Ms Pauline McCabe:

It is absolutely a matter of concern. I receive complaints in which unequal outcomes are alleged. When I receive them, I examine them very seriously and go to great lengths to obtain the necessary statistics and analyse them. We recently dealt with several complaints across the spectrum and noted the various reasons for which people believe they may have been picked on. They are related to search arrangements. When I examined them very thoroughly, I found there were system flaws that meant the information on which the prison service has been relying is actually flawed. Recommendations have now been made for an overhaul of the way the information is captured so the service will have a more accurate picture.

In any organisation, it is in everyone's interest that there be a representative workforce. In the case of policing, there are excellent officers who do a good job, but perceptions are as important as reality. Having a representative workforce is the best way of ensuring everybody feels he is treated fairly and equally. Clearly, this is not the starting point in the Northern Ireland Prison Service. The service recognises fully the need to monitor very carefully what is happening in that respect. That we have identified that the figures being produced were flawed means, I hope, that the information gathered henceforth will be more accurate. The Equality Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission show a keen interest in this subject.