Prisons and Probation Ombudsman

In a report published today, @PPOmbudsman Adrian Usher details the horrific accounts of abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre. Read the report here: ppo.gov.uk/news/ppo-publi… WARNING: This report contains graphic descriptions of physical, sexual and psychological abuse.

Our website has been updated with 10 recent deaths in custody. For more information, visit: ppo.gov.uk/death-investig…

Severing family ties in a critical moment can be a significant contributing factor to suicide and self-harm. The cost of prisoners calls to families is too high - a better phone system where prisoners pay a set fee and are given more minutes by the Governor would counteract this.

There’s still time to complete our 2025 to 2026 General Stakeholder Survey before 31 March! It only takes ten minutes to complete so please give us your feedback: smartsurvey.co.uk/s/GSS25-26/

The latest deaths in custody have just been added to our website: ppo.gov.uk/death-investig…

Have you signed up to our mailing list for learning, news and updates? Subscribe here: ppo.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=af…

Recruitment opportunity 💻 We are looking for an Information Technology Officer to join our team. Interested candidates can view the job description at: jobs.justice.gov.uk/careers/JobDet… The campaign is open until 11.55pm on 16 March 2026. Good luck!

We invite our stakeholders to complete our annual survey which is now open. It only takes 10 minutes to complete and is invaluable in helping us assess the way we work. Please give your feedback before 31 March here: smartsurvey.co.uk/s/GSS25-26/

There are several risk factors associated with IPP sentences, including recall and release to name a few. An IPP sentence itself should also be considered as a potential risk factor for suicide and self-harm and @hmpps should ensure this risk is acted on. @AmyClareMartin

In September and October 2025, the @PPOmbudsman...

Last year we urged @hmpps to implement policy and operational improvements to reduce property issues in prison. Property remains the most common complaint category we investigate and more must be done to ensure consistent local policies and to stop property from going missing.

Information about 10 deaths in custody notified to us in late January has now been added to our website. Click the link for more information: ppo.gov.uk/death-investig…

We are pleased to confirm that @HMPFiveWells is the latest prison to join our IPCI Ambassador scheme, which is now available in 60 prisons: ppo.gov.uk/list-of-prison…

We are pleased to announce that the Lord Chancellor has approved the reappointment of Adrian Usher as @PPOmbudsman. Adrian’s second three-year term will start from 24 April 2026: gov.uk/government/new…

Thank you @PRTuk for sharing in @InsideTimeUK what happens after a death in custody. Witnessing a death in prison can be upsetting for prisoners so we appreciate you explaining how they can feed into our investigations and get support: insidetime.org/information/af…

The latest deaths in custody have been added to our website today: ppo.gov.uk/death-investig…

Stopping drugs entering prison is a tremendous challenge. Prisons must educate prisoners on the very serious risks associated with taking unknown lethal chemicals to stop them from permanently damaging their health or dying.

"It is the responsibility of the Prison Service to educate prisoners on the lethality of what they are doing" - @PPOmbudsman Adrian Usher spoke to @InsideTimeUK in December about the challenges of stopping drugs entering our prisons: insidetime.org/comment/our-me…

We are pleased to confirm that @HMPTheVerne and HMP Feltham have joined our IPCI Ambassadors scheme. It is now available in 59 prisons: ppo.gov.uk/list-of-prison…

On our website we have updated the list of current fatal incident investigations we are carrying out including name, location and date of death, which you can view here: ppo.gov.uk/death-investig…

Our website has been updated with a list of recent investigations started into deaths in custody: ppo.gov.uk/death-investig…