Written evidence from Maslaha (ppp0066)

Introduction

About us

Maslaha seeks to change and challenge the conditions that create inequalities for Muslim communities in areas such as education, gender, criminal justice, health, negative media coverage and a continued climate of Islamaphobia. We understand deeply how this context can leave individuals and communities suffering and unable to realise their full potential.

Our work is practical and rooted in local communities but with a reach that is national and international, and with a view to influencing policy and the public imagination.

We recognise and rely on the knowledge and expertise that exists in the communities that we work with and the power this has to create change across society.

Why our work is important

The past few years have seen a heightened focus on Muslim communities and Islam across the UK and abroad. The combination of terrorist attacks, war, political decisions about how to tackle radicalisation have all shaped with an intense pace how Muslims are portrayed and regarded in wider society.  

The levels of social deprivation and inequality, however, continue to grow.  Muslim communities continue to suffer disproportionality from inequalities in health, education, criminal justice, negative media coverage and a continued climate of Islamaphobia and practical initiatives that can create systemic change, remain absent.

A significant proportion of this population lives in deprived inner-city areas, and Muslims surpass all other faith groups in levels of unemployment, economic inactivity, ill health, educational underachievement, and poor housing conditions:

The reasons for this currently are a lack of awareness and practical understanding of the specific needs of Muslim communities and other BAME marginalised communities (we’re using BAME here for ease) and understanding the importance of religious, cultural, gendered, geographical and class context.

Government departments, public services and the charity sector tend to focus their work on singular issues, but inequality crosses these silos and so solutions which focus on only  ‘education’, or ‘homelessness, (for example) do not adequately address the multi-faceted inequalities which Muslim communities and other disadvantaged people face. Failing to account for intersecting inequalities, means for example that Muslim communities continue to suffer disproportionately from chronic health conditions such as diabetes or depression, costing the NHS financially. In the case of the criminal justice system discrimination has led to disproportionate numbers of young Muslim men in prison and young offender institutes. This not only ruins individual lives but affects families as well, and creates a distrust of the justice system. This is also occurs at great cost to the tax-payer. Muslim and other marginalised communities know what they need, and yet their voice is usually unasked for and their expertise remains unrecognised.

Government policies such as Prevent, instead of tackling this distrust or Islamaphobia, have instead exacerbated feelings of isolation. Surveillance in places that rely on trusting relationships such as schools and hospitals means a breakdown of trust between communities and public services. This leads to services failing in their mission to treat all communities equally regardless of their ethnicity or religious belief.

There is a distrust of Muslim communities and Islam which pervades our media, society in general and services. This has led to a system of stereotyping and silencing of the diversity that exists within Muslim communities, with the most marginalised feeling the brunt of this prejudice.

Maslaha sits on an advisory group to the MOJ with a focus on racial disproportionality within the criminal justice system.

The director, Raheel Mohammed, is also a trustee of Clinks.

There has been a disproportionate rise in young Muslim men in the criminal justice system with the number doubling over the past 10 years. Although Muslim communities roughly make up 5% of the general population in England and Wales, they make up 15% of the prison population. Our reports have also highlighted the discrimination that exists within the criminal justice system and how this particularly manifests itself if you are Muslim.

According to a recent review led by David Lammy MP, this dramatic rise in the number of prisoners is not linked terrorism offences, as on average, very few people are  convicted of these offences each year. Just 175 Muslims  were convicted of terrorism-related offences between 2001 and 2012.However, because the rest of the CJS does not ask or record the same information as the prison system, we know far too little about what has been driving this trend.

What we do know and this is supported by the Lammy Review, is that there is evidence of differential treatment. For example, analysis of sentencing data from 2015 shows that at the Crown Court, BAME defendants  were more likely than White defendants to receive prison sentences for drug offences, even when factors such as past convictions are taken into account.

We are advocating for a more sophisticated approach to understanding the needs of Muslim men and women in the system which will lead to better designed and delivered public services and ultimately a justice system that does not discriminate on the basis of religion or ethnicity. We also believe that central to this journey is ensuring that the voices of those have been through the criminal justice are heard and their expertise is recognised.

Many of these inequalities emerged as having had considerable bearing in the lives of young Muslim men at risk of entering the criminal justice system in Maslaha’s two reports ‘Young Muslims on Trial’ (http://www.maslaha.org/sites/default/files/images/Young_Muslims_on_Trial%20%281%29_0.pdf) and ‘All We Are’ (www.allweare.org.uk) project which looks at the root causes of offending and re-offending among young Muslim men.

