NIPS Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13 - Department of Justice

ANNUAL
REPORT
and Accounts
Chapter 2: Review Of Year
Our review of the year starts on a sombre note.
The dreadful murder of Officer David Black on 1
November en route to work at Maghaberry was
greeted with shock and sadness and is a painful
reminder of times which we all hoped had passed.
David was a popular and well-respected member of
staff who will be missed by us all and our thoughts
remain with his wife Yvonne, daughter Kyra, son Kyle
and his wider family circle.
Ongoing oversight of reform
In line with the PRT report published in October
2011 the Prison Reform Oversight Group
continues to oversee the implementation of the
recommendations. The Group is providing essential
input by assisting with the strategic focus of
the programme and providing the right level of
challenge and scrutiny. This is particularly borne out
through the independent element of the Group.
This year NIPS moved into the second year of
our challenging four year business cycle, focused
primarily on the structural and operational reform of
prisons.
REFORM OF NIPS
Our vision is for a modern professional Prison
Service that delivers safe custody, is offender
focused and enables NIPS to build a safer
community in Northern Ireland by helping reduce
the risk of reoffending.
In line with our Corporate Business Plan, year two
of this four year cycle has focused on delivery of
structural change and preparing for cultural
change. This will help us prepare for further change
as well as improve service delivery to and outcomes
for offenders – helping us to ensure we are getting
the basics right, that we are delivering appropriate
interventions and that we can meaningfully evaluate
the consistency and impact of delivery.
Key progress
The Oversight Group agreed, following
independent assessment by CJINI, that four PRT
recommendations (out of 40 in total) have been
completed, they are:
• maintaining and publishing detailed routine data;
• setting up of a change management team;
• setting up of Ministerial oversight group; and
• under 18s to be moved from Hydebank Wood.
Target Operating Model
In May 2012 an agreement to implement key
elements of the Reform Programme was reached
with the Prison Officers Association (POA). This
included a new Staff Deployment Agreement.
A new TOM, based on a five day working week,
and a standard Core Day was launched in April
2012 and rolled out on a phased basis across the
establishments. New staff profiles and shift patterns
were implemented at all three establishments in
October 2012.
Appointment of New Director General
Sue McAllister took up the post of Director General
at the beginning of July and joined NIPS at a crucial
stage of the reform programme. She brings a wealth
of experience to the post and is committed to
driving forward the change agenda.
Exit Scheme
While 544 staff applied to retire under the scheme
in November 2011, the initial business case
approved by DFP only enabled 360 staff to leave.
Work was subsequently undertaken to secure DFP
agreement to an extension of the business case, in
order that the remaining staff may be allowed to
leave.
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