Independent Prisoner Complaint Investigations (IPCI) is part of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO). IPCI investigate complaints made by prisoners and young people in prisons, young offender institutions (YOIs) and secure training centres.
The PPO investigate complaints from people on probation, living in approved premises and those in immigration detention.
When we investigate a complaint we will:
- find out the facts about what has happened
- try to find a resolution if possible
- look into if changes to policy or processes would stop something similar happening again
- make recommendations for improvement if appropriate
If you are a member of staff that investigates internal prison complaints from prisoners, watch this short video to understand how to handle these:
Video transcript
Hello, my name is Miriam Minty and I’m the Director of IPCI. IPCI is Independent Prisoner Complaint Investigations. IPCI is totally independent from HMPPS and we’re here to independently investigate complaints from prisoners when they’ve been through prison complaints processes first.
We’ve made this short video to help you think about how you investigate complaints from prisoners in a respectful and thorough way, and how you can support them to contact IPCI if and when they need to.
Section one – Understanding prisoner complaints
Can prisoners make a complaint in prison?
Yes, prisoners are able to make complaints. They have statutory rights to do so under Rule 11 of the Prison Rules 1999, and under Rule 8 of the YOI Rules 2000.
What can a prisoner complain about?
Complaints can vary a lot. Sometimes something has gone wrong for a prisoner, or something happened that they think shouldn’t have.
Prisoners quite often complain about their property going missing, being damaged or being stolen. Or complaints might be about staff behaviour towards them, or they may want to complain about a recategorisation, or an IEP review they think was unfair.
Resolving complaints
The easiest way to resolve a complaint from a prisoner is to encourage them to talk to you first, tell you what’s gone wrong, and see if you can sort it out for them.
This builds trust and rapport between you and the prisoner, and 9 times out of 10, it means issues get resolved much more quickly.
If this informal approach hasn’t worked or wasn’t possible, prisoners will use the formal complaints process which is in place in all prisons.
The Business Hub in each prison is responsible for logging complaints. They will review the complaint to decide who is best to investigate the issue and respond to the complaint. At this stage, the complaint could be allocated to you.
Section two – Investigating and responding to a complaint
I have been allocated a complaint to investigate. What do I do?
We appreciate that completing a complaint investigation and providing quick responses in a busy operational environment can be challenging, but it is important to be as thorough and timely as possible.
Once again, if you can, and it’s appropriate, try to speak to the prisoner first to ensure you fully understand their issue and get as much information as possible. This might resolve the issue without the need for further investigation.
Next, check the related local and national policies to understand what the prison should be doing or should have done in relation to the complaint. You can then compare this to what actually happened.
Also speak to anyone else involved in the complaint, to ensure you have accurate information.
How do I respond?
When responding, it’s helpful to be polite and clear, and avoid using prison jargon or acronyms. Your response can include what you investigated, what your outcome is and why.
Many prisons use the principles of procedural justice. This just means being transparent, neutral, and respectful. If the complaint isn’t upheld, it’s helpful to provide an explanation that will make sense to the prisoner.
If complaints are investigated sensitively and thoroughly, this will build trust with prisoners, whatever the outcome.
Is there guidance on handling complaints?
The Prisoner Complaints Policy Framework sets out the responsibilities of staff when investigating and responding to prisoner’s complaints.
It includes things such as the timeframes for responses, and who should and shouldn’t respond to the complaint. For example, if the complaint is about a particular member of staff, they shouldn’t be the one responding to the complaint.
Some useful tips
Do: Refer to any related complaints from the prisoner as they might contain helpful information, such as linked complaints or how other staff have responded to their previous complaints.
Avoid: Try to avoid responding to a complaint if it is about you, or a situation you were involved in. Pass it back to your manager, as you looking into it would be a conflict of interest.
Do: Send the prisoner an interim response if you are unable to meet the deadline. This will let them know the investigation is in progress and it will reassure them it’s not been ignored. If possible, try to give them a timescale of when you hope you will be able to provide the full response.
Avoid: Being negative toward prisoners who have made a complaint. Prisoners shouldn’t get into trouble or be treated badly for raising concerns.
Do: Let other staff know if you have resolved an issue which might affect other prisoners. This will assist both the prisoners and the staff dealing with similar complaints.
To summarise then:
- Resolving complaints either informally or formally is an important part of your role.
- And doing so in a timely, polite, and considered manner increases the confidence of prisoners in local complaints processes.
- It can reduce tension and improve relationships between staff and prisoners.
- You could also be practically improving things in the prison that could go wrong from time to time, both for prisoners and for staff.
Section three – The role of Independent Prisoner Complaint Investigations (IPCI) in investigating complaints.
When prisoners have gone through the internal complaints process and if they are still not happy, they can write to IPCI, which is part of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) to request an independent investigation. IPCI is completely independent and not part of HMPPS.
Prisoners complete an IPCI form which helps make their complaint clear and provides prompts them to send us their complaint forms and your responses.
Remember that prisoners can have their complaint forms photocopied and their letters sent to IPCI, free of charge. These costs are covered by the prison.
All outgoing and incoming letters to prisoners from IPCI are treated as Rule 39 (Confidential Access) mail. This means they shouldn’t be opened or read by staff.
In looking into complaints from prisoners, we will always look at your investigation of their issue first. So, a thorough investigation will make it clear to IPCI how you have tried to resolve the issue locally, and this will play an important part in our consideration of the complaint.
Thank you for watching.