It is almost inevitable that if you are in prison something happens which you feel is unfair or incorrect, or an officer doesn’t “do their job properly” and you lose out as a result. Most of the time these issues are resolved without problem, but if you still feel aggrieved what can you do?
The information on this page is based on the law in England & Wales. If you’re in Scotland, click here for the guide for your jurisdiction. If you’re in Northern Ireland, click here for that guide.
Firstly there is the internal complaints procedure within the prison. If you can’t get satisfaction from the officer or prison employee you are dealing with, you can ask to speak to the next person up the chain of command. Usually you will be asked to put your complaint in writing, and this must be within 3 months of the incident about which you are unhappy.
Complaints forms are available on every wing and you shouldn’t have to ask a prison officer for one. If your complaint is about being discriminated against you will need to fill out a Discrimination Incident Reporting Form (DIRF), available from the wing office. Keep a copy of what you’ve written and post the form into a yellow complaints box, found on most landings and in other communal parts of the prison. In theory your complaint is confidential, but as it will be investigated by prison staff themselves, this confidentiality is faint comfort.
If you are still not satisfied with the outcome you can involve the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB). The IMB is a group of independent, unpaid volunteers who act as a ‘watchdog’, making sure the prison is run properly and prisoners are treated fairly. You can make a complaint to the IMB at any time, but they will often only act once you have followed the prison’s own complaints procedure first. Each Board also publishes an annual report on its prison – see our IMB Reports page for the latest one for your prison.
To complain to the IMB, ask to speak directly to a member of the Board, or write to them. Keep a copy of the letter and mark the sealed envelope ‘Confidential Access’, addressed to the Chair of the Independent Monitoring Board. You will usually be given a degree of privacy when you talk to the duty IMB member, but they can pass information on to prison staff – although the Board will normally tell you before they do this, it isn’t guaranteed.
If all this fails and you still feel you have a genuine grievance, you can complain to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) (opens in a new tab), or even involve outside legal help. The PPO is independent of the Prison Service and investigates most complaints made by prisoners, but you must have been through the prison’s internal complaints procedure first. It is not a quick process – think months rather than days.
Complaints are taken very seriously by the prison system, and it is not unusual for a complaint to be reported all the way up to the Governor.
On this topic:
| The IMB – who they are and what they do | IMB Reports – the latest annual report for every prison |
See also:
| The rules and regulations | Minorities and non English speakers |