His Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) is a statutory body and independent UK

inspectorate An inspectorate or inspectorate-general (or general inspectorate) is a civil or military body charged with inspecting and reporting on some institution or institutions in its field of competence. Inspectorates cover a broad spectrum of organizations ...

funded by the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, formed in 1936.

Role and functions

HMIP reports to the

Secretary of State for Justice The secretary of state for justice is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Since the office's inception ...

on the effectiveness of the arrangements for and discharge of work done on individual offenders to reduce their likelihood of offending or risk of serious harm. Historically, HMIP has inspected the work of the

National Probation Service The Probation Service (formerly the National Probation Service) for England and Wales is a statutory criminal justice service, mainly responsible for the supervision of offenders in the community and the provision of reports to the criminal cour ...

and from 2003 Youth Offending Teams, but since the

Offender Management Act 2007 The Offender Management Act 2007 (c 21), which relates to "the provision of probation services, prisons and other matters relating to the management of offenders",Probation of Offenders Act 1907 The Probation of Offenders Act 1907 ( 7 Edw. 7. c. 17) is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament, commonly referred to as just the Probation Act. Enactment The Act was passed on 21 August and originally extended throughout the United Kingdom ...

granted the Magistrates’ Courts the power to appoint probation officers. A Departmental Committee to examine to role of social services in courts of summary jurisdiction was set up in 1934. When it reported in 1936 the first HM Inspector of Probation was appointed. In earlier years the inspectorate was greatly concerned with the development of probation services in the UK, including the training of suitable staff, the organisation of probation areas, the creation of supervisory posts, and the accreditation of holders of those posts. As probation boards and areas matured, some HMIP functions such as training and accreditation were ceded to areas or other providers, and increased emphasis was put on inspection and the making of recommendations for improvement. The Inspectorate existed as a

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

function until placed on a statutory footing by the

Criminal Justice Act 1991 The Criminal Justice Act 1991 (c. 53) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales, with certain clauses extended to either Northern Ireland or Scotland. The Act enabled the introduction of pr ...

. The Inspectorate was hosted and funded by the Home Office until 2007, when its funding and hosting was moved to the new Ministry of Justice. The role of HMIP has changed over its history to meet the needs of the time. In 2014, HMIP had a staff of around 35 inspectors and 15 support staff and a budget of circa £3.5M.

Chief Inspectors of Probation

*1936-1949 No Chief Inspector *1949-1972 Finlay MacRae (title of Principal Probation Inspector) *1972-1980 Mike Hogan *1980-1985 Roy Taylor *1985-1988 Cliff Swann *1988-1992 Colin Thomas *1992-2001 Sir Graham Smith *2001-2004 Professor

Rod Morgan Rodney Emrys Morgan (born 16 February 1942) was Criminology lecturer at the University of Bath in the early 1980s and is professor emeritus, University of Bristol and visiting professor at the University of Sussex. He is the former chair of the ...

*2004-2011 Andrew Bridges *2011-2014 Liz Calderbank (interim) *2014-2015 Paul McDowell *2015-2016 Paul Wilson (interim) *2016-2019

Dame Glenys Stacey Dame Glenys Jean Stacey DBE (''née'' McBride; born 1954) is a solicitor and civil servant serving as chair of the Office for Environmental Protection from February 2021. She was Chief Executive and Chief Regulator of Ofqual, acting in the post ...

*2019-2023 Justin Russell *2023-2024

Sue McAllister Sue McAllister CB was the Director General of the Northern Ireland Prison Service between 2012 and 2016. She was the first woman to hold the post. Prior to this, she was Governor of HM Prison Gartree and HM Prison Onley. Career Originally from ...

(interim) *2024- Martin Jones

References

External links

HMIP
independent website

on the Justice.gov.uk website
History of HMIP
from the Justice.gov.uk website {{Authority control 1936 establishments in the United Kingdom Law enforcement in England and Wales Penal system in the United Kingdom Prison and correctional agencies

Role and functions

Chief Inspectors of Probation

See also

References

External links