Purpose
His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland is required to inspect the 17 prisons across Scotland in order to establish the treatment of, and the conditions for prisoners and to report publicly on the findings. The Public Services Reform (Inspection and Monitoring of Prisons) (Scotland) Order 2015 came into force on 31 August 2015 and from this date HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland assumed overall responsibility for the monitoring of prisons, which is carried out on a day to day basis by independent prison monitors.
The United Kingdom is a signatory of the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). HMIPS is one of twenty-one organisations that comprise the UKs National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), which has a duty to regularly monitor the treatment of detainees and the conditions in which they are held. The NPM was set up to ensure regular visits to places of detention in order to prevent torture and other ill-treatment. OPCAT recognises that people in detention are particularly vulnerable and requires States to set up a national level body that can support efforts to prevent their ill treatment. HMIPS fulfil this function through our regular inspection of prisons and court custody units, and our IPM monitoring framework. Our Chief Inspector sits on the UK NPM Steering group.
The Chief Inspector also has responsibility for:
- the inspection of the treatment of and conditions for prisoners under escort
- produce and publish an Annual Report which is presented to the Scottish Ministers and laid before Parliament
Our history
HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland was established on 1 January 1981, following the publication in 1979 of a report by the Committee of Inquiry into the United Kingdom Prison Services (The May Committee). This report recommended that there should be a system of inspection of the Prison Service distanced as far as may be practicable from the Prison Department. Subsequently, the post of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland was approved. The first Chief Inspector received his Royal Warrant of appointment on 29 October 1980.
The role of the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) was placed on a statutory basis by the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1980.
HMCIP postholders
D A Philip Barry CBE (1980 – 1986); T B Buyers OBE (1986 – 1989); Alan H Bishop CB (1989 – 1994); Colonel Clive B Fairweather CBE OBE (1994 – 2002); The Very Rev Dr Andrew R C McLellan CBE (2002 – 2009); Brigadier the Hon Hugh B H E Monro CBE (2009 – 2013); David J R Strang QPM (2013 – 2018); Wendy Sinclair-Gieben (2018 to 2024), post currently vacant and Stephen Sandham, Deputy Chief Inspector, is acting Chief Inspector until it is filled.
The Public Services Reform (Inspection and Monitoring of Prisons) (Scotland) Order 2015 came into force on 31 August 2015 and from this date HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland assumed overall responsibility for the monitoring of prisons, which is carried out on a day to day basis by independent prison monitors.
The United Kingdom is a signatory of the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). The UK National Preventative Mechanism was established in 2009 to strengthen the protection of people in detention through independent monitoring. HMIPS is one of 21 bodies that comprise the UKs National Preventative Mechanism (NPM), which has a duty to regularly monitor the treatment of detainees and the conditions in which they are held.