Prisoners are not ‘residents’, says Raab
Minister rules inmates must be called prisoners not ‘residents’, and that their ‘rooms’ are cells
Jail inmates must no longer be called “clients” or “residents” and cells are not “rooms”, Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, has told prison governors in a swipe at “politically correct” terms. The “woke” language is part of an attempt by officials to avoid “labelling” people as offenders in order to help them move on from crime. However, a government source said such language dented public confidence in the prison system and Mr Raab “is determined that prisons up their game”.
‘Wishywashy, politicallycorrect phrases like ‘room’ or ‘client’ dent public confidence’
‘Describing prisoners as ‘residents’ in places where you would sometimes hesitate to put livestock is just sophistry’
PRISONERS must no longer be called “clients” or “residents,” says Dominic Raab, in a crackdown on “woke” jails.
The Justice Secretary has issued guidance to prison governors and their staff that they should stop using “politically correct” terms for offenders because it undermines public confidence that they are being punished for their crimes. Instead, he has told them that inmates should be called prisoners or offenders rather than residents, clients or service users, and that cells should not be termed rooms – as they are known at two of the newest and biggest jails in England and Wales.
The “woke” language is part of an attempt by officials to avoid “labelling” people as offenders in order to help them move on from their lives of crime.
But a Government source said: “Wishy-washy, politically-correct phrases like ‘room’ or ‘client’ dent public confidence in our ability both to reform and to punish those who have broken the law and caused harm to others. The Justice Secretary believes in calling a prisoner a prisoner.
“He is determined that prisons up their game in rehabilitating prisoners to drive down re-offending, cut crime and protect the public.”
The use of “residents” is commonplace in guidance in prisons across England and Wales while probation service manuals have rebranded prisoners as supervised individuals and service users.
Such language has even been used by Jo Farrar, head of the prison and probation service, who last year promised funding to governors for in-cell activities and technology to support “residents” in maintaining family ties.
At HMP Berwyn in north Wales, cells have been renamed “rooms”, and prison blocks “communities”. Prisoners are “men” while holding cells are “waiting rooms” and provide inmates with laptops when they arrive and facilities for tea and sandwiches. It is similar at HMP Five Wells, a new super prison in Wellingborough, where offenders are known as residents and cells are called rooms. It is the first jail where there are no bars in the windows.
The governor has been renamed the director and aims to be on first name terms with all inmates, who all have tablet computers and showers in their cells as well as access to workshops, ranging from hairdressing to bike repair.
Mr Raab’s move was welcomed by Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and government adviser on extremism in jails.
He said: “Describing prisoners as ‘residents’ in places where you would sometimes hesitate to put livestock is just sophistry. Instead of parroting fashionable orthodoxies the prison service should concentrate its efforts on safe, ordered and purposeful prisons with staff clearly and confidently in charge.”
The move comes just a day after Mr Raab unveiled proposals for terrorists in prison to lose their human rights to socialise as part of an expansion of the use of segregated “jails within jails” to prevent dangerous offenders from radicalising other inmates.
There could also be new offences to combat terrorist offences that currently go unpunished in jails. These will make it easier to prosecute prisoners who radicalise fellow inmates, adorn their cells with terrorist posters or attack prison guards rather than treat such acts as disciplinary offences.