Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Nottingham
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
February
Year investigation completed:
2026
A prisoner complained that his stored property was missing following a transfer from HMP Nottingham to HMP Ranby.
Recommendations/outcome:
We found that stored property recorded at Nottingham had not arrived at Ranby. Due to discrepancies on the property card and the descriptions given on the Person Escort Record (PER) we could not establish that the property had transferred with the prisoner. We recommended that Nottingham compensate for the missing property. As the complaint had not been sent to Nottingham to respond to at any stage in the complaints process, we also recommended that Ranby ensure that staff send complaints onto a sending prison where appropriate and ensure that actions agreed by staff in complaint responses, such as contacting a sending prison on behalf of the prisoner, were always actioned.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Whitemoor
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
February
Year investigation completed:
2026
A prisoner complained about missing property following his transfer from HMP Whitemoor to HMP Wakefield. Some property had been sent on after transfer, but it was unclear if some property remained behind.
Recommendations/outcome:
We partially upheld the complaint and recommended that Whitemoor confirm if they held any property and if not, compensate for one item we were able to establish as missing.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP The Mount
Complaint category:
Adjudication & IEP
Month investigation completed:
February
Year investigation completed:
2026
The prisoner complained that an adjudication hearing was unfair because the adjudicator did not share the evidence he relied on to come to his decision – specifically, an unauthorised item (or a photo of it) and the BWVC footage which would have recorded the discovery of the unauthorised item.
Recommendations/outcome:
We recommended that the finding of guilt be quashed because of procedural flaws.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Wakefield
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
February
Year investigation completed:
2026
A prisoner complained about property lost and damaged when he moved from HMP Wakefield to HMP Full Sutton. During the course of the investigation, it became apparent that Wakefield property cards and the cell clearance certificate could not be located.
Recommendations/outcome:
In the absence of a cell clearance certificate to demonstrate that staff at Wakefield completed a cell clearance in line with policy, we upheld the complaint and recommended that Wakefield compensate the items of property that were missing. We asked the Governor to explain what action they proposed to take to ensure staff who answered complaints did so in line with national policy. We also asked them to explain what action they proposed to take in respect of the loss of the property cards and cell clearance certificate.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Wetherby
Complaint category:
Staff behaviour
Month investigation completed:
February
Year investigation completed:
2026
A young person complained about staff behaviour, specifically that a prison officer threw an afro comb which accidentally hit him in the head. The facts of the incident were not disputed, but the young person said the member of staff had not apologised. We asked the prison to issue an apology; they declined on the basis that the incident took place some time ago and the young person and the staff member now had good relations. Our enquiries suggested this was not the case.
Recommendations/outcome:
We made a formal recommendation that staff apologise for the incident.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Wetherby
Complaint category:
Staff behaviour
Month investigation completed:
February
Year investigation completed:
2026
A young person complained about staff behaviour when they were restrained. The prison conducted a thorough safeguarding investigation and internal review of the incident that identified some practice that needed to be addressed. However, this was in marked contrast to the response given to the young person when they complained, and we said that more could have been done to provide a formal record of the work undertaken by staff to address the incident.
Recommendations/outcome:
No formal recommendations as this related to the management of the complaints process.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP High Down
Complaint category:
Visits, calls & letters
Month investigation completed:
February
Year investigation completed:
2026
The prisoner complained about not being allowed face-to-face visits with his son. He was assessed as presenting a high risk of harm to children and was told he needed to reduce the risk by undertaking offending behaviour work. IPCI partially upheld the complaint. As no offending behaviour work had been completed, the decision to refuse face-to-face visits with his son was not unreasonable. However, he was not prioritised for this work even though the prison was aware of his release date.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI recommended that the Governor issue an apology to the complainant for the failure to monitor the delivery of identified offender behaviour work while he was in prison. IPCI also recommended improvements to the oversight, prioritisation and resourcing of offending behaviour work, including better coordination between prison and probation services to ensure risk reduction work is delivered before release.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Full Sutton
Complaint category:
Staff behaviour
Month investigation completed:
February
Year investigation completed:
2026
The prisoner complained about alleged inappropriate behaviour by staff in the segregation unit at HMP Full Sutton. IPCI upheld the part of the complaint relating to staff behaviour. We did not uphold the complaint that the prisoner had been bullied into coming off an ACCT.
Recommendations/outcome:
The prison had already apologised to the complainant, so we did not need to make this recommendation. IPCI recommended that the Governor should ensure that staff in the segregation unit are appropriately trained and supported to carry out their roles, including managing and supporting prisoners identified as being at risk of self-harm or suicide. We also recommended that responses to confidential access complaints address the issues raised specifically, in line with the Prisoner Complaints Policy Framework.
Partially upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Full Sutton
Complaint category:
Visits, calls & letters
Month investigation completed:
February
Year investigation completed:
2026
The prisoner complained about the suspension of his partner’s phone number from his PIN account. IPCI found that the use of AI by the caller on the prisoner’s behalf was a breach of policy. Additionally, a decision to reject the prisoner’s application for family visits was not based solely on this issue. However, the complaint was partially upheld because the notice issued to the prisoner did not clearly explain what rule he had breached.
Recommendations/outcome:
IPCI recommended that the Governor apologise to the complainant for not being clear about how the PIN system had been misused. We also recommended that decisions to restrict access to in-cell telephony and individual phone numbers are properly considered, and that any notices or warnings issued to prisoners clearly explain what the prisoner has breached. IPCI further recommended that HMPPS updates the national Communications Compact to clarify how breaching the national policy may affect prisoners’ access to telephones.
Upheld complaint against the Director of HMP Millsike
Complaint category:
Adjudication & IEP
Month investigation completed:
February
Year investigation completed:
2026
A prisoner complained that his appeal against an adjudication had not been progressed. He said he had submitted the required appeal form but had not received a response.
The investigation found no evidence that the appeal had been logged or forwarded for review, and the prison did not take action to progress the appeal even after this was raised. There was also a lack of timely engagement with requests for information during the investigation.
Recommendations/outcome:
We upheld the complaint due to delays and failures in handling the appeal. We recommended that the prison ensure adjudication appeals are properly recorded, progressed without delay, and that systems are strengthened to support effective complaint handling and engagement with oversight.
