Prison job advert banned for racial stereotyping

A situation occupation advert showing a achromatic inmate and a achromatic serviceman has been banned owed to radical stereotyping.

The Ministry of Justice's (MoJ) paid-for Facebook advertisement showed "an imbalanced powerfulness dynamic", the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled.

This reinforced a antagonistic stereotype based connected the relation betwixt achromatic men and transgression activity, it said.

The MoJ had argued the run showed photos of existent officers and prisoners, and the benignant of engagement they have.

But the ASA recovered the advert was "likely to origin superior offence connected the grounds of race, by reinforcing antagonistic stereotypes astir achromatic men".

It ruled that the advert indispensable not look again successful this signifier and told the MoJ to guarantee it avoided causing superior offence connected the grounds of race.

The advert, aimed astatine recruiting situation officers and different roles, had appeared connected Facebook successful May, June and August 2022.

The inmate is shown wearing an afro prime comb successful his hair.

The ASA said this was "a instrumentality we understood was uniquely associated with achromatic culture".

The advert's caption referred to situation officers arsenic "problem solvers" and "life changers".

"We considered it drew a nexus betwixt the serviceman depicted and those attributes," the ASA study said.

"On the different hand, the achromatic captive was depicted arsenic a criminal, without those affirmative attributes," it said.

The ASA concluded that the advert did not suggest that each achromatic men were criminals, oregon were much apt to beryllium truthful than immoderate different taste group.

But it said it considered the advert's absorption connected the affirmative qualities of the achromatic situation serviceman and antagonistic casting of the achromatic captive was apt to beryllium seen arsenic perpetuating a antagonistic radical stereotype.

The MoJ had told the watchdog that successful its presumption determination was worth successful showing officers engaging constructively with colleagues and prisoners of varying ethnicities since that was "a important portion of the role".

A cardinal portion of the run was astir attracting divers recruits successful to an indispensable nationalist service, the MoJ said successful its effect to the complaint.

The BBC has asked the MoJ for a remark connected the ASA's ruling.