Northern Ireland Prison Service

The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) was established as an Executive Agency of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) in April 1995 under the Government’s Next Steps Initiative.
On 12 April 2010, an amendment to schedule 3 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 devolved justice functions in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) came into existence as a new Northern Ireland Department. From this date NIPS became an Executive Agency of DOJ.

NIPS has just completed the penultimate year of a challenging four year business cycle which focused on delivering cultural change. The vision is of a modern professional Prison Service that delivers safe custody, is offender focussed and enables NIPS to build a safer community in Northern Ireland by helping to reduce the risk of reoffending. In achieving that, NIPS will:

• be well led and competently managed;
• have a fit, flexible, motivated, well trained and well rewarded staff;
• be compact and cost effective;
• have the offender at the centre of its focus;
• reduce the risk of offender re-offending on release; and
• be respected and valued by the community we serve.

Statement of Purpose

As part of our journey towards reform, NIPS has redefined and refocused its statement of purpose as, “improving public safety by reducing the risk of re-offending, through the management and rehabilitation of offenders in custody”.

Strategic Aims

NIPS has also identified three strategic aims, which support delivery against this core purpose. These are:

• safe, secure and decent custody;
• reform and modernise to create an effective and efficient Service; and
• reduce the risk of re-offending.

STRUCTURE AND LOCATION

NIPS currently has a central administrative Headquarters, located on the Stormont Estate in Belfast; three main operational establishments; and a staff training facility, the Prison Service College, at Millisle, Co Down.

Our three operational establishments are:

• Maghaberry Prison – a high security prison, housing adult male long-term sentenced and remand prisoners in both integrated and separated conditions. Maghaberry also has responsibility for the Working Out Unit (WOU) in Belfast which is a facility for selected and suitably risk-assessed prisoners who are nearing the end of their sentence.

• Magilligan Prison – a medium security prison, housing shorter term sentenced adult male prisoners. This establishment also has low security accommodation for selected prisoners nearing the end of their sentence.

• Hydebank Wood – a medium to low security establishment accommodating remand and sentenced young male offenders between the ages of 18 and 21 and all female prisoners. Juvenile offenders are located at Woodlands, Juvenile Justice Centre.