‘You can’t be a “black man” in prison’
The title of this event is taken from a comment made by a prisoner, Kwaku, to award-winning researcher, Dr Jason Warr.
Based on research with black male life sentence prisoners, Jason Warr explores how they have to navigate through a system where staff and other prisoners can see their very ‘blackness’ as a problem.
One prisoner, Tubs, told how the only three black prisoners on one wing stuck together in the face of racism from staff and other prisoners. As a result, he was assessed by staff as having an ‘increased risk of future offending’ due to being perceived as ‘ganged up’.
Another prisoner, Nipsy, said he was told by a staff member that he came across as too ‘urban’ and that he should ‘stop speaking like a roadman’ to improve his chances of progressing through the system.
For Kwaku, the reality was stark: ‘You know what? You can’t be a “Black Man” in prison’.
In recognition of this important work, Jason Warr was awarded this year’s prestigious Radzinowicz Price for the best article in The British Journal of Criminology.
Jason Warr will join us to discuss how he got into criminological research, why the experiences of racialised populations in the criminal justice system matter, and what the big challenges for criminology and criminal justice policy-making are, going forward.
Dr Jason Warr, is associate professor of criminology at the University of Nottingham.
As well as online attendance, there are a limited number of in-person places available.
If you would like to attend in-person, please register for an online place and, following registration, email media.office@crimeandjustice.org.uk to request an in-person place.