general issues
General Issues
Hate Crimes
Colleagues it is an honour to represent you the membership at National level and as part of my responsibilities the National Chairman Colin Moses and I attended a Hate Crimes conference in Belfast. The significance of this is two-fold, the first is the importance of supporting and working with our sister unions to campaign and highlight inequalities and debate strategies which, in this case is NAPO the union for the probation and the court’s and secondly it is important that the POA as a progressive and modern trade union tackles some of the real and difficult issues that Criminal Justice and Prison Service staff have to face on a daily basis.
Within our organisation we have vast amounts of expertise and experience in all aspects of our profession just a few being, criminal justice policy, managing offenders, mental health issues and of course security and custody. Addressing the issue of hate crimes is a debate we have never as a union had; but should grasp with vigour and take to our employers. I am not only going to report on the hate crimes conference but also attempt to address some of the social and criminal justice implications to this real issue that we face everyday of our lives, whether at work or not in an attempt to raise awareness and encourage our employers to take a modern proactive approach to what can only be described as a problem.
WHAT ARE HATE CRIMES
The terminology is extremely diverse and is there to define a broad class of crimes. The terminology was coined in America in 1985 and there are numerous definitions that express the meaning but a simple and effective definition used by ACPO and one I will use for this article is: -
A hate crime is taken to mean any crime where the perpetrators prejudice against an identifiable group of people is a factor in determining who is victimised. This is a broad and inclusive definition.
We can enlarge on that definition by giving some examples of what would fit within the meaning, which include Racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia. Also included would be offences against lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender people and sectarianism. That list is not exhaustive but it does give a good indication into the types of crimes that could be called hate crimes.
How many of our senior managers can say with conviction that they knew the inclusive phrase hate crime and were attempting to address the social problems at establishment level. My feeling is not many if any at all which would in my view be indicative of the Prison Service at local and national level.
That indictment is unacceptable and a position the POA with our sister unions throughout the UK will not tolerate. We expect that staff are lead by an employer that will jump outside the political box that they and we are placed in by the expectations of those more interested in self gain and deal with real issues as society in general is dealing with them. A position that continually frustrates the NEC is how far behind the social changes that are occurring generally the Prison Service seem to be perpetually lagging. In the case of hate crimes the police service are an example of how senior management should attempt to grasp an issue and remedy the root causes rather than papering over the cracks.
THE POLICE STRATEGY
One of the speakers at the conference was Commander Steve Allen who is the Director of the Diversity Directorate for the Metropolitan Police. His address was both poignant and direct with an in-depth critique of how the police force has made some serious and disastrous mistakes when dealing with hate crimes from cases such as Stephen Lawrence to the recent documentary regarding racist police officers called “the secret policeman”. The strategy that the police have taken in response to criticism that has been levelled at them is one of a critical analysis of the social issues surrounding hate crimes of all types. The strategy focuses on how to gain trust and confidence from communities and society in general and addressing the inadequacies in the current system.
There is a genuine consensus that we have to acknowledge that hatred can evolve from historical fact. Therefore there has to be an attempt to alter the perception and interaction within society. The strategy has therefore included the promise of 5000 new police officers in the next few years that will be utilised within a community structure entailing groups of 6 officers who will deal with community issues and problems. These extra officers will be a specially trained visible presence within communities.
What has to be accepted is that hate crimes cannot be dealt with by punitive means alone, the issues of prevention and cure must be tackled in unison. What I considered while listening to the address is what is the Prison Service doing to address this problem as a key player in the social fabric of this country. In reality I cannot find a policy or approach to hate crimes that has been adopted generically or bespoke by our employers. The police have taken the agenda and are theoretically if nothing else as I do not have the practical experience to assess the real application within the London communities challenging the in-doctored view of hate crimes. If we look at ourselves and analyse the Zaid Mubarick murder and other high profile difficulties we have encountered, should we not be doing more on a strategic level to change the cultural problems that are inherent in the Criminal Justice system. This by no means is meant as a criticism but merely an acknowledgement that staff prisoners and society form views and in-doctrines from such incidents. Surely we should embrace a more positive socially interactive approach to hate crimes.
The police have taken the approach that the social interaction at community level on a day-to-day basis is a primary force behind mistrust and the forging of social barriers. I fully concur with that view and believe that although regaining full trust between all the diverse communities that exist in the country is not easy it is the only way to tackle the root causes of hate crimes. The establishment in the national sense must lead by the front and socially change behaviours and attitudes.
THE PRISON SERVICE ROLE
As far as the work of the prison service is concerned we are not in the same position, as the police as our prisoners have either been convicted of a crime or are accused of committing a crime when our role begins. This does differ for the many visitors in all their guises that enter our establishments on a daily basis but they will be discussed later. We therefore cannot tackle the root causes of social mistrust but we are actively involved in the perpetual manifestation of that process and so our input and professional contact and work with prisoners is essential in the process of rehabilitation and lowering recidivist rates.
