His Majesty's Prison Service

During the eighteenth century, British justice used a wide variety of measures to punish crime, including fines, the pillory and whipping. Transportation to the Thirteen American Colonies was often offered, until 1776, as an alternative to the death penalty, which could be imposed for many offences including pilfering. When they ran out of prisons in 1776 they used old sailing vessels which came to be called hulks as places of temporary confinement.[7][8]

The most notable reformer was John Howard who, having visited several hundred prisons across England and Europe, beginning when he was high sheriff of Bedfordshire, published The State of the Prisons in 1777.[9] He was particularly appalled to discover prisoners who had been acquitted but were still confined because they couldn't pay the jailer's fees. He proposed that each prisoner should be in a separate cell with separate sections for women felons, men felons, young offenders and debtors. The prison reform charity, the Howard League for Penal Reform, takes its name from John Howard.

The Penitentiary Act which passed in 1779 following his agitation introduced solitary confinement, religious instruction and a labor regime and proposed two state penitentiaries, one for men and one for women. These were never built due to disagreements in the committee and pressures from wars with France and jails remained a local responsibility. But other measures passed in the next few years provided magistrates with the powers to implement many of these reforms and eventually in 1815 jail fees were abolished.[10]

Prison hulks in the River Thames

Quakers such as Elizabeth Fry continued to publicise the dire state of prisons as did Charles Dickens in his novels David Copperfield and Little Dorrit about the Marshalsea.[11] Samuel Romilly managed to repeal the death penalty for theft in 1806, but repealing it for other similar offences brought in a political element that had previously been absent. The Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline, founded in 1816, supported both the Panopticon for the design of prisons and the use of the treadwheel as a means of hard labor. By 1824, 54 prisons had adopted this means of discipline.[12] Robert Peel's Gaols Act 1823 attempted to impose uniformity in the country but local prisons remained under the control of magistrates until the Prison Act 1877.

The American separate system attracted the attention of some reformers and led to the creation of Millbank Prison in 1816 and Pentonville prison in 1842. By now the end of transportation to Australia and the use of hulks was in sight and Joshua Jebb set an ambitious program of prison building with one large prison opening per year.[13]

The main principles were separation and hard labour for serious crimes, using tread-wheels and cranks. However, by the 1860s public opinion was calling for harsher measures in reaction to an increase in crime which was perceived to come from the 'flood of criminals' released under the penal servitude system. The reaction from the committee set up under the commissioner of prisons, Colonel Edmund Frederick du Cane, was to increase minimum sentences for many offences with deterrent principles of 'hard labour, hard fare, and a hard bed'.[14] In 1877 he encouraged Disraeli's government to remove all prisons from local government and held a firm grip on the prison system till his forced retirement in 1895. He also established a tradition of secrecy which lasted till the 1970s so that even magistrates and investigators were unable to see the insides of prisons.[15] By the 1890s the prison population was over 20,000.

The British penal system underwent a transition from harsh punishment to reform, education, and training for post-prison livelihoods. The reforms were controversial and contested. In the 1877–1914 era a series of major legislative reforms enabled significant improvement in the penal system. In 1877, the previously localised prisons were nationalised in the Home Office under a Prison Commission. The Prison Act 1898 enabled the Home Secretary to enact multiple reforms on his own initiative, without going through the politicised process of Parliament. The Probation of Offenders Act 1907 introduced a new probation system that drastically cut down the prison population, while providing a mechanism for the transition back to normal life. The Criminal Justice Administration Act 1914 required courts to allow a reasonable time before imprisonment was ordered for people who did not pay their fines. Previously tens of thousands of prisoners had been sentenced solely for that reason. The Borstal system after 1908 was organised to reclaim young offenders, and the Children Act 1908 prohibited imprisonment under age 14, and strictly limited that of ages 14 to 16. The principal reformer was Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise, the chair of the Prison Commission.[16][17]

