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'Squalid' and 'inadequate' prison conditions deepen inequalities for already marginalised communities
04/11/2026
HM Inspectorate of Prisons' report released on 3 November highlights the stark state of disrepair in prisons across England and Wales. Poorly maintained and unfit-for-purpose infrastructure is disproportionately impacting marginalised communities, already overrepresented in the prison population.
Unacceptable living conditions, severe overcrowding, and failing maintenance systems are severely undermining basic human decency and safety across the prison estate, according to a major review published by HM Inspectorate of Prisons.
These decaying environments are exposing vulnerable populations to avoidable harms, including disabled people, those with underlying health conditions, and racialised communities (already overrepresented in the prison population).
Conditions are particularly poor in the older, Victorian reception prisons, where population pressures and high turnover make it difficult to carry out repairs and improvements. 51% of prisoners in reception prisons are held in overcrowded conditions, compared to 0% in high secure prisons. This is particularly pertinent as research has shown Black prisoners on remand are held for 70% longer than their white counterparts.
A lift at HMP Birmingham was left out of service for eight months, leaving disabled prisoners unable to reach facilities. One wheelchair user who was surveyed explained he 'crawled up the stairs' to use the kiosk.
The widespread unreliable heating systems, damp and mould disproportionately impact those with underlying health conditions. Furthermore, a lack of lockable storage is putting those with prescription medication at risk.
Katrina Ffrench, Executive Director of UNJUST UK, said: “Living in unsanitary and neglected conditions is not the prescribed punishment for those living in the prison system. It is an unacceptable consequence of our derelict prisons.
These squalid conditions are a significant barrier to the rehabilitation of prisoners – the main purpose of imprisonment.
While the report exposes the unacceptable state of prison conditions, it is essential we recognise who these unsafe and unsanitary conditions disproportionately impact."
Through advocacy and campaigning, we are committed to holding state agencies accountable for their conduct and treatment of Black, Asian and racialised ethnic communities.
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Black people overrepresented in prison recall figures as overall numbers rise by 12%
30/10/2026
Ministry of Justice data shows more than 12,000 recalls in three months, as UNJUST UK calls for greater transparency over probation supervision and licence enforcement
Black people accounted for 7% of prison recalls, despite making up around 4% of the population, official figures reveal.
Ministry of Justice data published this week (29 October) shows that 12,338 licence recalls were recorded in England and Wales between April and June 2026, a 12% increase on the same period last year.
People can be recalled to prison for breaching licence conditions without being convicted of a new offence and multiple reasons are sometimes recorded for a single recall.
Across all recorded recalls between April and June 2026, around 75% were recorded as being due to non-compliance, 35% involved failure to keep in touch, 24% involved failure to reside and 20% involved a charge of further offending, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Recalls to prison are a significant contributor to pressure on prison capacity, with the government pledging £110m towards converting unused office space, laundry rooms and storage space into cells.
Ministers aim to create 14,000 prison places by 2031.
Katrina Ffrench, Executive Director at UNJUST UK, said: “These figures raise important questions about racial disparities in the criminal legal system. Black people are represented in prison recall figures at almost twice their share of the general population.
“We need greater transparency about how licence conditions are enforced, why people are returned to custody and whether Black people face disproportionate scrutiny or enforcement while under probation supervision.
“Without that information, we cannot properly assess whether the recall system is operating fairly.”
UNJUST UK is now calling on the MoJ and HMPPS to publish ethnicity-specific recall rates among people under licence supervision, broken down by reasons for recall.
The recall data come amid continuing concerns about prison safety, with separate Ministry of Justice statistics revealing 68,231 incidents of self-harm in the 12 months to June 2026, equivalent to one every eight minutes, despite an overall decline compared with the previous year.
According to Safety in Custody figures, also published by the Ministry of Justice this week, there were 94 deaths in custody in the most recent quarter, a 9% increase on the previous quarter.
There were 23 self-inflicted deaths in the most recent quarter, an increase of 35% on the previous quarter.
UNJUST UK maintains that tackling the prison crisis must go hand in hand with addressing racial inequalities across the criminal legal system, including greater scrutiny of the decisions that return people to custody.
21/10/2026
Record 108,897 police complaints raise serious accountability questions
UNJUST UK are calling for greater transparency and accountability in policing after new figures revealed a record 108,897 complaints against police forces in England and Wales during 2025/26.
Figures published today by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) show complaints rose by 15% compared with the previous year, marking the highest number recorded since the policing watchdog began collating complaints data.
The figures also reveal 2,398 allegations of race discrimination. Notably, in this report, there is no data on how many of these complaints were investigated or even formally processed.
More than 70,000 complaints were resolved informally by police forces, compared with 37,575 handled through the formal process.
Katrina Ffrench, Executive Director of UNJUST UK, said: “These figures raise serious questions about police accountability, including how forces respond to allegations of racism.
“Better recording practices and easier access to the complaints system may partly explain the rise in complaints, but recording a complaint is only the first step.
"People need confidence that concerns about discrimination and misconduct will be investigated fairly, taken seriously and lead to meaningful action where failings are identified.
“The public deserves clear answers about how these cases were handled, what outcomes were reached and what, if anything, changed as a result."
The IOPC has cautioned against interpreting the rise solely as evidence of growing dissatisfaction with policing, citing improvements in complaint recording and accessibility.
We maintain that greater transparency about complaint outcomes is essential to ensuring the system delivers meaningful accountability.