Q
who can complain?
A All prisoners (including former prisoners, in certain
circumstances) sentenced and remand, men and women,
adults and young prisoners can complain to us.
Q what can you complain about?
A You can complain about:
• your treatment by any person employed in the
NIPS;
• an omission by any person employed in NIPS;
• provision for your health and welfare while
in prison;
• facilities available to you at prison; and
• cleanliness and adequacy of the prison premises.
Q when can you complain to us?
A First of all, you should use the Prison complaints
system to try and deal with the problem.
• Talk to staff on the wing and see if they can
sort it out informally.
• If they can’t help, make a formal complaint
by completing a complaint form, available in your accommodation
area.
• If that does not work, put in an appeal.
If you are not satisfied with the reply that you get,
you can complain to us, but you must do this within
30 days of you receiving the Prison Service final reply.
If you have not had a reply within 6 weeks you can still
complain to us.
|
Informal
complaint to staff
Not satisfied |
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Formal
Complaint
Not satisfied |
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Appeal
Not satisfied |
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Complaint
to Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland |
Q how do you make a complaint to us?
A Fill in our form or, if you prefer, just write to
us with details of your complaint. We need only few
details at first but it helps if you send copies of
originals and any information you have about the complaint.
We will contact you if we need any extra information.
If you don’t want anybody to read your letter
before it leaves the prison you should write using Privileged
Correspondence. Address your envelope to the Prisoner
Ombudsman and write SO 5.3.05 (Privileged Correspondence)
on the front. The prison will pay the postage whether
you use the form or write us a letter.
If you have a problem reading or writing, ask a friend
or relative to help.
Q what happens after you have complained?
A We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint immediately.
We will then read your complaint and write to you within
10 days, telling you whether we accept your complaint.
If we do not accept your complaint we will explain why.
Q what happens when we investigate your complaint?
A We will gather information about your complaint from
you, the Prison Service and anyone else we think might
be able to help. We then try to settle your complaint
in one of the following ways:
• Local resolution – This means trying to
find a solution that you and the Prison can both agree
on. This is often the quickest way to deal with a complaint.
• A brief report or letter – We use this
when the two sides cannot agree. It can also be done
quickly.
• A full report – We also use this when
the two sides cannot agree. It is more detailed than
the brief report and takes longer to write.
We aim to deal with your complaint in one of these three
ways within 12 weeks of starting an investigation. If
we agree with your complaint, the report will also include
a recommendation to the Prison Service about what it
should do to put things right.
Q how do we decide whether we agree with your
complaint?
A We deal with all complaints by taking a fresh look
at the evidence and then reaching a judgement about
what is the right thing to do. Whatever the outcome
of your complaint we will always tell you the reasons
behind our decision.
Q where can I get more information?
A Phone: 028 90 443998
Write to: Prisoner Ombudsman
Floor 22
Windsor House
Bedford Street
BELFAST
Post Code BT2 7SR
Email: prisonerombudsman@nio.x.gsi.gov.uk
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