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Home Office

Answer

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for The Home Department what improvements have been made in procedures for investigations of racial incidents and complaints in prison. [191898] Paul Goggins: Following a review of the racist incidents reporting system, a dedicated form for registering racist incidents is now available across the whole of the prison estate. This form can be completed by anyone who is a victim or a witness to an incident within the prison. The purpose of the revised form is to improve: the recording of racist incidents; the response to individual reports, thereby increasing the confidence of victims; the monitoring of the information available so that prisons can make improvements in race. The form has a tear-off slip, which must be given to the person reporting the incident (victim or witness) as proof that a report has been submitted. This is intended to increase confidence in the system and to form part of an audit trail. The form also requires that any decision by a complainant or witness to withdraw a complaint is thoroughly explored and any possibility of intimidation is explicitly examined and ruled out. The responsibility of ensuring that investigations are carried out effectively rests with the Governing Governor of each establishment, or the Head of Group for Headquarters units. As part of their responsibilities the Race Relations Management Teams in each establishment are required to monitor the investigation of racist complaints and their outcomes. The training course for those carrying out investigations was revised and improved at the beginning of 2004. The course includes specific training on dealing with race related complaints. The joint Prison Service/Commission for Racial Equality Race Equality Action Plan recognises that further improvements need to be made with regard to the quality and thoroughness of the investigations of racial incidents. The Service has begun to develop a programme of work to assess the feasibility of having external bodies such as Race Equality Councils, review the adequacy of racist incident investigations.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

426 c1116-7W;426 c1120-1W; 191898

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Complaints Prisons Racial discrimination Racial harassment

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk