Introduction

This chapter reviews the experience of prison lockdown on minority ethnic prisoners. As noted in research conducted by Belong (2021) entitled Collaborating with People from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Backgrounds in Prison: COVID-19 and Beyond, there are several terms currently used to describe minority ethnic groups, each with their own political and cultural connotations. A range of previous research – often including that relating to the criminal justice system – has used the acronym BAME to encompass several minority ethnic groups. There has also been a growing use of the term ‘people of colour’, both in academia and the wider community. However, both terms have been criticized and, in the current context of this book, neither felt appropriate. Rather, this chapter will consider the experiences of prisoners from a range of Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, with the exception of White minorities and traditionally nomadic communities (for example, the Irish Travelling community who are discussed in Chapter Four). Ultimately, we have chosen to use the term ‘Black, Asian and minority ethnic’ reflecting the decision made by Belong (2021) following their consultation process with members of these communities. At times, based on the research being discussed, we may also use the term ‘minority ethnic groups (excluding White minorities)’.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups

In the latest census of England and Wales, approximately 14 per cent of the population were from minority ethnic groups, excluding White minorities. This was broken down as follows: 7.5 per cent of the population were from Asian ethnic groups, 3.3 per cent were from Black ethnic groups, 2.2 per cent had mixed ethnicity and 1 per cent belonged to other minority ethnic groups (Office for National Statistics, 2020). In Scotland, 2.7 per cent of the population identified as Asian; 1 per cent identified as African, Caribbean or Black; and 1 per cent identified as mixed, multiple or ‘other’ ethnicities, excluding White minorities (Scotland's Census, 2021).

In Northern Ireland, the latest census findings suggested that 1.7 per cent of the population were from minority ethnic groups, excluding White minorities; 1.0 per cent were from the Asian community; 0.3 per cent were of mixed ethnicity and 0.2 per cent were from the Black community (National Statistics, 2013).