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“The way individuals are treated in prison affects their chances of rehabilitation in tangible and intangible ways. Tangibly, access to opportunities like training courses, prison jobs and behaviour management programmes affects offenders’ ability to cope without reoffending when they leave prison. Intangibly, the extent to which prisoners believe they are treated fairly in prison has proven links both to their behaviour in custody and their likelihood of reoffending once released.”

The Lammy Review 2017

Manifesto on race equality in prisons

Fair treatment in prison is central to making prisons decent and humane so that they can keep prisoners safe and support the process of rehabilitation. When prisoners face unfair treatment, they are likely to lose trust in authority and disengage from staff. This sharply reduces the chances that prisoners make the progress in custody required to reduce their risk of reoffending on release. Unequal access to education, work, or progression blocks opportunities for change, while experiences of dignity and fairness build the confidence and motivation needed for successful resettlement. As the Lammy Review stressed, fairness is not optional: it is a driver of rehabilitation.

The prison population is more racially diverse with significant over representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people. The complexity of this racial and ethnic mix of prisoners highlights the importance of consistent Race Equality practices and policies in prisons. There are three key reasons for prioritising race equality in prison

1. Legal and Moral Obligation

2. Evidence of Inequality and Disproportionate Outcomes

The Lammy Review (2017) showed there were persistent racial disparities in key prison outcomes. Ethnic minority prisoners are disproportionately adversely impacted in key areas such as: Use of force, Adjudications and disciplinary action, Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP), Categorisation and progression.

Inspection Reports from His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons continue to comment on the marked racial disparities found during inspections. These disparities undermine confidence in the system and contribute to a culture of mistrust and disengagement among ethnic minority prisoners and staff.

3. Operational Effectiveness and Safety

Equality is fundamental to good order, discipline, and safety. Where race equality is neglected, tensions grow, trust diminishes, and the risk of conflict increases. By contrast, prioritising race equality reduces the potential for racially motivated conflict in prisons and strengthens staff-prisoner relationships, which are central to rehabilitation. Embedded racial equality practices positively impacts staff morale by maintaining professionalism through transparent standards and accountability. Evidence suggests that race equality is not only a matter of fairness but of effective prison management and makes prisons safer for both staff and prisoners.

The Legacy of Zahid Mubarek

Zahid was murdered in a shared cell in March 2000 in HMP/YOI Feltham by his cellmate who was already known to be violent with a history of racist beliefs. In the aftermath of the murder and the two external Inquiries it prompted (a CRE Inquiry and a Public Inquiry), the Prison Service at that time committed to a national programme of action to improve racial equality. Delivering the agreed Race Equality Action Plan was an acknowledged high priority for the Prison Service Board and all prisons. With visible leadership from the Prison Service Board, senior leadership of the Service including Prison Governors

With the passage of time the priority given to race equality has been lost. In the intervening years issues of racism in prison have remained steadfast. It requires a new focus and determined leadership to secure the improvements which are urgently needed to make racial equality a reality and not just an aspiration.

Racial equality is not an optional ideal: it is a legal duty, a moral necessity, and an operational imperative. The lessons of the past demand that HMPPS act with renewed ambition, genuine partnership, and unwavering accountability. To make prisons safer, fairer, and more effective, racial equality must once again become a visible, measurable, and non-negotiable priority at every level of the prison system.

We call for renewed

Ambition

HMPPS to publish a Racial Equality Strategy for prisons which sets out a clear vision of how the prison service provides true racial equality for prisoners and staff.

Action

Establish meaningful and direct engagement with specialist organisations working in prisons, including lived experience individuals, through an independent scrutiny group.

Embed race equality and diversity training, co-designed with specialist organisations, into all areas of staff development. All courses, from initial training for prison officers to leadership programmes, should include a focus on race and equality.

Set out clear mandatory actions for achieving race equality in prisons and specify measurable performance targets on all the key area (use of force, adjudications, IEP, discrimination complaints, access to activities and categorisation), both for HMPPS HQ, and for prisons.

Accountability

Regularly publish progress updates on performance against the race equality targets (use of force, adjudications, IEP, discrimination complaints, access to activities and categorisation) in the HMPPS Annual Report.

Publish the results of equality impact assessments showing how the service has considered race equality issues when developing national policy.

Movement for Race Equality in Prisons

What does the Movement stand for

We stand together: practitioners, people with lived experience, families, and communities, united by a shared belief that every person in prison deserves fairness, dignity, and respect.
We recognise that racial inequality continues to shape the experiences and outcomes of too many people in the prison system. We will not look away.
We commit ourselves to highlighting inequalities, challenging discrimination, and working together to create environments where everyone is treated with humanity and decency.
We believe that true change comes through listening: to lived experience, to those most affected, and to each other.
We will use our voices, our positions, and our influence to make equality a lived reality, not just a policy or a promise.
We will celebrate leadership that is fair and courageous.
We will hold ourselves and others accountable when standards fall short. And we will build relationships across divides: between staff and prisoners, between prisons and communities, grounded in respect, trust, and shared purpose.

This is our collective commitment to the Manifesto on Race Equality in Prisons:

to stand up for race equality, because it is the responsibility, we all share.

How the Movement Works

The Movement for Race Equality in Prisons is a collective of individuals and organisations committed to turning the principles of the Manifesto for Race Equality in Prisons into everyday practice. It is powered by collaboration, guided by evidence, and driven by lived experience.

A Steering Group, coordinated by the ZMT, will be established by January 2026. The Steering Group will consist of individuals and organisations who are independent from the prison system.

The Steering Group will:

Set strategic priorities aligned with the Manifesto.
Scrutinise the progress on race equality work at the national HMPPS level.
Publish an independent annual review of the Race Equality in Prisons.
Engage with the members of the Movement meaningfully and regularly.
Publish position papers highlighting progress and areas of concern.
Bring together data, testimonies, and lived experience to inform national policy and practice.
Ceate a digital network for sharing learning, resources, and updates.
Enable opportunities for co-production and partnership between prisons and community organisations.

Building a National Voice

The movement will connect people who care about race equality in prisons: practitioners, prisoners, families, and community advocates.

This is how we turn momentum into movement and movement into change.

This is not a campaign that ends when the spotlight fades.

It is a sustained, living movement grounded in action, partnership, and accountability.

Together, we will ensure that the Manifesto for Race Equality in Prisons is not just implemented but embedded.

Because race equality is not optional.

It is the foundation of justice, and the measure of our collective humanity.

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