National Preventive Mechanism Ninth Annual Report 2017–18
Introduction
by John Wadham,
NPM Chair
I am pleased to present the latest annual
report of the National Preventive Mechanism
and in doing so, welcome the growing
confidence of the NPM generally and, more
particularly, the increasing influence of its 21
members. However, the risk of ill-treatment
for those detained in settings across the UK
has, if anything, increased since last year.
NPM members this year continue to report
concerns that detainees are not being held
in safe and decent conditions. There were
serious concerns about safety in a number of
prisons and detention centres in England and
Wales. We have discovered poor physical
conditions and conditions not fit for purpose,
and excessive or improper use of restraints
on some of the most vulnerable detainees
– including children and young people,
those in mental health detention and those
detained pending deportation from the UK.
For the first time this year, we have tried
to ascertain the extent of our work – the
number of visits and inspections – undertaken
by NPM members. The figures show a very
substantial output across our 21 members
and the four nations we serve. To summarise:
• dedicated volunteers made at least
66,053 monitoring visits throughout
the year to prisons, young offender
institutions, immigration detention
facilities, police custody, court custody
and to observe escorts; and
4
• inspectors carried out at least 1,580
inspections across the UK.
I do not think that there is an NPM
anywhere in the world that has reported
anything like this number of visits to the
places of detention in its country. This is an
incredible achievement and a strength of
the UK NPM model.
Every time an independent volunteer
or inspector visits a place where people
are detained it increases openness and
transparency. The visit creates a less closed
atmosphere and gives those detained
an opportunity to voice their concerns.
Importantly, it reduces the likelihood that
the conditions of detention will deteriorate
any further and reduces the chances that
the detained person will be ill-treated.
NPM members listen carefully to detainees
and staff, make recommendations for
change and drive forward improvements in
conditions, reducing still further the risk of
ill-treatment. At the core of the UK NPM’s
work is a human rights approach – placing
the lived experience of detainees at the
heart of the inspection and monitoring
process and drawing on international
standards and best practice to assess
treatment and conditions in detention.