In this latest blog, Diana Sutton, Director of The Bell Foundation considers the language barriers faced in prisons, drawing upon the ground-breaking research published by the Foundation earlier this year, and highlighting some of the free resources available.
Prisoners who speak English as a second or additional language (ESL) are often invisible, isolated, disempowered and disadvantaged. This was one of the stark findings from the research, Language Barriers in the Criminal Justice System, conducted by the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London, the Centre for Justice Innovation and Victim Support, and funded by the Foundation.
The research found that these prisoners often face significant everyday challenges, and their specific needs are often overlooked, due to a lack of data and of understanding of the complexities of language skills and proficiency, added to the challenges of the prison environment.
