In this issue...
This edition's member spotlight focuses on Pauline Miller-Brown and Restart Enterprise. Restart Enterprise is a social enterprise operating from HMP Oakwood and the new HMP Five Wells, offering support services to those leaving prison. For Pauline, it was not about creating another resettlement organisation but rather providing those released from prison with the sustainability to build their lives back.
Restart supports people leaving prison through every step of their resettlement journey. Some of the services Pauline and her team offer include a departure lounge providing a comfortable space for people to reunite with family members, a food bank providing essential supplies, a clothing bank providing prison leavers with a small supply of clothing upon release, a shuttle bus to pick up family members coming to the prison to visit/meet people leaving prison, as well as transport for those leaving prison to travel back to their local area, and a catering service that provides cultural foods that can be ordered from the canteen and delivered to the men in prison. At Restart, the belief that everyone has the ability to transform their lives with the right support and guidance is at the heart of everything they do.
Restart values partnerships with subject matter experts, volunteers, and residents within the criminal justice system, as this is what makes their service provision unique. If you would like to learn more about their work or collaborate with Pauline, please feel free to contact her at paulinemb@restartenterprise.com
Stopwatch puts ‘Stop and Search’ back on the map
Stopwatch has released a new, free-to-use dashboard mapping stop and searches across England and Wales. Despite persistent and high levels of ethnic disproportionality in stop and searches, many police chiefs are still in denial about institutional racism. The dashboard data provides a useful tool for empowering individuals, communities, and organisations who provide support to racially minoritised people to monitor their local force more easily. The interactive tracker provides users with access to over 10 years of data, enabling them to get answers independently of the police. The tracker is released as the first of a series of data visualisations aimed at bringing greater transparency to police stop and search activity across England and Wales. You can access the tracker here.
Black people spend 70 percent longer in prison awaiting trial and sentencing
In a report by Liberty Investigates and The Guardian, it is revealed that Black defendants spend on average more than 70 percent longer in prison awaiting trial and sentencing than their white counterparts. This comes as new data from the Ministry of Justice shows the mean number of days spent on remand by Black prisoners last year was 302, compared to 177 days for White remand prisoners. From the data, it can be concluded that defendants of all minoritised ethnic backgrounds spend considerably longer on remand than white defendants in prisons in England and Wales. Research also shows that Black people are more likely to be acquitted after their time on remand. This data highlights that racial disparities in the criminal justice system remain critical and show little to no improvement. You can access the Liberty Investigates and The Guardian report here
Tackling maternal health inequalities in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
Friends, Families and Travellers, in collaboration with Roma Support Group, have published a new set of guidance for professionals, offering insights into the experiences of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities relating to maternity care. Delivered as part of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance, the report seeks to contribute towards improving knowledge and understanding of how to approach the planning and provision of maternity services for these groups. It outlines the main barriers to accessing care and recommends that health and social care services are adapted to be more accessible and culturally appropriate, and that service providers engage directly with Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller populations and voluntary organisations at a local and national level. Read the full guidance here.
Clinks annual conference 2023 - Making race and justice everybody's business!
Clinks is theming their annual conference this year around Race and Justice. We know that racially minoritised people are overrepresented and unheard when coming into contact with the criminal justice system and that despite continuous efforts made to tackle fundamental flaws within the system, progress remains slow. That is why this year, we would like to hand the baton over to you! We invite members of organisations that are led by/for racially minoritised people to come forward and share their expertise with the sector, as we believe that race and justice should be a matter that every organisation working within criminal justice seeks to address. We would like to take this opportunity for non-specialist organisations to learn from the experts.
We are always open to ideas that would help make the day as informative and useful to the sector as possible. If there is anything that you feel you would like to add to the conference or you are interested in partnering with us to plan this conference, please do reach out to myself kaiya.caines@clinks.org or the events team events@clinks.org. There is also a submission form that can be filled out if you are interested in being a part of this year's conference. See here: submission form. This needs to be returned to us by 8 September.
The Jane Hatfield Award reports
IVAR and The Ubele Initiative CIC present The Jane Hatfield Award reports. Following extensive research exploring the experiences, barriers, and opportunities of social action and social entrepreneurship for young people of Black and Minoritised communities, both teams will come together in this event to explore the themes that emerged from the reports done on their research. The Ubele Initiative and IVAR are reaching out to key players in social action, social entrepreneurship, and criminal justice to help vocalise the important messages being shared from key findings and also to collectively support new researchers in the sector. You can find out more about the event and read the reports here.
