THE BACKGROUND TO THE COMMISSION
Why is there a Prisons Complaints Commission?
The Scottish Prisons Complaints Commission became operational on 1st December 1994. The formation of the Commission reflected the Government's decision to introduce an independent element into the system for prisoners' complaints. Ministers accepted the view that this could be achieved by the appointment of an external complaints investigator.
The Strangeways and other prison riots of Spring 1990 shocked both Government and the public. Rioting prisoners caused substantial damage to prison buildings. Officers and prisoners were injured. These riots provided the greatest impetus to government thinking on the subject of prisoners' grievances.
Lord Woolf, who led the Strangeways enquiry, found:
"A recurring theme in the evidence from prisoners who may have instigated, and who were involved in, the riots was that their actions were a response to the manner in which they were treated by the prison system. Although they did not always use these terms, they felt a lack of justice. If what they say is true, the failure of the Prison Service to fulfil its responsibilities to act with justice created in April 1990 serious difficulties in maintaining security and control in prisons."
In considering prisoners' grievances the Woolf Report examined the processes by which they could be ventilated and found them wanting. In making recommendations Lord Woolf emphasised the need for an "independent element" in the prison grievance procedure through the appointment of a complaints adjudicator.
"..... the presence of an independent element within the Grievance Procedure is more than just an optional extra ..... A system without an independent element is not a system which accords with proper standards of justice."
Over a decade later the office of Scottish Prisons Complaints Commissioner and counterpart office of Prisons Ombudsman for England and Wales, are well established features of the prison and justice system and serve to provide that independent element.