Northern Ireland Prison Service Corporate Governance ... - cjini

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What is required is a transformation of the way in which the Prison Service works. There is no simple solution. It will require a resetting of objectives for the Prison Service, changes in values, behaviours and working practices and a more robust approach to performance management. Our report highlights a governance structure that has failed to deliver meaningful change, weak management processes and a trade union/management relationship that can only be described as destructive. Within this context it is extremely difficult to engage in a reform agenda which aims to improve the outcomes for prisoners and as a consequence society as a whole by reducing re-offending and the reduction of crime. There are therefore a range of factors that contribute to the difficulties of delivering an effective service. A lack of real commitment to reform, coupled with the absence of clarity about what is expected, is compounded by the existence of resistance to change and working practices, management process and behaviours which makes real change extremely problematic where it counts – within individual establishments. There is no easy answer to any of these issues. What is clear is that without a transformation in the way business is undertaken in the Prison Service, little meaningful change can be expected. It has almost become a cliché to state that Inspectors found many committed staff within the Prison Service. This however, is the case. There are staff who are embarrassed by the external critique of the Prison Service and resent the fact that much criticism does not reflect the good work they are doing. Moving forward it is important that these managers and staff move to the centre stage. They are the future of the Prison Service and it is important that their attitudes, behaviours and professionalism become the norm. The inspection was undertaken by Dr. Ian Cameron, Stephen Dolan and Tom McGonigle. Considerable assistance was received from Mitch Egan CB. My thanks to all those who participated in the inspection process. Dr. Michael Maguire Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland December 2010 vi
Executive Summary The vast majority of prisoners in Northern Ireland will be released. What happens inside a prison has a real impact on what happens outside a prison. The extent to which behaviours are challenged, prisoners are given purposeful activity, assisted with resettlement into the community and the nature of officer/prisoner engagement, all make a major contribution to reducing reoffending and helping to increase public protection against criminal activity in the future. The estimated cost of re-offending in the United Kingdom is around £11 billion, in Northern Ireland it is in the region of £80 million. The Prison Service is not a bit player in the criminal justice system, it is an essential component of the success of the system overall. The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) is shaped by the legacy of the past. Its culture, ethos, working practices and management processes reflect in many ways a different era, and a different agenda for what we want our prisons to do. It has remained largely untouched by the reforms of the criminal justice system. The NIPS is a relatively well resourced public service in Northern Ireland. Certainly its operating budgets are higher than comparable institutions elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Management within the Prison Service recognise the need for change and have made efforts in the past number of years to deliver a more cost-efficient and effective organisation. The Prison Service has embarked on a series of changes to try and develop a new approach to prison management – with a clear emphasis on promoting a secure and humane environment that challenges offending behaviours. The Prison Service can rightly point to a series of initiatives (for example, development of the prison estate) that provide evidence of a new approach. The recent inspection of Magilligan Prison shows that local management can make a difference and change the ways in which the regime operates. Throughout the inspection work undertaken by CJI we have continually made reference to the many committed staff we have seen as part of the different inspection reports and have noted the important contribution they make to the positive work of the NIPS. At the same time the level of scrutiny of the Prison Service has been intense. CJI and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) inspection reports – the 2010 Magilligan inspection report excepted – have shown a series of deep problems around delivering better outcomes for prisoners in terms of time out of cell, access to work, education and other purposeful activity, and a need for a more constructive form of engagement between prisoners and prison officers. Other reports have shown a major disconnect between the strategic intent of the Prison Service and its capacity to deliver real change on the ground. There is real dissonance therefore between the stated intent of the Prison Service – the initiatives that it highlights – and operational activity as it exists on the ground. This picture is confirmed by other work that has been completed on the Prison Service including that undertaken by the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI) and the Pearson Review Team. vii
Page 1: Northern Ireland Prison Service Cor
Page 5 and 6: Contents List of abbreviations iv C
Page 7: Chief Inspector’s Foreword In man
Page 11 and 12: The governance arrangements have no
Page 13 and 14: engagement. There is no doubt that
Page 15 and 16: It has to be said that the industri
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
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they were beaten down by the cultur
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4.34 The inability of the NIPS to p
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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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