Major reforms were championed by the Liberal Party government in 1906–14. The key player was Winston Churchill when he was the Liberal Home Secretary, 1910-11.[18] He first achieved fame as a prisoner in the Boer war in 1899. He escaped after 28 days and the media, and his own book, made him a national hero overnight.[19] He later wrote, "I certainly hated my captivity more than I have ever hated any other in my whole life....Looking back on those days I've always felt the keenest pity for prisoners and captives."[20] As Home Secretary he was in charge of the nation's penal system. Biographer Paul Addison says. "More than any other Home Secretary of the 20th century, Churchill was the prisoner's friend. He arrived at the Home Office with the firm conviction that the penal system was excessively harsh". He worked to reduce the number sent to prison in the first place, especially those imprisoned for their delay in paying fines, or for debts. He shortened their terms, and made life in prison more tolerable, and rehabilitation more likely. His reforms were not politically popular, but they had a major long-term impact on the British penal system.[21][22]

In 1894–5 Herbert Gladstone's Committee on Prisons showed that criminal propensity peaked from the mid-teens to the mid-twenties. He took the view that central government should break the cycle of offending and imprisonment by establishing a new type of reformatory, that was called Borstal after the village in Kent which housed the first one. The movement reached its peak after the first world war when Alexander Paterson became commissioner, delegating authority and encouraging personal responsibility in the fashion of the English Public school: cellblocks were designated as 'houses' by name and had a housemaster. Cross-country walks were encouraged, and no one ran away. Prison populations remained at a low level until after the Second World War when Paterson died and the movement was unable to update itself. Some aspects of Borstal found their way into the main prison system, including open prisons and housemasters (renamed assistant governors), and many Borstal-trained prison officers used their experience in the wider service. However, in general, the prison system in the twentieth century remained in Victorian buildings which steadily became more and more overcrowded with inevitable results.[23]

Early in 2004, it was announced that the Prison Service would be integrated into a new National Offender Management Service later in the year.[24]

As of 2008, rationalisation of the prison management system is underway with the advent of the Titan Prison concept.

Six new reform prisons are to be built with prison governors in charge of operation and budget. Penal charities claimed reforms would fail if prisoners were "crammed into filthy institutions with no staff".[25]

In 2017 the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) became Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), now known as His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service following Charles III's accession to the throne in September 2022.

Historically, uniformed prison staff were under the supervision of a small number of very senior and experienced officers who held one of three chief officer ranks. Below these were the ranks of principal officer (rank badge – two Bath stars) and senior officer (rank badge – single Bath star). However, as a reorganisation in the 1980s, termed "A Fresh Start", saw these chief officer ranks abolished, and their role taken by junior grade prison governors.

From 2000 onwards, as part of a process to increase accountability within the prison service, all operational officers have been assigned a three-digit unique identification number, worn on all items of uniform (typically as an embroidered epaulette) along with the two-digit LIDS identification code of the specific prison or institution. From 2010 onwards, attempts were made to replace the principal officer rank with non-uniformed junior managers (developing prison service managers – DPSM), although this process was neither entirely successful nor fully implemented. Further restructuring in 2013, known as "Fair & Sustainable", saw the remaining historic ranks and rank insignia phased out in favour of a new structure, and simple stripes on uniform epaulettes to indicate grades.

Prison officers wear a white shirt and black tie, black trousers, black boots, black 'Nato' jumper and/or black soft shell fleece-jacket.[39]

Prison officers working in the Juvenile or Immigration Detention estate wear a 'soft uniform' consisting of a polo shirt opposed to white shirt with black tie.[40]

For formal occasions, a dark tunic with whistle on a chain is worn with a tie and peaked cap for men and bowler cap and open collar for women. Black gloves and shoes are worn, as are any medals/ribbons that have been awarded.[41][42] Rank is worn on epaulettes and on the shoulders of uniforms.

Public sector prison officers (historically known as warders), under the Prison Act 1952, have "all the powers, authority, protection and privileges of a constable" whilst acting as such.[43]

Under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 it is an offence to assault (amongst others) a prison officer and is punishable by up to twelve months in prison, as well as a fine. Murder of a prison officer who was acting in the execution of their duty at the time can result in a whole life order being imposed.[44]

Although the system is flexible in operation, most prison officers work in small teams, either assigned to a specific duty, or providing one shift of staff for the supervision of a particular wing within a prison.

