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PPO celebrates 30 years

Published:

3 October 2024 – Today the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman is proud to be celebrating its 30th birthday.

In 1994, the office of the Prisons Ombudsman was created after the report into the Strangeways prison riot identified the need for an independent point of appeal for prisoners.

Since then, our remit has grown over the years from additionally investigating complaints from people on probation and detained individuals, to investigating deaths in custody and those that occur post-release.

To celebrate 30 years of our office, we have issued a newsletter looking back at our history and major milestones. The newsletter features testimonials from some of those we have helped, as well as key statistics from the thousands of investigations we have carried out.

Ombudsman Adrian Usher said: “It is with substantial pride and gratitude that I look back on 30 years of the PPO.

I am indebted to all those that have gone before, in every role and at every grade that have delivered tens of thousands of investigations resulting in just outcomes for prisoners and staff and extracting the learning from all of that work that provides such valuable lessons for the services in our remit.”

Read the newsletter here