• What is the current and projected make-up of the (sentenced and unsentenced) prison population in England and Wales up to 2022?

The number of Muslim men in prison has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, making up just under 14,000 of the prison population, a disproportionate number as Muslim communities make up about 4.5% of the general population in England and Wales.

The number of BAME people in the youth justice system is now at 50% .

• What has led to the current size and make-up of the prison population?

There is a lack of data as to why there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Muslim prisoners, as data collected based on religion is only collected in prison. It is therefore difficult to identify why this has happened and as the Lammy Review pointed out, an area of concern:

“A second gap in the data concerns religion. A quirk of the CJS is that the prison system monitors religious identification. As a result, we know that the number of

Muslims in prison has increased by almost 50% over the last decade from 8,900 to 13,200. Muslims now make up 15% of the prison population, but just 5% of the general population. This is a worrying trend and risks becoming a source of social division.

This dramatic rise in the number of prisoners is not linked to terrorism offences, as on average, very few people are convicted of these offences each year. Just 175 Muslims were convicted of terrorism-related offences between 2001 and 2012. However, because the rest of the CJS does not ask or record the same information as the prison system, we know far too little about what has been driving this trend. Are charging decisions, or trial outcomes affecting the numbers ending up in prison? Are large proportions of prisoners converting to Islam once they are in custody? We simply do not know. This gap needs to be taken seriously. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the courts should ask and record religious identification in the future in the same way that the prison system does.”

• What is the Ministry of Justice's existing strategy for managing safely and effectively the prison population?

Our report, Young Muslims on Trial, shows the concerns raised by young Muslim men in prison and the discrimination they face, which clearly shows that safety is an issue. We also include in this, the emotional and mental strain and effects of being subjected to racism in prison. Examples include:

“Members of the group had said they experienced heightened suspicion from officers and other prisoners around group prayers – “any excuse they will ban you from prayers. Once a group

of us got banned from prayers because of an incident that happened on the way to the prayer room – even though it had nothing to do with prayers!” One group member described how he had asked for a Muslim cell mate so he could pray in his cell. This wasn’t facilitated and his

cell mate would watch television while he was praying, which would cause fights. Most felt that this and other incidents could have been avoided and diffused easily by prison officers. Such conduct from officers sits poorly with guidance from the Ministry of Justice on faith and pastoral care for prisoners, indicating that adequate provision and sensitivity needs to be shown to collective and private worship.”

• What are the implications of the likely rise in the population for the resources required to manage prisons safely and effectively?

There are a couple of areas of concern for:

Discrimination and increased sense of distrust and alienation

Our Young Muslims on Trial report, funded by Barrow Cadbury, showed through our interviews, that racism for many young Muslim men had become normalised, and usually described as “banter”:

“In prison different members of the group described receiving racist abuse from prison officers and a general cultural incompetence on the part of the prison. This ranged from being on the receiving end of “racist banter”–“how come you’re wearing a condom on your head today?” - which, on occasion, provoked serious incidents, to a lack of cultural sensitivity and knowledge, such as selling prayer mats to non- Muslim prisoners to use as rugs on the floors of their cells, not understanding a Muslim’s need for cleanliness and on understanding of the importance of prayer time.”

The overwhelmingly negative light in which Islam is viewed by authorities at different stages of the CJS, sits in stark contrast with the actual experiences of Muslim prisoners and ex-offenders, many of whom describe religion as a positive and supportive influence in coping with both prison and release. The increase of Imams in the Prison Chaplaincy Service over the last decade has similarly been observed to improve Muslim prisoners’ experiences and provide confidence in the outcome of prison procedures.[1] Failing to recognise and harness the potential of religion to contribute positively to the lives of young Muslims, is a grave oversight on the part of authorities. How this prejudice, whether conscious or unconscious, plays out at the point of sentencing deserves particular attention.

One ex-offender told us: “I’ve seen a lot how Islam gives people more core values to ensure you’re not going to commit crime again. We know some prime examples of people who became more religious in prison and became so humble and you just know would never offend again.” He also suggested that the prison service knows that Islam is helping a lot of Muslim prisoners but that this is something they won’t admit.