Each such team is, in many instances, led by a supervising officer.

There will be an overall manager of the wing with the title of custodial manager. Custodial managers will have direct management of the wing and the line management of the officers and supervising officers.

Most prison officers, when working on the landings, will carry:

• baton – usually an Monadnock AutoLock 21” in length, for self-defence[45]
• radio – for communication between officers and the control room[45]
• keys – worn on a long key-chain
• body cameras – worn on the chest
• rigid-bar handcuff – TCH 842 like the Hiatt speedcuffs type are being phased in as part of general issue kit
• PAVA spray – see below.

In 2018, it was reported by the GOV UK website that prison officers would start to be equipped with PAVA incapacitating spray:[46]

HMPPS are rolling out PAVA incapacitant sprays to all male category A-D prisons to help keep our prison officers safe and better maintain control when difficult situations arise.

The government said that it would be "fully rolled put by April 2019"[46] and that "the decision follows a successful trial by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) at 4 prisons".[37] The four prisons that were involved in the trial were: HMPs Hull, Preston, Risley and Wealstun.[37]

In 2023, the Government reported that now all HM Prison Officers "have access to" body worn video cameras.[47]

• AY: HMP Aylesbury
• WK: HMP Wakefield
• BF: HMP Bedford
• BA: HMP Belmarsh
• BL: HMP Bristol
• BN: HMP Bullingdon
• BM: HMP Birmingham
• BS: HMP Brinsford
• BW: HMP Berwyn
• BX: HMP Brixton
• CD: HMP/YOI Chelmsford
• CF: HMP Cardiff
• CW: HMP Channings Wood
• DM: HMP Durham
• DT: HMP Deerbolt
• DW: HMP Downview
• EE: HMP Erlestoke
• EY: HMP Elmley
• EX: HMP Exeter
• FH: HMP Foston Hall
• FK: HMP Frankland
• FM: HMP/YOI Feltham
• FS: HMP Featherstone
• FD: HMP Ford
• GH: HMP Garth
• HV: HMP Haverigg
• HC: HMP Huntercombe
• HE: HMP Hewell
• HH: HMP Holme House
• HL: HMP Hull
• HM: HMP Humber
• HO: HMP High Down
• HP: HMP Highpoint
• IS: HMP/YOI Isis
• KV: HMP Kirklevington Grange
• LE: HMP Leeds
• LF: HMP Lancaster Farms
• LI: HMP Lincoln
• LH: HMP Lindholme
• LL: HMP Long Lartin
• LP: HMP Liverpool
• LW: HMP Lewes
• MD: HMP Moorland
• MR: HMP Manchester
• MH: HMP Morton Hall
• MT: HMP The Mount
• NM: HMP Nottingham
• PD: HMP Portland
• PV: HMP Pentonville
• PN: HMP Preston
• RS: HMP Risley
• SF: HMP Stafford
• SK: HMP Stocken
• ST: HMP Styal
• SW: HMP Swansea
• UK: HMP Usk and Prescoed
• WD: HMP Wakefield
• WE: HMP Wealstun
• WL: HMP Wayland
• WM: HMP Whitemoor
• WC: HMP Winchester
• WS: HMP Wormwood Scrubs
• WW: HMP Wandsworth

In addition to uniformed officers carrying out security and custodial roles, a number of specialist functions exist within every prison. Some are assigned to uniformed specialist officers, while others are carried out by non-uniformed support staff.

Before the "Fresh Start" initiative there were more uniformed specialist officer roles, including dog handlers, works officers, hospital officers, catering officers, physical education officers, and officer instructors. Today the uniformed Specialist Officer roles include dog handlers (DH), works officers (W), and healthcare officers (H) and Physical Exercise Instructors (PEI) who are the successors of the former hospital officers. The roles of the former catering officers, PE officers, and officer instructors are today taken by non-uniformed caterers, PE instructors, and educational/vocational instructors.[48] Other key non-uniformed roles within the staff of a prison include chaplains, psychologists, and administrators.[48]