Foreign nationals get one-third higher prison terms on average than Irish-born criminals

The report found that foreign nationals are overrepresented in Irish Prisons

Wed, 27 Apr, 2022 - 02:52

Mick Clifford

The average prison sentence handed down to foreign nationals for certain crimes is up to a third higher than the terms of imprisonment given to Irish-born offenders, according to new research.

A statistical analysis of sentencing over a 12-month period found that Irish-born defendants convicted of drug offences received an average of 23.1 months while foreign-born nationals convicted of the same category of offence were sentenced to an average of 32 months.

For sexual offences, those who were Irish-born received an average of 52.1 months while foreign-born offenders got 68 months. The authors of the report did caution that a lack of data means that the research was unable to determine whether there were mitigating or aggravating circumstances in the sentencing statistics.

The research, the first of its kind into the experiences of foreign-born prisoners in the Irish penal system, was conducted by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Irish Penal Reform Trust.

Apart from the disparity in sentencing, the research found that foreign nationals and ethnic miniorities were discriminated against in a number of different ways in the Irish prison system.

- Foreign nationals are overrepresented in Irish Prisons. On average, one-in-seven prisoners (15%) are from a foreign background.

- There are major communication gaps for foreign nationals when committed, particularly in relation to language barriers.

- Among specific challenges identified by foreign national or ethnic minority prisoners are isolation, experiences of prejudice and discrimination, access to services and lack of respect for different religious backgrounds

- One professional stakeholder in the prison system reported having witnessed “racially abusive behaviour by individual prison officers”. However, those interviewed noted that the majority of staff did not display prejudice.

Commenting on the research, IPRT acting executive director, Molly Joyce, pointed out that while the vast majority of foreign nationals and people from ethnic minorities do not come into contact with the penal system, these groups are disproportionately represented in both prison and probation in this country.

“As well as over-representation the research identifies – in respect of certain offences – significant differences in average sentencing outcomes for foreign nationals and people of an ethnicity other than White. While this could indicate potential bias in the criminal justice system, the lack of comprehensive data collection by state agencies means we cannot be sure, nor can we thoroughly examine these apparent disparities.

"This is yet another example of where deficient data leads to a fundamental lack of understanding of the situation, which in turn inevitably leads to deficient responses.”

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The research report, entitled “Sometimes I’m missing the words: The rights, needs and experiences of foreign nationals and minority ethnic groups in the Irish penal system” includes 18 recommendations on how to better run the system in order to properly take account of the inequalities in the system.

The report also includes interviews with prisoners about their experiences, which included claims about the negative attitudes of some staff members.

“It is clear from the experiences of the interviewees that positive interactions with penal staff generally outweigh negative ones,” Ms Joyce said.

“However, any form of discrimination, overt or otherwise, must be tackled as a priority. Mandatory anti-racism training, alongside robust data collection and monitoring, are ways that racism can be addressed but training cannot be a once-off exercise, it must be embedded in prison practices and culture.”