Vital services fail to meet the needs of BAME prisoners

We know that there has been a lack of research on the mental health care experience of minority ethnic groups as well as a lack of commitment to commission such work.[2] Despite this, research and anecdotal accounts point to significant discrepancies in service outcome, between minority ethnic groups and the rest of the population.[3]

Re-admission rates are higher in black and minority ethnic groups and “patients from all minority ethnic groups are more likely than white majority patients to be misunderstood and misdiagnosed and more likely to be prescribed drugs rather than talking treatments such as psychotherapy and counseling.” When it comes to mental health interventions for prisoners, recent research suggests that “interventions with offenders with mental illness effectively reduced symptoms of distress and resulted in improved behavioural markers … such interventions have also been shown to produce significant reductions in psychiatric and criminal reoffending.[4]

In light of this recognition that mental health interventions can prevent sufferers from reoffending it should be noted that the success of mental health interventions in general differs when it comes to BAME prisoners. It was noted in the Young Review that ‘people from BAME communities tend to follow unduly ‘coercive pathways’ into mental health services via a Criminal Justice System (CJS) gateway.’[5]  Moreover ‘African and Caribbean men experience the greatest disparities and often have a deep mistrust of mental health services which researchers have attributed to fraught relationships between black men, the police and other institutions.’[6] Further, the Centre for Mental Health believes it to be highly likely that people from BAME communities with learning disabilities are over represented within the CJS.[7]

The Young Review reported that while many Muslim ex-offenders and prisoners have highlighted Islam as a positive force, authorities view it with suspicion.[8] A HMIP report in 2010 describes that Muslims still report the least positive perceptions of prison life.[9]

Lack of trust

Our current project is looking at how equipped vital services are to meet the needs of Muslim prisoners. Initial findings indicate more could be done to understand how the cultural and religious needs are important in areas such as mental health as indicated above.

But what is also clear, that even if a service is good, if the prison environment is hostile then vital services such as education courses will not be used because they are part of a service that is not trusted and seen as discriminatory. This distrust of the system is then carried out once on release. The feelings of alienation are not conducive in preventing reoffending, but the system is also failing to deliver fair justice.

An environment which may contained “normalised racism” cannot be fixed with an afternoon of diversity training and requires a greater structural and cultural change.

The Lammy Review also points to this distrust with the criminal justice system:

“Trust is low not just among defendants and offenders, but among the BAME population as a whole. In bespoke analysis for this review which drew on the 2015 Crime Survey for England and Wales, 51% of people from BAME backgrounds born in England and Wales who were surveyed believe that ‘the criminal justice system

discriminates against particular groups and individuals’. The answer to this is to remove one of the biggest symbols of an ‘us and them’ culture – the lack of diversity

among those making important decisions in the CJS; from prison officers and governors, to the magistrates and the judiciary. Alongside this, much more needs to be done to demystify the way decisions are made at every point in the system. Decisions must be fair, but must also be seen to be fair, if we are to build respect for the rule of law.”

• What is Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service's current capacity to manage safely and effectively the prison population?

There is a lack of research into the experience of Muslims in prison, hence our current work, especially the breadth of discrimination that might be occurring. It is worth quoting a Zahid Mubarak report which states:

“The current process of investigating discrimination reports is not equipped to tackle subtle discrimination (for example, a lack of respect due to a protected characteristic). Prisoners reported routine favouritism, but the vast majority of these were dismissed. Similarly, some reports showed patterns of discrimination by individual officers. But not one complaint by prisoners alleging a pattern of discriminatory behaviour by a staff member was upheld.”

A Guardian journalist covered our report for an article and further evidence on how ineffectively Muslim prisoners were treated came to light:

“Many Muslim prisoners told Maslaha they were banned from Friday prayers for minor infractions as if practising their faith was a privilege like watching TV. Mohammed contends this is in breach of the Prison Service instruction on faith and pastoral care, which states bans should only be imposed for exceptional and specific concerns for … mental or physical wellbeing, previous serious misbehaviour during worship, or if the governor judges they are likely to cause a disturbance or be a threat to security or control.

Amad says some prison officers seemed to be scared of groups of Muslims, especially at Friday prayers. “No one else would get banned from prayers except for the Muslim people,” he says. “There was one guy who walked over the grass and he got banned for three weeks.”

(https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/06/muslims-discrimination-uk-prisons-extremism)

November 2018