Reporting discrimination in prison

If you are experiencing or have witnessed discrimination in prison, there are ways that you can report this. Alerting managers to discrimination makes it possible for them to do something about it.

Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to discriminate, harass or victimise someone because they have a protected characteristic. Protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

There are different types of discrimination. ‘Direct discrimination’ is when someone treats another person less favourably than others because of a protected characteristic. ‘Indirect discrimination’ is where a rule or policy particularly disadvantages someone with a protected characteristic compared to those that do not—unless the reasons for this can be fairly justified. Under the Act, it is against the law for someone to retaliate against a person (‘victimise’ them) because they complained about discrimination.

Every prison must have a process for dealing with complaints about discrimination, as described in PSI 32/2011 Ensuring Equality. You should be able to report discrimination that you have experienced or witnessed using Discrimination Incident Reporting Forms (DIRFs). DIRFs should be available in all areas of the prison and with envelopes to make sure what you write is private. You can also use a normal complaints forms (COMP 1) and it should be treated in the same way if it is a complaint about discrimination. As with other complaints, DIRFs should be collected daily by a member of staff who is not a residential officer on that wing or house block.

All DIRFs and complaints about discrimination should be logged and monitored when they are received. The timeline for response is the same as for general complaints, meaning that you should get a response in 5 working days. If they are unable to give you a full response in that time you should get an interim response explaining this and when they expect to be able to respond in full.

If a DIRF is about a serious incident or an allegation of misconduct by staff it should be referred for investigation. You should be told that this has happened and be kept updated. The investigation should be confidential to a point, but in many cases, the investigator will need to interview the person who is alleged to have discriminated. The policy states that the investigator should ensure that those who complain are protected. When the investigation is complete you should be told about any part of the outcome which is relevant to you. There is more information about this in PSO 1300 Investigations.

Other complaints about discrimination should be responded to by a manager. They should interview the person who has made the complaint to find out more about the issue and decide if any actions can be taken to address it. Once they have done this you should always get a written response.

The response you get should directly address the equality issue you raised. The Prison and Probation Ombudsman published a Learning Lessons bulletin – Complaints about Discrimination in January 2018 which makes clear that responding to complaints about discrimination without mention of the equality element or simply stating that there has been no discrimination without further explanation or investigation is not sufficient.

A report by Prison Reform Trust and Zahid Mubarek Trust in 2017 made similar recommendations. Tackling Discrimination in Prison looked into responses to complaints about discrimination and found inconsistent approaches across the prisons involved. Amongst other things it recommended that the investigator should meet with the person who made the complaint, that responses include an explanation of the reasons for the decision, and that they should try to find a way of recognising the complainant’s point of view. It also recommended that a regular report should be given to senior managers about topics raised in DIRFs so that they are aware of areas of concern.

Although there are clearly improvements that need to be made to the system, we encourage those that wish to report discrimination in prison to use the DIRF process. It is an important first step in bringing your concern to the attention of management and possibly getting the problem resolved. If you are not satisfied with the response to a complaint about discrimination, you can appeal using a stage 2 complaint form (COMP2) and, if you remain unsatisfied, you can then refer your complaint to the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO). Complaints about discrimination are also important because, if the complaint system is working as it should, it provides an opportunity for Governors learn about discrimination issues in their prison and make improvements.

You can contact the Prison Reform Trust’s advice team at FREEPOST ND6125 London EC1B 1PN. Please be aware that our free information line times have changed. It is now open 3.30pm-5.30pm on Monday and Thursday, and 10.30am-12.30pm on Wednesday. The number is 0808 802 0060 and does not need to be put on your pin.