Worried about a prisoner?
Complaints policy
The Inspectorate takes all complaints seriously, whether from our staff or about our staff. The handling of complaints will reflect the best practice we expect from inspected establishments.
All complaints against HM Inspectorate of Prisons will be dealt with according to the following principles:
- all complaints will be treated seriously
- all complaints will be treated in a fair, consistent and even-handed manner
- any investigations will be conducted appropriately and thoroughly, by someone who is not the party complained about
- we will respond speedily, courteously and in writing to all complaints
- we will make clear if there are any remaining avenues for further complaint.
We do not deal with complaints from, or on behalf of, individual prisoners or detainees about the conditions of their detention. These should be raised with the relevant prison Governor or Director, or with the Prison and Probation Ombudsman.
Although formal complaints of this nature should not be directed to HMIP, where matters are raised with us – be it during or outside of inspection – we will signpost those contacting us to the relevant body to make a formal complaint. Should a safeguarding issue be identified, we will handle the matter according to our safeguarding policy.
Immediate safeguarding concerns should not be channelled through a complaints process but raised directly and urgently with the relevant establishment. If you are concerned about the safety or wellbeing of someone in prison, you should contact the duty governor, orderly officer or safer custody team at the prison. You should make it clear that you are calling about the urgent welfare of an individual. You can find contact details for the prison by visiting www.gov.uk and searching for the prison name, or visit the Prisoners’ Families Helpline: Worried about a loved one in prison?. If you are concerned about the safety or wellbeing of someone in immigration detention, you should contact the duty manager.
We are also completely independent of the following organisations:
- HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)
- HM Prison Service private sector custodial providers
- Home Office
Complaints against these bodies should be addressed via their complaints systems.
Raising a concern during an inspection
We always encourage raising matters with us at the earliest opportunity, as often issues can be addressed quickly and informally.
The conduct of inspectors, including partner inspectors, is the responsibility of the on-site inspection team leader. Concerns about inspection staff should be referred to the inspection team leader in the first instance as soon as possible during the inspection, or to the Chief or Deputy Chief Inspector as appropriate. The team leader will endeavour to resolve any issues brought to their attention as quickly as possible. We strive to maintain an open dialogue with all organisations throughout the period of inspection, providing a range of opportunities for any queries and/or concerns to be discussed whilst on-site. Formal complaints (see section below) will be dealt with in accordance with HMI Prisons’ complaints process. Where appropriate, these will be actioned through the partner organisation’s complaints process.
Before we publish any full inspection report, we give the establishment an opportunity to view and check the draft report for factual accuracy. This process is set out in our inspection framework. We would not expect issues of factual accuracy to be raised in a formal complaint, given that the inspected organisation will have had time to review the full report ahead of publication. The content of inspection reports and the decision to publish are entirely matters for HMI Prisons, as are matters of judgement.
HMI Prisons seeks voluntary feedback for quality assurance purposes from establishments after each inspection through an online survey. The survey asks senior leaders about the inspection team, fairness and communication during their inspection. Depending on the nature of any issues contained in those surveys, these will be investigated by line managers and, if necessary, the Deputy Chief Inspector. In addition, HMI Prisons conducts an annual stakeholder survey to inform performance improvement. We also welcome feedback at any time. Feedback can be sent to hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk.
Making a formal complaint
If you have a complaint, you should set it out in writing, no later than 20 working days following the incident of concern, and either email it or post it to:
HM Inspectorate of Prisons
3rd Floor
10 South Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 4PU
Email: hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk
We aim to respond to you substantively within 30 working days. Where this is not possible, complainants will be notified about when they can expect a full response.
Formal complaints, depending on their nature, will be investigated by line managers and, if necessary, the Deputy Chief Inspector or Chief Inspector. The final decision concerning a complaint rests with the Chief Inspector. Any misconduct investigation will be conducted in line with Ministry of Justice (MoJ) policy and guidance on disciplinary matters. Where appropriate, formal complaints about partner organisations will be actioned through our partner organisation’s complaints process.
Complaints about HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
Complaints about the personal conduct of HMCIP or those relating to the sponsorship or mandate of the MoJ will be considered by the responsible Minister. If the responsible Minister decides the complaint should be investigated, they will appoint an independent person to investigate the issues and make recommendations about the complaint resolution.
Freedom of Information requests (FOIs)
FOIs should be set out in writing and sent to us by email or post to the address below.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons
3rd floor
10 South Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 4PU
Email: hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk
Whistleblowing
HMI Prisons is not a Prescribed Person as defined by the whistleblowing legislation. We encourage anyone contacting us to refer to their employer’s whistleblowing policies to understand how they can make a disclosure that qualifies for the relevant protections under the whistleblowing legislation.
Our publications scheme
The Freedom of Information Act encourages us to proactively publish as much information as possible.
We make a significant amount of information available under our publication scheme. This means that, in many cases, the information you are looking for will already be available and there will be no need for you to make a formal request under the Act.
The information available is grouped under the following categories:
- Who we are and what we do: find out more about our role and our Chief Inspector.
- What we spend and how we spend it: we publish our accounts in our annual report.
- What our priorities are and how we are doing: we publish a business plan every year, and report on on key inspection findings and notable organisational changes in our annual report.
- How we make our decisions: how we decide where to inspect and how we reach our judgements on our healthy prison test scores are set out in our inspection framework and expectations.
- Our policies and procedures: our work is governed by a range of policies, protocols and memoranda of understanding. The majority of these are available on our website.
- The service we offer: we provide independent inspection and publish reports on our findings.
- Lists and registers: we do not currently maintain any registers required by law or other lists or registers
relating to our functions.
How the scheme works and information on charges
Information listed in our publication scheme is available through this website or in print. You can access information in three different ways:
- On the website: when information is available on the website, or one of our partner websites, the web address will be given and a link will be provided. There is no charge for this.
- By email: you can submit a request by emailing hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk. There is no charge for this.
- By post: if you require the information in paper format it may be necessary to charge you, but each case is considered separately. We may be required to charge if, for example, a large amount of photocopying is required or if the cost of postage for a large volume of paperwork is high.
Requests via post should be sent to:
HM Inspectorate of Prisons
3rd floor
10 South Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 4PU
Information in other languages
We are committed to treating English and Welsh languages on the basis of equality, where it is appropriate and workable. To request information in Welsh, please email hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk.