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News Archives: Index

October 7, 2010: Probation Set For Industrial Action

October 5, 2010: Turning Prisoners Into Taxpayers

October 4, 2010: Murder Changes Now In Force

September 20, 2010: Probation Programmes Face Cuts

August 24, 2010: Victorian Poor Law Records Online

August 10, 2010: Justice Job Cuts

July 28, 2010: Prison Violence Growing

July 22, 2010: Police Numbers: Latest Figures

July 22, 2010: New Jurisdiction Rules

July 16, 2010: CCJS On Prison And Probation Spending Under Labour

July 15, 2010: Latest Statistics On Violent And Sexual Crime

July 15, 2010: Latest National Crime Figures

July 15, 2010: New Chief Prisons Inspector

July 14, 2010: Hard Times Ahead For Prisons: Anne Owers

July 14, 2010: Prison Does Not Work: Ken Clarke

July 13, 2010: Criminal Justice Reform: Sentencing and Rehabilitation

July 13, 2010: Criminal Justice Reform Priorities

July 12, 2010: What Price Public Protection, Asks Probation Chief Inspector

July 12, 2010: NOMS has failed, says Napo

July 10, 2010: IPCC To Investigate Death of Raoul Moat

July 9, 2010: Women In Prison: New Report

July 9, 2009: Unjust Deserts: Imprisonment for Public Protection

July 8, 2010: Police Search Powers Change

July 7, 2010: Make 'Legal High' Illegal, Says ACMD

July 2, 2010: Failing Children In Prison

July 2, 2010: Police Buried Under a Blizzard of Guidance: HMIC

July 1, 2010: Freedom To Change The Law?

June 30, 2010: A New Outlook On Penal Reform?

June 30, 2010: Revolving Door Of Offending Must Stop, Says Clarke

June 30, 2010: Ken Clarke: Speech on Criminal Justice Reform

June 29, 2010: No More Police Targets

June 26, 2010: Family Intervention Projects Questioned

June 25, 2010: Cutting Criminal Justice

June 24, 2010: Napo on Sex Offenders Report

June 23, 2010: Closing Courts: The Cuts Begin

June 23, 2010: Strategy To Tackle Gangs

June 15, 2010: Courts and Mentally Disordered Offenders

June 8, 2010: Working With Muslims in Prison

June 1, 2010: Your Chance To Nominate a QC

March 3, 2010: New Prisons Chief Inspector

The preferred candidate for the post of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales has been announced. HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), which is an independent inspectorate, has the role of inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment, and promoting positive outcomes for those detained and the public.

Nick Hardwick, currently the Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, has been selected as the preferred candidate to succeed Dame Anne Owers, whose final report has just been published. The post of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales was established by the Criminal Justice Act 1982, amending the Prison Act 1952.

Mr Hardwick was identified following a selection process, that took into account the Commissioner for Public Appointment's Code of Practice as best practice. He was Chief Executive of the Refugee Council from 1995 to 2003, and worked as Chief Executive of Centrepoint from 1986 to 1995.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons is a Crown appointment, and reports to the Justice Secretary on the treatment of prisoners and conditions in prisons in England and Wales. HM Chief Inspector also reports to the Home Secretary on conditions and treatment in all places of immigration detention in the United Kingdom.

On 1 March 2010, Justice Secretary Jack Straw invited the Justice Committee to hold a pre-appointment hearing and report on Mr Hardwick's suitability for the post.

Pre-appointment scrutiny hearings enable select committees to take evidence from candidates for certain key public appointments before they are appointed. Hearings are in public. Pre-appointment hearings are non-binding but ministers will consider the committee's views before deciding whether to proceed with the appointment.

The Justice Secretary will consider the Justice Committee's views before making his final recommendation to Her Majesty.