Radicalisation in prisons

Commenting on the government’s announcement on tackling Islamic radicalisation in prisons, Peter Dawson, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

“The review proposed small units for a very few prisoners—and as a temporary expedient, not a permanent regime. The goal must be to get people back into the main prison community, so that changes in their behaviour can be observed. Anything else is just storing up an even more difficult problem for when they are eventually released.

“Faith is overwhelmingly a constructive force within prisons and the prison Imams who undertake this most challenging role deserve the Government’s complete support—they are part of the solution not the problem. Sensible, proportionate measures to deal with a small minority of extremist prisoners who seek to undermine that work are welcome. But they will all rely on adequate resourcing – better trained staff can only use new skills if prisoners are unlocked and engaging with them.”

Peter appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. You can listen to it by clicking here.

You can also read Peter’s recent article in Counter Terror Business on how our justice system should respond to radicalisation by clicking here.