Ethnic Minority Prisoners in Britain

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Prison can be a daunting and psychological challenge for anyone. Experiences can have lifelong effects and can often traumatise those incarcerated. However the experience minority ethnic prisoners face can be deemed diverse. They can become victims of discrimination, racism violence and harassment all on the basis of their race, skin colour, or nationality. Scott and Codd (2010, P. 70) note that ‘prisoners from certain believed culturally or biologically determined ‘racial groups’ are understood as being genetically, intellectually or socially inferior beings, thus contributing to their own poverty of life experiences and criminal identity'. Scott and Codd (2010) state that ‘the prison place racism is a key dimension of the expression of power, shaping prejudicial decisions, exclusionary practices and the physical manifestation of violence, bullying and intimidation’. Scott and Codd (2010, P.70) put forward that ‘this penal terror goes even further for some, such as foreign national prisoners, as it can exacerbate the structured pains of the prison itself. Jewkes and Johnston (2006, P.107) found that ‘prisoners from ethnic minority backgrounds have faced a long struggle in getting the Home Office and Prison Service to recognise their diverse cultural, religious and dietary needs’. Jewkes and Johnston (2006) put forward that the UK prison population has risen by 15,000 since New Labour came to power in 1997, and has doubled since Margaret Thatcher took office in 1979. Inmates from ethnic minority backgrounds account for a large percentage of this figure. For example the white population increased by 36 per cent, Black population grew by 196 per cent, south Asian populations grew by 120 per cent and Chinese/other Asian by 223 ...

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...and Phillips, C. (2002) Racism, Crime and Justice. Pearson Educated Limited: England.

Chigwada-Bailey, R. (2003) Black Women’s Experiences of Criminal Justice: Discourse on Disadvantages, 2nd edn. Winchester. Waterside Press.

Jewkes, Y. And Johnston, H. (2006) Prison Readings: A Critical Introduction to Prisons and Punishment. Willan Publishing Devon.

Wilson, D. and Moore, S. (2003) Playing the Game – The Experiences of Young Black Men in Custody. London: The Children’s Society.

Ryan, M. (1996) Lobbying from Below. London: UCL Press.

Burnett, R. and Farrell, G. (1994) Reported and Unreported Racial Incidents in Prisons, Occasional Paper, No.14. Oxford: University of Oxford Centre for Criminological Research.

Gravett, S. (2007) Coping with Prison: A Guide to Practitioners on the Realities of Imprisonment. SAGE Publications Company. London

Home Office (1986)

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