2012 Annual Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner
monitoring (if required) are scrutinised. My inspectors check that there are proper procedures
in place for reviewing the continuation of the monitoring of these prisoners’ communications.
The system in place for the recording and monitoring of telephone calls is examined, along
with the monitoring logs that are maintained by the staff conducting the monitoring. Similarly
the systems and procedures in place for the monitoring of prisoners’ correspondence (mail),
along with the monitoring logs that are maintained by the staff conducting this monitoring, are
examined. There must be a full audit trail in place in relation to all communications that are
intercepted.
The inspectors examine the procedures in place for the handling of legally privileged or confidential
communications. The provisions for the retention, destruction and storage of intercept material
are examined.
The inspectors also examine the processes relating to the disclosure of material to LEAs to
ensure they are fully aligned to the Operational Partnership Team’s (formally the Police Advisors
Section) Operational Guidance Documents (OGD3 & 4).
Following each inspection a detailed report is prepared and this outlines inter alia what level
of compliance has been achieved with the rules governing the interception of prisoners’
communications. I read all of the inspection reports in order to discharge properly my oversight
functions. Where necessary, an action plan will accompany the report which specifies the areas
that require remedial action.
A traffic light system (red, amber, green) has been adopted for the recommendations to enable
prisons to prioritise the areas where remedial action is necessary. Any red recommendations
are of immediate concern as they mainly involve serious breaches and / or non-compliance
with Prison Rules and the NSF which could leave the prison vulnerable to challenge. The amber
recommendations represent non-compliance to a lesser extent; however remedial action
must still be taken in these areas as they could potentially lead to serious breaches. The green
recommendations represent good practice or areas where the efficiency and effectiveness of the
process could be improved.
A copy of the report is sent to the Governor or Director of the prison. They are required to
confirm, within a prescribed time period, that the recommendations have been achieved or
outline the progress they have made against achieving the recommendations. All of the reports
are also copied to NIU and the Deputy Director of Custody for the relevant prison region.
8.3 Review of 2012 Prison Inspections
At the time of writing this report there are 131 prisons in England & Wales subject to inspections
and 3 in Northern Ireland. Since the Inspectorate was formed in 2005 just under 90% of the
prisons have been inspected at least four times. During the period covered by this report my
inspectors conducted 93 inspections at 92 prisons, which equates to 70% of the whole estate.
In addition health checks were also conducted at 2 of the prisons, at the request of the prisons,
rather than due to poor compliance.
54