The disproportionate representation of migrants and minority ethnic groups in criminal justice systems across the globe is well documented. In Ireland, there has been some research on the rights and experience of migrants and ethnic minorities at policing and sentencing stages, and the over-representation of minority ethnic groups in the prison system has been highlighted to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. However, broader issues of racial and ethnic equality in the penal system remain under-explored in an Irish context, particularly in terms of accessing rights and accessing justice.
In 2020, IPRT was awarded funding from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) to pursue a research and awareness-raising campaign focused on the rights and experiences of migrants and minority ethnic groups in the penal system in Ireland.
31st March 2021
This report by the Zahid Mubarek Trust (ZMT), in partnership with POPS and the Traveller Movement is an account of the challenges faced by minority ethnic prisoners in prison in England and Wales because of the lockdown measures employed by the prison authorities to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in prisons.
29th March 2021
Fair Trials have published a report that focuses on Roma over-representation in the criminal justice systems in Romania, Spain, Hungary and Bulgaria. The findings from this report suggest that racist and anti-gypsyist views are normalised and imbedded within the criminal justice systems of the countries mentioned above.
25th March 2021
In this guest article, researchers from The Department of Law at Maynooth University write about the context for their research as part of IPRT’s upcoming ‘Access to Rights and Justice’ project.
27th January 2021
This literature review by the Centre for Justice Innovation explores how youth diversion can contribute to keeping children and young people out of the formal criminal justice system but, if access to diversion is unequal, it can exacerbate racial inequality in criminal justice outcomes for young people.
22nd January 2021
This large-scale study finds that Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic children are less likely to get a formal out-of-court disposal than other children, among other findings
30th November 2020
IPRT is now inviting tenders for the research and production of a report examining the rights and experiences of migrants and ethnic minorities in the penal system in Ireland.
5th November 2020
The report found, among other issues, that ethnic identity’s influence on rehabilitation is underestimated – one-third of interviewed BME prisoners reported their ethnicity had directly influenced their experience of rehabilitation and release planning.
19th October 2020
We are pleased to announce that IPRT is one of 42 recipients of the Human Rights and Equality Grant 2020-21.
6th August 2019
This short submission primarily focuses on mental health issues affecting Travellers in the prison system
28th September 2018
This article by Dr Avril Brandon and Dr Michael O'Connell investigates whether disparities exist between sentencing outcomes for Irish and non-Irish nationals and is the first to examine sentencing disparities by offender nationality in an Irish context.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.