The police strategy involves what can be described as critical contact with members of communities. The terminology of critical contact revolves around the constant interaction between the uniform of the police in this instance and members of the public. The part of the criminal justice system that we work in is just as important in engaging in this agenda as the police are. This concept is not a new one and within the sense of dealing on a professional level in the Prison Service the skills of dealing with people has been taught to a high standard by the prison service for many years.
The prison service role must be one that mirror’s best social practice and delivers the service that is required and demanded of us. That will mean that the appropriate amount of funding and resources will need to be in place to progress the initiatives but the government cannot expect to pay for a bush bike and ride round in a Rolls Royce. To invest in the criminal justice and resource it adequately to deal with the issues such as hate crimes that we need to deal with then it will pay dividends. It is in my view an obligation of all governments to understand the value of investment and not just the cost.
An important issue that should be continuously strived for is the need to treat staff in a decent and consistent manner. Staff should not be treated poorly within the contractual setting. Realisation needs to occur from the employer that they too are part of society and will reflect professional and social treatment that they are subject to or are witness too. To attempt any substantial cultural change within the criminal justice system the treatment of staff and inmates must be done in parallel. This simply means that staff should not be treated or perceived to be treated as second-class citizens.
When I joined the prison service some 14 years ago a substantial part of my initial training was a subject described as “inter-personal skills”, at the time I did not particularly realise or understand the importance of the ability to interact both verbally and consciously with the diverse number of people that I was to encounter during my service. With the use of hindsight the realising of and enlarging of the social skills I had has stood me in good stead during my substantial journey. It has in most cases been a subconscious tool I have consistently utilised.
A major frustration of mine with the prison service in particular is the crisis management approach that we constantly take to the hurdles that face us. Training is a prime example of this where the dual political goal of de-skilling and effecting efficiency savings blinds the employer for the need to provide a substantial and professional training course for prison officers that covers the full spectrum of the needs of the service. What occurs in reality is the constant changing of the course to emphasise the current political thinking and problems that have occurred operationally.
The training in inter personal skills generically with some specialist elements incorporated such as dealing with the social side of hate crimes must be resourced and initiated if this dangerous manifestation is to be quelled and our responsibilities to society taken seriously.
VISITORS AND THE PUBLIC
I mentioned earlier that although the cycle of social barriers cannot be prevented in the initial stages by the criminal justice system with the people we are expected to care for we do have contact with a broad base of the general public in a number of ways. The first areas are visitors to our establishments, which range from prisoners visitors, contract staff to members of the legal profession. Every contact that is made forges opinions and social in-doctrines. The commercial sector has recognised this concept and take great pains to train their staff in public relations and contact skills just to increase sales or competitiveness.
How much public relations training do criminal justice staff have and how many of our staff have ever considered it to be important. Apart from the course the POA learning centre at HMP Belmarsh there is no course. We also have many staff that have contact with the public in a variety of ways including PEI’s, dog handlers, prison me no way officers and recruiting campaigns. Not only should we take on a strategy such as critical interventions but also we have a social obligation to attempt to influence and mould society an obligation that our employers are failing.
Our contact with society in general would also extend as far as the staffs off duty time but even without that contact our ability to influence the social fabric is extremely influential and should be given the importance it deserves.
Their needs to be a punitive element to any crime or potential crime that is weighted at a level to help deter the crime being committed in the first instance and once committed deters re-offending. Peter Herbert is a Barrister and another speaker at the conference who spoke eloquently regarding how effective legislation has to be a competent contributor as an effective response to hate crimes. The word that was used as the bedrock for the speech was credibility. The legal system must be credible and an effective tool to enable a change to the cultural balance of power.
The speaker voiced some concern regarding the ability to initiate change and being in a position to effectively pressure those who hold the ability to effect change. The emphasis must be on those that exercise power being the change initiators in the first instance. This holds true once more within the criminal justice system with the ability to sanction prisoners who break the rules. Political thinking must be sidelined for effective management of the adjudication system. Senior managers must retain accountability and not opt for easy solutions even with the current outsourced system that is in use.
The punitive element of tackling any social problem will always be contentious and hate crimes is not an exception but there is a need to address behaviour by the use of effective sanctions. Whether the punishments given by the judiciary are adequate is a wider debate than this article will allow but the question of whether the internal sanctions through the use of the adjudication system are adequate should be addressed.
I do not believe that there is a yes or no answer to that question as in my experience the adjudication system is subjectively applied and administered, it could be said that in some areas it has fallen into disrepute. Staff have to have a degree of confidence in the system and a belief that justice will be seen to be done. It may be that decisions need to be taken on a strategic level regarding the current system in order to ensure a fair, just and credible system is in place.
We as a progressive trade union have responsibilities to ensure our thoughts and policies are openly given to those that hold power. We must not loose sight of our pressure group functions which we utilise in partnership with our many sister trade unions inside and outside the criminal justice system. This is and will continue to be applied at national level but to initiate and succeed in culturally changing the way the criminal justice system then you at local level must consider the issues and voice your feelings to your management teams.
I hope this article has been of help in highlighting an entrenched phenomenon and giving some insight into my feelings and thoughts. Together we can achieve positive change and serve society as they expect.
STEVE GOUGH, M.A.
NEC