New footage: racism and criminal justice — reflections from an expert panel

We are now sharing footage from the event All Talk, No Action?, capturing key reflections from speakers.

The discussion examined why racism continues to endure within prisons and the wider justice system despite decades of reform efforts, and what it would take for race to be genuinely, rather than rhetorically, addressed. Speakers drew on their research, lived experience and advocacy work to explore why progress remains so elusive, and what meaningful change would actually look like.

The videos feature contributions from Dr Jason Warr, Khatuna Tsintsadze and Dr Angela Charles. The session was chaired by Richard Garside.

Across the discussion, speakers reflected on the structural and cultural forces that reproduce racism in custodial settings, including the particular experiences of Black women in prison, and the barriers that prevent even well-intentioned people from achieving lasting reform. Twenty-five years on from the murder of Zahid Mubarek, the conversation asked why so little appears to have changed, and why race and racism remain persistently marginalised in prison research and policy.

The footage highlights differing perspectives on what it would mean for race to be taken seriously, not simply acknowledged, by decision-makers and the justice system as a whole. The event also drew on the speakers' own research and direct experience, grounding broader questions about fairness and accountability in the lived realities of those affected. It underlined the importance of sustained engagement between practitioners, researchers and communities with direct experience of the system.

You can find key highlights below. Watch the full footage here.

Want to know more? Read the research discussed during the event: 

• Jason Warr, 'Where is "race" in prison studies?'
• Angela Charles, 'Black women in prison: exploring the intersection of race and gender in experiences of imprisonment' 
• The work of the Zahid Mubarek Trust.