Section Four National Preventive Mechanism member profiles Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons H er Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) is an independent, statutory organisation which carries out regular inspections of places of detention to assess the treatment of and conditions for detainees.12 HMIP is responsible for inspecting all prisons in England and Wales, including young offender institutions; all removal centres, short-term holding facilities and escort arrangements for immigration detainees; and all police custody facilities, in association with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. HMIP may inspect both public and private detention facilities. HMIP is often invited to inspect prisons in other jurisdictions, including Northern Ireland (in partnership with Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland), the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and other Commonwealth territories. By invitation, HMIP inspects some military detention facilities, such as the Military Corrective Training Centre in Colchester. In association with HM Inspectorate of Probation, HMIP inspects offender management in custody. HMIP is led by the Chief Inspector of Prisons who is supported by a Deputy Chief Inspector and six inspection teams. While some inspectors have experience of working in prisons, others have expertise in medicine, law, probation, social work, youth justice and drug treatment. The inspection teams specialise in different types of detention, including prisons for adult men, women or children and young people, immigration detention or police custody. The Chief Inspector is further assisted by a team of researchers and editorial and programme support staff. In addition, HMIP draws on the expertise of partner inspectorates, such as the Care Quality Commission and Ofsted, and their territorial equivalents, during inspections. Methodology13 HMIP’s programme of inspection is based on a mixture of chronology and risk assessment. Prisons holding adults have a full inspection at least once every five years; prison and immigration removal centres holding children and young people have a full inspection every three years; and immigration removal centres holding only adults receive a full inspection every four years. In addition to these regular full inspections, all detention facilities have interim follow-up inspections which are unannounced and proportionate to risk. Thus, for example, a prison deemed to be high risk would receive a follow-up inspection within 12 to 36 months of the full inspection. Residential short-term holding facilities are inspected on a four-year cycle while non-residential facilities are inspected on an eight-year cycle. Both types of facilities receive follow-up inspections in the interim. One inspection of immigration escorting arrangements is carried out each year. Most full inspections are announced and last one week. Follow-up inspections assess the progress made against the previous recommendations. The length and depth of follow-up inspections is based on the risk assessment of the institution. 12 HMIP’s mandate is set out in the Prison Act 1952 as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 1982, the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 and the Police and Justice Act 2006. 13 Further information about the methodology of police custody inspections can be found under the profile of HMIC at page 30. 23