Internal Complaints Procedure

Initial complaints should be made on the relevant complaint form (COMP1) which should be freely available to all prisoners on the wing or residential area. Once you have completed the complaint form you should post it into the locked boxes on the wing specifically designed for this purpose. This is Stage 1 and you should normally receive a response from a wing officer in about three working days. The response will be made on the same form as your complaint.

Stage 2 – appeal to someone at management level against the stage one response using form COMP1A. This must be made within a week of receiving the first response. You should state why you are not happy with the first response in the space provided on the form. You should normally receive a response from somebody at management level within about seven working days. If it is going to take longer you should receive a reply explaining the reason for the delay.

Stage 3 – if you are still not happy with the outcome of that, you have the right to appeal to the Governor, again so long as you do so within one week. You must use the same COMP1A form that you use for your appeal to someone at management level. This form must be posted into the complaints box. You should normally receive a reply from the governing Governor or deputy Governor within seven working days or an explanation if there is going to be a delay.

If you are still not satisfied with this, you can take your application further to the Prison and Probation Ombudsman for investigation. The address is Ashley House, 2 Monck Street, London SW1P 2BQ. You can write in confidence and your letter should be sent at public expense.

Internal Complaints Procedure

Areas of Legal Expertise

Prison Team

Our Services

Online Legal Advisor

Latest News