Northern Ireland Prison Service Corporate Governance ... - cjini

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The role of the Prison Officers’ Association The phrase regularly heard by Inspectors to describe the influence of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) was the “elephant in the room”. The influence of the Association was seen as all-pervasive and caused the day-to-day operational management in the prison establishments to be described as “wading through treacle”. From an Association perspective, their role was described as to fight for the terms and conditions for members. They believed there were serious management weaknesses that needed to be addressed and failures within the Prison Service should not rest at the door of the Prison Officers’ Association. The view of Inspectors was the strength and influence of the Prison Officers’ Association should not be under-estimated. This has developed over many years and had become a significant part of prison life, shaping every aspect of the prison regime. Industrial relations varied across establishments and at Headquarters, but nowhere could they be described as constructive or business-like, and there was a degree of mistrust evident across the Prison Service. The nature of local relationships tended to be ad hoc and in some cases personality driven. The destructive nature of the relationship between the Prison Officers’ Association and management made actual pro-active management within the prison establishments extremely difficult. The reality is that any management plans for restructuring the workforce as a whole, or for making even the sort of minor adjustments at establishment level that were necessary for efficient working routines, were wholly dependant on securing the goodwill of the Prison Officers’ Association. The inability of the Northern Ireland Prison Service to progress operational issues because of the Prison Officers’ Association was a matter of intense frustration for a number of Governors and senior staff. The actual, or perceived, strength of the Prison Officers’ Association had a pervasive effect on the management of the Prison Service at operational level. Organisation culture needs to change There is a strong organisational culture amongst prison officers which has been shaped by the recent history of Northern Ireland and the political and security situation. It is unfortunate that the Prison Service has a largely static workforce, steeped in the past with attitudes and behaviours of staff, in many cases out of balance with the values and aspirations of the organisation and the wider community within which the Prison Service is now located. Morale within the Prison Service is not good as it adjusts to the transition from what it was to what society now expects it to do – and do well given the resources at its disposal. Northern Ireland Prison Service management recognise the cultural issues and their effects on a change programme, including the need for a programme of culture change that was clear and capable of implementation. It is time to work with staff in the development of a new approach to prison management which sets out what is clearly required and values the contribution of those who want to be involved in the new agenda. xii
It has to be said that the industrial relations climate within the NIPS was a barrier to change and needs to be addressed directly. At the time of the fieldwork, the POA had just returned to regular working following industrial action, or ‘withdrawal of goodwill’. This was the second period of industrial unrest within 12 months and had a significant and adverse effect on the regimes of prisoners. The Pearson Review team described the role of the POA as “corrosive” – we have seen little evidence of change in the 18 months after the initial report was published. The way forward This report has highlighted a number of significant challenges for the NIPS, none of which should cause any surprise to the Service. It comes at a time of considerable change. This is likely to continue and further changes are likely to arise from the Minister of Justice’s Review currently underway and chaired by Dame Anne Owers. The financial outlook is not good and this will impact on the capacity of the Prison Service to deliver. A recent Prison Service document states ‘this financial pressure alone necessitates radical transformation of the existing organisation, its structures, management systems, processes and priorities’. The status quo – if it ever was – is no longer acceptable. The critical question is what to do next. Certainly this report has highlighted a clear need to address change across a number of areas. Including: • a statement of clear purpose as to what society wants the Prison Service to achieve and the empowerment of management to deliver free from sustained operational interference (this requires political consensus); • a more robust approach to governance and accountability within the Prison Service – based on clear service reform objectives and greater transparency in management information and performance achievement; • organisational culture and behaviours that focus on a more pro-active engagement between officers and prisoners; • a need to develop an industrial relations climate that is supportive of change rather than one which disables attempts at Prison Service reform; • the implementation of staffing and working practices that support the implementation of a progressive, cost-effective and purposeful regime for prisoners that ultimately delivers real benefits to the people of Northern Ireland through a greater focus on challenging offending behaviours; • a rationalisation of recommendations into a focussed and manageable programme; and • a performance regime which is focussed on outcomes rather than process. We are aware that an independent review of the prison system is being undertaken by a team headed by Dame Anne Owers, a former Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales. This team was gathering evidence while this inspection was being completed, and will be able to draw on our findings and conclusions to address the critical issues raised in this report. For that reason, we have departed from the norm by not making any strategic or operational recommendations as a result of this inspection. xiii
Page 1: Northern Ireland Prison Service Cor
Page 5 and 6: Contents List of abbreviations iv C
Page 7 and 8: Chief Inspector’s Foreword In man
Page 9 and 10: Executive Summary The vast majority
Page 11 and 12: The governance arrangements have no
Page 13: engagement. There is no doubt that
Page 17: Section 1 Inspection Report 1
Page 20 and 21: een difficult to shake off. In many
Page 22 and 23: considerable challenge for the Nort
Page 24 and 25: procedures for making decisions on
Page 26 and 27: 2.4 The Permanent Secretary of the
Page 28 and 29: • Offender management and public
Page 30 and 31: Business Plan etc., but these corpo
Page 32 and 33: the development of an assurance map
Page 34 and 35: establishment level that policies w
Page 36 and 37: Management Service (NOMS) practice
Page 39 and 40: CHAPTER 3: Performance management 3
Page 41 and 42: this function and the team identifi
Page 43 and 44: around the issue of prisoner safety
Page 45 and 46: an exit package for staff. If ineff
Page 47 and 48: Annual Performance Appraisal Report
Page 49 and 50: Implementation of recommendations f
Page 51: and the new Director of Finance and
Page 54 and 55: struggled to move on to a position
Page 56 and 57: were told to forget what they learn
Page 58 and 59: they were beaten down by the cultur
Page 60 and 61: 4.34 The inability of the NIPS to p
Page 62 and 63: espectively) as an indication that
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to this event, although CCTV materi
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96 rest days and 2-3 three or four
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contributory factor and, in relatio
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Local Agreements 5.27 Working Pract
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Section 2 Appendices 57
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Service. First Report of session 20
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Feedback and Writing Following comp
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Framework Area Possible Evidence De
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Appendix 2: Synopsis of challenges
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This scale of recommendations would
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prison than by the presumptions abo
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Communication Communication was an
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The Criminal Justice Inspection rep
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were taken with reference to this a
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The disciplinary process The discip
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on practical outcomes and lacked a
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• The establishment was performin
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Northern Ireland Prison Service Corporate Governance ... - cjini

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