Racism endemic in UK prisons
A report by the Commission for Racial Equality has found repeated instances of racist graffiti in prisons, including staff toilets.
In Brixton Prison, graffiti in the staff lavatories in 1998 read: “Preserve wildlife, pickle a nigger.” Letters from prisoners at Parc Prison, south Wales, often carried the initials KKK (Ku Klux Klan) and RVS (Rhondda Valley Skins).
The CRE investigated cases of racism in three prisons- Brixton, Feltham and Parc, south Wales.
The CRE found the prison service guilty of unlawful discrimination on 17 accounts. It said prisons were failing ethnic minorities in almost every area.
The Commission highlighted the disproportionate number of ethnic minorities in prison. The number of black men in gaol has risen by 50 per cent in three years, the CRE found.
Phil Wheatley, director general of the Prison Service, reflecting on the report’s findings, expressed his “shock and horror”: “I felt as I read it there were some shameful things in there that as a Prison Service we should look at with horror. We should work hard to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
The watchdog’s report read: “It would be hard to find more obscenely racist material. However, there was often little sign of a pro-active approach on the part of staff toward stopping racist behaviour.”
Mr Wheatley has pledged to address race issues in British jails.
Trevor Phillips, the CRE chairman, said: “What’s most shocking about this report is that, despite numerous wake-up calls, Prison Service managers have persistently failed to tackle racism in their institutions and that very often they have also failed to implement their own policies on racial discrimination, abuse and harassment.”
Last night, a disturbance broke out at Feltham Young Offenders Institute, with prisoners starting fires and climbing on roofs.
Three people were on the roofs of the prisons at around 20:00 GMT, with police later negotiating with the inmates.
Ambulance and fire crews were on standby with police helicopter pilots on alert as a precaution.
