Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Equality, diversity and inclusionLatest NewsLearning & developmentReligious discrimination

Prison Service must improve relations with Muslim inmates

by Mike Berry 10 Oct 2008
by Mike Berry 10 Oct 2008

The Prison Service needs to “urgently” improve how staff deal with Muslim inmates, the chief inspector of prisons has warned.

After a visit to high security HMP Whitemoor in April, chief inspector Anne Owers said staff at the jail appeared to have little idea of, and been given no support in, how to relate to Muslim inmates, except as suspected national security risks or extremists.

Relationships between staff and prisoners, except on the specialist units, were “distant and distrustful”, and fewer prisoners than in other high security prisons said that most staff treated them with respect.

However, the inspector did identify some progress, with use of force and segregation reduced and innovative working in the specialist unit for prisoners with dangerous and severe personality disorders.

Owers said: “There had undoubtedly been some improvements at Whitemoor since the previous inspection. However, at the same time, the population had become more challenging, and it was not evident that the prison had yet been able to rise to those challenges.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“In particular, as we have said in relation to other prisons, especially high security prisons, the Prison Service as a whole needs to equip staff better to deal with the growing number of Muslim prisoners. This inspection and others have charted a growing disaffection and distance between those prisoners and the prison system: a gap which urgently needs to be bridged.”

Phil Wheatley, director-general of the National Offender Management Service, said: “Work to improve the relationships between staff and prisoners is a priority, and measures have been implemented to tackle this, including training to develop staff understanding of the growing Muslim population.”

Mike Berry

previous post
Emergency measures for credit crunch job losses revealed
next post
Ministry of Defence loses personal details of Armed Forces staff

You may also like

Jobs on the line across NHS trusts in...

9 May 2025

Why fighting the DEI backlash is about PR...

9 May 2025

Construction workers win compensation claim against defunct employer

9 May 2025

Rumours during recruitment: how should HR respond?

9 May 2025

UK-US deal saves ‘thousands’ of jobs in car...

9 May 2025

Teacher apprenticeship route to be tied to school...

9 May 2025

Zero-hours workers’ rights to be extended from beyond...

8 May 2025

NHS worker awarded £29k after Darth Vader comparison

8 May 2025

Senior execs at BlackRock to work in office...

8 May 2025

CIPD appoints expert in AI to boost support...

8 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+