communities. I receive many reports regarding racial profiling, and the disproportionate targeting by police of individuals for identity checks, stop and search or other forms of coercive or privacy invasive police powers which are related purely to identity-based minority group characteristics. Moreover, a serious concern is the subjection of minorities to excessive and sometimes lethal use of force, torture or other ill treatment in detention, which in many cases results in the lack of prompt and impartial investigations and accountability of the responsible police officers. A worrying trend is the overrepresentation of minorities in pre-trial detention. Minorities may also face more frequent or longer periods of pre-trial detention owing to a number of reasons, including: lack of access to a lawyer; lesser quality of the lawyers assigned to them; experience of discriminatory attitudes by police, prosecutors, and judges or even by the same lawyers assigned to defend them. Minorities may also be ill prepared with respect to responding to criminal procedures due to poverty, stigmatization or lack of knowledge; sometimes their disadvantaged socioeconomic situation prevent them from posting bail or otherwise meeting conditions for release. In relation to judicial procedures and hearings, minorities may experience particular obstacles to realizing their rights to equality before the law, non-discrimination and a fair trial. These include unequal access to legal aid, which may not be readily available, or if so, often of low quality. Linguistic barriers may also pose problems for linguistic minorities accessing the justice system. Bias against minorities within judicial systems remains a real concern. The partiality of judicial personnel, including judges, members of juries and prosecutors may impact not only on the outcome of a trial itself, but also on sentencing. Indeed, research demonstrates that minorities often face a greater likelihood of a prison sentence rather than conditional release, greater likelihood of longer terms of imprisonment or a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole, as well as greater likelihood of imposition of the death penalty. Discrimination against minorities in pretrial detention and post-conviction imprisonment is of concern: minorities may experience poorer treatment or