Catholics incarcerated in Northern Ireland’s prisons get fewer privileges than their Protestant counterparts, it has emerged.
The Northern Ireland Prison Service was urged in a report from the Criminal Justice Inspection (CJI) to review why predominantly Protestant front line prison staff in charge of discipline gave Catholics fewer privileges.
The CJI said figures showed there were discrepancies about the percentages who availed of work, gym and educational facilities in the prisons, but it said: “The figures which gave rise to the most concern relate to Progressive Regimes and Earned Privileges Schemes and adjudications.”
An inspection report from the CJI said there were three levels on the schemes - basic, standard and enhanced - with prisoners on the enhanced level being able to benefit more from privileges.
It said: “The monitoring undertaken by the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) suggests that Roman Catholic prisoners in each of the NIPS establishments are over-represented on the basic and standard levels and under-represented on the enhanced level.”
The report added: “It is important that the NIPS investigate the reasons why a statistically significant lower number of Roman Catholic prisoners progress to the enhanced level in comparison to Protestant prisoners.
“Figures supplied by the NIPS revealed that in June 2008 42% of Roman Catholic prisoners were on the enhanced level in comparison to 55% of Protestant prisoners.” The report said it was a clearly a “complex and sensitive area”.
However it added there was no supporting evidence of a direct link between a prison officer’s religion and adjudication outcomes.
The NIPS suggested to the CJI that Catholic prisoners were more likely to reject authority and that there was more affinity between Protestant prisoners and staff because they came from similar backgrounds and lived in the same areas.
The CJI welcomed the fact the NIPS had “started to grapple with this sensitive and difficult issue” and encouraged them to continue to do so.
The report recommended prison service bosses publish the findings of an internal review.
The CJI also called on all criminal justice organisations to place a greater emphasis on the promotion of equal opportunities among all sections of the community.
Citing the information gathered from the Prison Service, Dr Michael Maguire, chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland, urged each of the agencies in the criminal justice system to approach the task of collecting equality information with renewed vigour.
“Our findings reveal that while all agencies were aware of their responsibilities under the law, the information inspectors examined in many cases was incomplete and only provided a limited picture of what was happening across the system,” he said.
Without the monitoring of effective, accurate and timely equality information , agencies could not fully meet their obligations to to identify any inequalities that may exists and take action to ensure human rights equality, he said.
“The information we examined in relation to the Northern Ireland Prison Service for example identified a number of issues in relation to the ways in which prisoners were treated and the make up of the workforce,” said Dr Maguire.
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland welcomed the report by the CJI. Evelyn Collins, chief executive of the commission, said: “We support the call by the chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland for improvements in the collation and monitoring of equality information throughout the criminal justice system.
“Effective monitoring allows public bodies to identify and address any underlying issues which may impact on the promotion of equality.
“Monitoring is an essential aspect of the exercise of the duties and it should be seen as an aid to improving both policy development and service delivery by the criminal justice agencies.” She said the commission would consider the detail of the report and its recommendations and anticipated it would inform ongoing work with the relevant organisations.
Security Minister Paul Goggins said the system was committed to equality and diversity.
“Much progress has been made already. Equity monitoring for those passing through custody suites is now in place and the results will be published later in the year.
“The current consultation on a women’s strategy shows how we are embracing new and better targeted methods of consultation and engagement.
“And Criminal Justice Inspection’s recommendations relevant to individual criminal justice agencies have all been taken up,” he said.
He added he would personally review progress on all recommendations.