The Prison Service today published their Race Review 2008 report detailing progress made within the Service on race equality over the past five years.
Todays' launch which was held at Brixton Prison, is five years to the day since the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) published its report on race equality in the Prison Service.
The review highlights how far the Service has come in delivering race equality since 2003. The report demonstrates the significant progress made in putting the systems and processes in place to effectively manage race equality in prisons. However, the report also acknowledges that, despite considerable changes, the experience of Black and Minority Ethnic prisoners and staff has not been transformed.
Phil Wheatley, Director General for NOMS said:
"The launch of the review report represents the results of considerable hard work and focus on improving delivery on race by staff at all levels of the Service. Whilst the actions we have taken over the last five years have generated substantial improvements, there is still more to do and we are not complacent.
"In moving forward, the report does not call for a raft of new initiatives but for a more common sense, ordinary understanding of race where right relationships are the key to progress and where good prison officers, good managers, and good leaders are the means of achieving that."
Justice Minister Shahid Malik said:
"The Prison Service has shown its willingness to be transparent and to engage with its partners in an important, and often challenging, area of its business. On reading the report, there can be no doubt that the Service has come a long way since this day five years ago.
"However, there's no room for complacency. In moving forward, I want to see the Prison Service – both nationally and locally – continuing to work co-operatively with partner organisations, building on the solid foundations already laid to tackle the challenges that lie ahead."
To read the full report, please download the documents below.