An evening with Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE
Titled ‘A Legacy of Hope and Change,’ this evening will explore Baroness Lawrence’s extraordinary life and career, most of which she has spent tirelessly campaigning to create an equal and fair society following the murder of her son Stephen Lawrence in a racist attack in London in 1993. Baroness Lawrence has dedicated much of her time to campaigning for young people, particularly boys of colour and disadvantaged communities, advocating for educational opportunities, community cohesion, and career advancement. This lecture will examine what can be done collectively to become part of the necessary change. The event takes place on Tuesday 3 October 2023, and tickets are available for both online and in-person.
VCSE contract readiness programme
Delivered by the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), Social Enterprise UK (SEUK), and Voice4Change England, this fully funded programme aims to support VCSE suppliers in England to work with government clients who can genuinely help increase their impact. The VCSE Contract Readiness Programme will address some of the barriers that have prevented VCSEs from entering the public sector market. It will enhance the skills and knowledge of VCSEs on how to bid for contracts and provide them with a greater opportunity to enter public sector supply chains. SSE offers a range of courses for charities and social enterprises across England. You can find out more about each course and book your place here.
Charity Trustee induction and refresher
NCVO is offering a course that provides trustees with an overview and understanding of charity governance, regulation, and best practice. This course is suitable for anyone new to governance and trusteeship or for existing trustees who would benefit from a refresher course. The training identifies a set of outcomes, leaving those who complete the course fully equipped on matters of governance and trusteeship. You can find out more about the course here.
Girls and young women's research
StopWatch is currently conducting a national research project, engaging with young women about their experiences of stop and search. The project's motto is ‘Research About Us, By Us, For Us,’ and it comes after reports from young women and girls of frightening and humiliating stop and search encounters. Despite these young women and girls being directly impacted by these powers, they are often excluded from discussions around policy, leaving them feeling voiceless and unheard. This team of researchers consists of young women between the ages of 18-30, and the project allows young women to tell their own stories and have their voices heard through peer-to-peer interviews. This creates a relaxed environment for more authentic discussions to take place. You can find out more about the project and how your organisation/the people you support can get involved.
Can the Judiciary become anti-racist?
Abundant evidence shows that the criminal justice system disproportionately impacts minoritised communities, and many reports have made recommendations to address discrimination in the courts. However, racist treatment of lawyers, defendants, witnesses, and even judges by other court actors persists. In this Podcast episode by Transform Justice, hosts Penelope and Rob are joined by Abimbola Johnson, barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, and Keir Monteith KC of Garden Court Chambers, to discuss institutional racism in the criminal justice system and the necessary steps to make the judiciary anti-racist. Listen here.
- Power, Race and Justice: The Restorative Dialogue We Will Not Have - Structured around the four concepts of power, race, justice, and restorative justice, the book uses empirical new data and normative analysis to reconstruct the way we prevent power abuse and harm at the inter-personal, inter-community, and international levels.
- Black Star: Britain's Asian Youth Movements - Black Star documents the vibrant Asian Youth Movements in 1970s and 80s Britain who struggled against the racism of the street and the state. Anandi Ramamurthy shows how they drew inspiration from Black Power movements as well as anti-imperialist and workers' struggles across the globe.
- A Savage Culture Revisited - With BLM, the Windrush scandal, and other recent events showing little change, this book is reissued in the hope that, for future generations, further editions will not be required.
The Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund (CCLF)
The Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund (CCLF) has been launched for organisations that support people and communities in England under severe pressure due to the increased cost of living. This funding provides support to organisations across England to deliver frontline services. Find out more about the fund and the criteria.
Increasing access to emotional support in prison
Samaritans are working to ensure that the Listener scheme and mental health self-help materials are accessible to Foreign National people in prison. To achieve this, Samaritans are looking to conduct focus groups at HMP Maidstone and Huntercombe, and they are translating a selection of materials to provide support to those most in need. If you are interested in learning more about the project, getting involved, or if you work in these prisons, please contact Jessie Gane, Prisons Project Manager at Samaritans, via email at j.gane@samaritans.org
About Clinks Race and Justice bulletin
This regular bulletin provides Clinks members with the latest news for voluntary organisations involved in the tackling racial inequality in the criminal justice system.
Your feedback on the Race and Justice network ebulletin is very much valued as I aim to develop an ebulletin that is most beneficial for you as members. It would be great if our ebulletin could feature more content from members, so please do share any resources/publications/guides/training or events you would like to include in the next one at kaiya.caines@clinks.org. If you could take some time out to complete this form providing feedback on the ebulletin I would be most grateful.
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