Injustice is a UK prison documentary about prison, prisoners and the lives of those around the criminal justice system.

“A powerful and insightful prison documentary documentary which not only sheds light on the horrific and inhumane conditions prisoners in Britain are facing, but why this is happening. The film will completely change your ideas about prison.” Mary Baines, Russia Today

The full film is now available online and our other prison films here.

2016-17 saw the worst prison riots in decades. Across the country the prisons estate exploded as campaigners and prisoners had predicted. A light was shone on the so-called prison crisis. In Injustice it’s not that prisons are in crisis, prisons are the crisis. It’s a documentary about prison like no other. 

You can see trailers and other films and stills from screenings or read our blogs on the film here.

In 2016/2017 a film maker decided to chart the current state of British prisons and the criminal justice system in a documentary. Injustice is a UK prison documentary that tells the story of the system through the the stories of British prisoners, their families, and prison workers, interwoven with research and analysis by campaigners and academics. We hear of life before prison, alienation, crime and confinement, and the consequences they hold for all of us.

Full Injustice documentary about prison available to watch here

Injustice investigates the crisis, and delves into the world of British prisons, crime and the judicial system.

Ex-prisoners, activists, criminologists and even prison governors tell us who the prisoners are and why they are inside. We hear what happens inside, and outside. This prison documentary asks what are prisons supposed to do and what do they actually do.

UK Prisoners in crisis

More than 60% of UK prisoners suffer mental health problems, the majority are from broken homes, poor backgrounds with little education or prospects. We have to ask whether further disadvantaging them merely deepens the problem rather than providing solutions.

The film forces the question: Is the UK prison system merely the tail end of social problems that have been left to fester?

Criminalisation

Sociologists and criminologists explain the context of crime and criminalisation, and prisoners narrate their backgrounds and how their lives before and after prison unfolded. A prison governor recalls the lesson he learned, that most prisoners shouldn’t be there, and it really could happen to anyone.

Not just another prison documentary

Injustice is not just another prison documentary. It opposes the corporate media approach to prison films, thirsty as they are for cliché and unintended parody.

The documentary has no camera operators chasing after prison guards closing in on their prey as if we were in a wildlife documentary. Prisoners are human beings, not animals. We ask the prison authorities for permission to make this film. We asked the prisoners instead.

Screenings of Injustice prison documentary

Injustice was released in the UK in winter 2017. If you would like to arrange or attend a screening, please get in touch.

You can read more about the film-making process in our blogs
To find our related work on the state of the media see here.

Injustice is a Sambiki Saru production.

Injustice: the launch of the documentary
Injustice film screening at the Cinema Museum, November 2017.

Blogs about Prison