Upheld complaint against the Director of HMP Parc
Complaint category:
Accommodation, food, education & other facilities
Month investigation completed:
April
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained that he was not being provided with a gluten free diet by staff at HMP Parc. The IPCI investigation found that the prisoner’s records evidenced that there were occasions when his dietary needs had not been met.
Recommendations/outcome:
During the course of the investigation, the prisoner changed to an alternative diet. As a result, it was not necessary to make any recommendations on this occasion.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP High Down
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
April
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained about the low level of compensation offered to him by staff at HMP High Down after they lost his property. The IPCI investigation found that the prison was using maximums within the facilities list to calculate compensation which is against national policy.
Recommendations/outcome:
We asked that the prison pay a significantly higher amount of compensation than was originally proposed, and that they review local practices in relation to facilities lists and property disclaimers to bring them in line with policy.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Woodhill
Complaint category:
Staff behaviour
Month investigation completed:
April
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained about the behaviour of staff at HMP Woodhill in October 2024. The prisoner said staff in reception had bullied and threatened him when he had gone to collect his property. The complaint response said a decision log enquiry would be carried out. The IPCI investigation found that this had not happened.
Recommendations/outcome:
We recommended that the Governor investigate the conduct of the staff involved in the allegation. We also asked that they ensure that the prisoner is in possession of all appropriate property, and that none of it has been given to other prisoners by staff.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Woodhill
Complaint category:
Staff behaviour
Month investigation completed:
April
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained about the conduct of an officer at HMP Woodhill in December 2024. He said that the complaint response from the prison told him an investigation would be carried out, which he believed hadn’t happened. The IPCI investigation found this to be the case.
Recommendations/outcome:
We asked the Governor to meet the commitment made in the initial response to the complaint. Specifically, we asked the Governor to ensure that the local investigation was thorough, robust, and appropriate. We also requested that the Governor establish procedures to identify delayed complaints and set out appropriate measures to address them.
Upheld complaint against the Director of HMP/YOI Doncaster
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
April
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained that some of their property had been lost by HMP Doncaster when they left for another establishment. Before our investigation had been completed, Doncaster offered £50.00 in compensation to the prisoner, which he accepted.
Recommendations/outcome:
As the prisoner has been compensated for his missing property, we had no further recommendations to make.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Brixton
Complaint category:
Visits, calls & letters
Month investigation completed:
April
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained that several letters they had tried to send to embassies were intercepted and opened by staff at HMP Brixton. The IPCI investigation found that although staff had reasonable belief the letters were not legitimate, they did not comply with national policy when intercepting this mail. Mail to embassies is considered ‘confidential access’ so there is a requirement that the mail is opened in the prisoner’s presence, and that they are told this communication is going to be intercepted.
Recommendations/outcome:
Brixton recognised that going forward they would need to adhere to the correct procedures in line with national policy.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Full Sutton
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
April
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner requested a box of their property be returned to them at Full Sutton from the overflow storage site at Branston; however, the box could not be located. The prison explained that the box had originally been sent, and they were not liable for its current whereabouts. IPCI corresponded with Branston directly and located the missing box.
Recommendations/outcome:
The prisoner had since left Full Sutton, so their property was delivered to their new establishment. IPCI considered that Full Sutton did not adopt a problem-solving approach when dealing with the prisoner’s complaint. We hold the view that this complaint should have been resolved by the prison without reference to IPCI.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Wandsworth
Complaint category:
Property
Month investigation completed:
April
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained that following a transfer from HMP Wandsworth to another prison, their property did not arrive. Initially, Wandsworth stated that the property was taken by prison bus to the new establishment, however there was no evidence of the property ever being received there. IPCI asked Wandsworth to conduct a search for the property, and this resulted in it being located at Wandsworth.
Recommendations/outcome:
Arrangements were made for the complainant to collect their property from Wandsworth as they had since been released into the community. We hold the view that this complaint should have been resolved by the prison without reference to IPCI.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Whitemoor
Complaint category:
Adjudication & IEP
Month investigation completed:
April
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained that he wanted a negative IEP warning rescinded as he was not aware of the warning, and he was not provided with the paperwork. The prison had not rescinded the warning as they believed that the correct process had been followed. The IPCI investigation found that the prison had not been policy compliant when issuing the IEP warning as it had been recorded incorrectly on NOMIS, as a general entry relating to negative behaviour.
Recommendations/outcome:
We asked the Governor to ensure that the entry should continue to be treated as a “Negative Behaviour: General Entry” and not a warning.
Upheld complaint against the Governor of HMP Wakefield
Complaint category:
Adjudication & IEP
Month investigation completed:
April
Year investigation completed:
2025
A prisoner complained about breaches of the Incentive and Earned Privileges (IEP) policy at HMP Wakefield. The IPCI investigation found that staff were not always accurately recording downgrades and subsequent reviews, with procedural mistakes having been rectified on more than one occasion.
Recommendations/outcome:
We asked that staff be reminded of the importance of conducting IEP reviews properly and ensuring that actions taken are documented on NOMIS.
