25% of Worcestershire Jail Inmates Are Muslim, Report Reveals
At least 25 percent of the prison population of Long Lartin top security jail in Worcestershire are now Muslim, according to an inspection report by Dame Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons.
The figure is reflected in other jails across the country as well. The number of Muslim prisoners in jails doubled in the eleven years to 2007 to reach 8,864 — 11 percent of the total prison population.
Muslim prisoners make up one third of the population of Whitemoor, 15 percent of Full Sutton top security prison in Yorkshire and 20 percent of Belmarsh jail.
In addition to the Muslims arrested and imprisoned, the numbers of Muslims in jail are rising because that religion is actively recruiting amongst the nonwhite prison population already incarcerated. That population group has a disproportionately higher imprisonment rate, blamed, of course, on ‘racist’ police and legal systems.
The report by Dame Owers says that prison staffs in top security jails are confronting a growing gang culture with groups of Muslim inmates seeking to assert their authority on the wings.
It goes on to provide evidence of “the extent of gang activity among inmates jailed for the most serious crimes and of the growing proportion of Muslim inmates held in high-security conditions.”
An inmate is quoted in the report as saying that all violence in the jail was gang related and that Long Lartin was in danger of turning into an American-style prison. He said: “If you are not in a gang, you’re in trouble. People are converting to Islam for protection.”
The comments reflect similar concerns at other top security jails such as Belmarsh in southeast London and Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire.
In May 2008, a Prison Service’s Directorate of High Security report said that there was an “on-going theme of fear and instability among employees.”
It said staff at Whitemoor jail, Cambs, believe a “serious incident is imminent” as several wings become dominated by Muslim prisoners. Some staff believe the situation has resulted in Muslim prisoners becoming more of a gang than a religious group.
The situation has become so bad that white prisoners are warned about the Muslim gangs by staff on arrival.
The majority of Muslim prisoners have been jailed for offences unrelated to terrorism.
