Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Hindley
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
October
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that some of his property and his property cards were missing at HMP Hindley.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI found there was insufficient information to conclude the lost property aspect of the complaint. HMP Hindley had accepted responsibility for the missing property cards and had already taken steps to mitigate the risk of it happening in the future. Therefore, IPCI partially upheld the complaint but made no further recommendations.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Stocken
Complaint category:
Accommodation, food, education & other facilities
Month investigation completed:
October
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained that at least one of the wings in HMP Stocken could go for periods of time without supplying tea bags and coffee whiteners to prisoners.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI established that tea bags and coffee whiteners should be readily available to prisoners, that supplies are provided to the wings each week and the process for ordering more supplies if needed was clear and available for any officer to do. IPCI partially upheld the complaint on the basis that there was no evidence that HMP Stocken were purposefully preventing prisoners’ access to tea bags and coffee whiteners, and that there were procedures in place to ensure the wings have regular deliveries of these items. However, it did appear that prisoners did not have access to tea bags and coffee whiteners on the dates mentioned in the complaint. IPCI advised the prison that the response to the COMP 1A was unhelpful, and a problem-solving approach must be adopted when responding to complaints.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Nottingham
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
October
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that one bag of his stored property did not arrive from HMP Nottingham after he was transferred to HMP Whatton. IPCI identified two elements to the prisoner’s complaint; the first was the loss of his stored property, the second was the poor handling of the complaint.
Recommendations/outcome:
We concluded that HMP Nottingham was responsible for the missing property and recommended that they pay compensation of £139 and apologise for the poor handling of the complaint. We also recommended that HMP Nottingham take steps to ensure that all staff responding to complaints properly address the issues raised in the complaint, and in accordance with the time limits of the Prisoner Complaints Policy Framework.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Durham
Complaint category:
Staff behaviour
Month investigation completed:
October
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained about the behaviour of staff in HMP Durham during a use of force incident.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI partially upheld the complaint as we had concerns about the actions of an officer during the restraint. We recommended that the Governor, following an independent review of the restraint by the Operational Response & Resilience Unit (ORRU), provide evidence of what advice and guidance had been given to the officer involved. We also recommended that ORRU’s entire review of the incident be provided to IPCI and for the Governor to consider discussing the incident with the National Incident Management Unit as they had given a conflicting opinion on the officer’s actions.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Swaleside
Complaint category:
Staff behaviour
Month investigation completed:
October
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner alleged that he was assaulted by staff during a restraint and asked for an internal investigation. BWVC and CCTV footage were reviewed and did not support the allegation of assault, so this part of the complaint was not upheld.
However, our investigation identified procedural failings. An internal investigation was not completed, and an F213 form was either not completed or could not be located. We also found that staff told the prisoner that “if he could talk, he could breathe”, which is not an appropriate way to assess a prisoner’s ability to breathe during a restraint.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI proposed that the prison issue a written apology to the prisoner as a personal remedy. We also recommended that the Governor complete an internal investigation into the incident. Additional recommendations were made to ensure staff understand the correct procedures for completing and retaining F213 forms, and the correct processes to follow when assessing a prisoner’s ability to breathe during a restraint.
Partially upheld complaint against the Director of HMP/YOI Parc
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
October
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that some of his property had gone missing following a cell clearance. During the investigation, the prison was asked to provide a copy of the cell clearance paperwork but confirmed that this could not be located. We upheld this part of the complaint. The prisoner identified a number of items as missing from his cell, some of which were not recorded on his property card. Some of the items were found to have been confiscated because they were not listed on the prisoner’s property card. We did not uphold the missing property part of the complaint.
Recommendations/outcome:
The Director was reminded of the importance of maintaining accurate records of all cell clearances to ensure a clear audit trail is retained and to minimise the risk of property being lost or unaccounted for.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Wormwood Scrubs
Complaint category:
Staff behaviour
Month investigation completed:
October
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that he had been assaulted by staff during a restraint and asked that the matter be investigated. He also requested that all Body Worn Video Camera (BWVC) and CCTV footage relating to the incident be retained. We did not uphold the allegation of assault. However, our investigation identified that the prison failed to retain the relevant BWVC and CCTV footage.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI recommended that the prison review its arrangements for the retention, storage and review of BWVC and CCTV footage, and ensure that staff are appropriately trained in these processes.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Isle of Wight
Complaint category:
Work, pay & money
Month investigation completed:
October
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that the prison had taken money out of his personal spends account without his permission. Payments included a magazine subscription, postage and sponsorship for a charity event. The sponsorship money and magazine subscription had already been refunded at the time of his complaint. The prison’s complaint responses informed the complainant that they would refund the postage, and they apologised for the errors.
Recommendations/outcome:
After IPCI made enquiries with the prison, they refunded the postage so no further recommendations were necessary.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Garth
Complaint category:
Accommodation, food, education & other facilities
Month investigation completed:
October
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that he was moved to the segregation unit and remained there for 96 days. He raised concerns about the length of ongoing segregation and felt that the regime on the unit amounted to solitary confinement. Evidence suggested that all segregation reviews were completed on time and his continued stay was authorised as per the Segregation Prison Service Order (PSO) 1700. However, the prisoner was not afforded the (new increased) recommended time out of his cell every day as per the PSO.
Recommendations/outcome:
The new recommended time out of the cell came into force midway through the prisoners stay in segregation. The new policy expected prisons to manage the updated regime within existing resources, but HMPPS recognised that this may not be possible. The Governor explained that until significant investment is provided (extra staffing/ resources), they would be unable to safely facilitate this additional regime in their segregation unit.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Woodhill
Complaint category:
Staff behaviour
Month investigation completed:
October
Year investigation completed:
2025
The prisoner complained that he was subject to unnecessary planned use of force, and that the prison did not investigate his confidential access complaint about the incident. We found that the force used within the incident was reasonable, necessary and proportionate. However, the prison took too long to investigate the complaint. We also believe that the hand-held camera was not positioned appropriately to capture the intervention and that prison staff were not respectful of the prisoner’s property during the incident.
Recommendations/outcome:
We proposed that the prison apologise to the prisoner for the treatment of his property and the delay in the investigation as forms of personal remedy. We recommended that the Governor review the use of handheld cameras to deliver full and effective recordings, assure themselves that processes for completing decision logs and investigations are timely and robust, and that the confidential access complaints process is effective.
