His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales, the UK National Preventive Mechanism and the UN Optional Protocol for the Prevention of Torture. Prospects for Prison Reform and the Treatment of Prisoners

Abstract

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales is mandated under domestic law to visit and report on prison conditions and the treatment of prisoners. The Inspectorate's detailed monitoring work provides valuable and authoritative insights into individual prison establishments as well as the overall conditions in prisons and the treatment of prisoners in England and Wales. In spite of this, the implementation of HMIP's recommendations remains low. Furthermore its ability to make recommendations on wider regulatory and policy matters to government departments and relevant authorities remains limited in the absence of a more robust statutory framework. The article argues that HMIP's ability to influence prison reform could be bolstered by making fully operational its mandate under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) as well as by strengthening the collective UK National Preventive Mechanism (NPM).