Annually, we inspect Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), along with a selection of prisons across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Prison inspections usually last one day and are scheduled with consideration of each prison’s recent compliance record.
We carry out inspections of prisons to ensure that communications monitoring is conducted adequately and that any use of surveillance techniques or covert human intelligence sources is compliant with legislation and the Codes of Practice. Our inspections take into account the Prison Service Instructions (PSIs) issued by HMPPS.