Appointment of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
The Secretary of State has announced the appointment of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
Sue McAllister has been appointed as the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) from 15 October 2018 for 3 years.
PPO carries out independent investigations into deaths and complaints in custody. PPO has 2 main duties:
- to investigate complaints made by prisoners, young people in detention (prisons and secure training centres), offenders under probation supervision and immigration detainees
- to investigate deaths of prisoners, young people in detention, approved premises’ residents and immigration detainees due to any cause, including any apparent suicides and natural causes
The appointment and re-appointment of PPO is made by the Secretary of State for Justice and are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This appointment has been made in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Brief biography
From 2012 to 2016, Mrs McAllister was the Director of Reducing Offending and Prison Service Director General, Department of Justice (DOJ), Northern Ireland. She has held senior policy roles including Head of Public Sector Bids Unit at the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), and operational management roles in HM Prison Service and NOMS as Prison Governor, Head of Security Group and Area Manager for the West Midlands.
Mrs McAllister also led an independent investigation into a serious disturbance at an Immigration Removal Centre for the Home Office, and was a member of an independent review into a sensitive death in custody.