HMPPS has more staff from diverse minority ethnic backgrounds than ever before, but more can be done says an officer who works there.
14% of new recruits into the prison service should come from ethnically diverse backgrounds, according to recommendations made by the Lammy Review in 2017.
Latest statistics show that the prison service is on track with 16% of formal offers for prison officer roles being accepted by ethnic minority candidates between July 2021 and June 2023.
Hammad Butt, 45, moved to the UK from Kashmir 22 years ago. He was working as a manager at a London local authority but opted to move to Norfolk to be closer to his son. He works in the operations team, so his duties include processing prisoners early every morning and getting them prepared for transfer to external courts. He has also worked on the prison wings.
Hammad is Muslim, and his faith is important to him. He prays five times a day, including with Muslim prisoners when he’s on duty. He also speaks five languages – including Pahari, which is his mother tongue, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, and English. He says:
“I wanted a job that was more physical. There were desk jobs available in local government in Norfolk but I saw an advert for the prison service and when I read the job description, I thought it was for me.
“Having never had any experience of being in a prison before, it was an eye-opener, but in a good way.
“With my language skills, I knew I could also put them to good use. One prisoner came in and could only speak Punjabi. It was much better for me to speak to them and understand their emotions, than phoning a language line.”
Hammad was conscious he would be the only Asian and Muslim prison officer at HMP Norwich, but said he was welcomed and respected by the team which confirmed he’d made the right decision to change career.
The focus of Hammad’s work is to keep the prisoners and the public safe, but it is also important to be a role model for prisoners and someone they can talk to. Breaking the cycle of crime is important to Hammad, as is challenging stereotypes.
He would like more people from diverse backgrounds to join and would encourage others with a South Asian heritage to apply. He added:
“I think it’s a very good career choice. It’s got to help if the prisoners see officers from different ethnicities and colours. My family was shocked about my career choice and wanted me to go for a management role somewhere.
“I love communicating and understanding people. I don’t get rattled easily and I have the temperament to calm people down without showing aggression, so I suit this environment.
“There are times when my faith helps me to diffuse a situation.
“You never get bored – every day is different.”
Hammad hopes to gain enough experience and knowledge of working in the prison to be able to progress his career to management positions in the future.
HMP Norwich is situated on the eastern outskirts of Norwich in Norfolk. It is a training and resettlement prison, plus a youth offending institution (YOI) accommodating 750 adult male offenders.
Applications for prison officer roles are now open. Those who would like to take the first step towards a rewarding new career can apply or find out more by visiting https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/?utm_campaign=prc_norwich_butt&utm_medium=media&utm_source=pr).
