Paul McDowell (Chief Inspector)

Last updated July 27, 2019

Paul McDowell is a former Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Probation for England and Wales. He led HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) from 2014 to 2015, replacing Liz Calderbank. He had been Chief Executive of Nacro and a Prison Governor in Her Majesty's Prison Service.

Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court instead of serving time in prison.

England and Wales is a legal jurisdiction covering England and Wales, two of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. ’England and Wales’ forms the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England and follows a single legal system, known as English law.

HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) is a statutory body and independent UK inspectorate funded by the Ministry of Justice, formed in 1936.

Education

McDowell graduated from the University of Central England (now Birmingham City University) in 1998 with a Diploma in Criminal Justice. He was later awarded a Masters Degree in Criminology and Prison Studies at the University of Cambridge.^[1] He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Birmingham City University in 2015.^[2]

Birmingham City University is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic in 1971 and gained university status in 1992.

Criminology science about the causes and manifestations of crime

Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, management, causes, control, consequences, and prevention of criminal behavior, both on individual and social levels. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioral and social sciences, which draws primarily upon the research of sociologists, psychologists, philosophers, psychiatrists, biologists, social anthropologists, as well as scholars of law.

The University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research university in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Founded in 1209 and granted a Royal Charter by King Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's fourth-oldest surviving university. The university grew out of an association of scholars who left the University of Oxford after a dispute with the townspeople. The two 'ancient universities' share many common features and are often referred to jointly as 'Oxbridge'. The history, influence and wealth of the University of Cambridge has made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

Career

HM Prison Service

McDowell worked in Her Majesty's Prison Service for nearly 20 years. He was the Governor of HM Prison Coldingley (2003-2006) and then HM Prison Brixton (2006-2009). During his three years in charge of Brixton Prison, he developed a violence reduction policy that saw assault rates halved, and saw progress in challenging attitudes in relation to cultural diversity that was recognised by the Commission for Racial Equality.^[3]

HM Prison Coldingley is a Category C men's prison, located in the village of Bisley, in Surrey, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.

HM Prison Brixton is a local men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.

An assault is the act of inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal and/or civil liability. Generally, the common law definition is the same in criminal and tort law.

He had previously been a junior prison governor at HM Prison Gartree and Deputy Governor at HM Prison Feltham, a young offender institution.^[1] He was due to take over as Governor at HM Prison Wandsworth when he was approached to work at Nacro.^[4]

HM Prison Gartree is a Category B men's prison, located in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, England. Gartree is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.

HM Prison Feltham is a prison for male juveniles and Young Offenders Institution, located near the town of Feltham within the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, England. Feltham Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.

HM Prison Wandsworth, is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South West London, England. It is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service and is one of the largest prisons in the UK.

Nacro

McDowell was the Chief Executive of Nacro, the crime reduction charity, from 2009 to 2014. He introduced significant organisational change, relaunching its business strategy to focus on support service provision for offenders.^[3]

Nacro is a national social justice charity operating in England and Wales. It is not formally linked with Sacro in Scotland or NIACRO in Northern Ireland.

HM Inspectorate of Probation

His appointment as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Probation (HMIP) was announced by Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling, in November 2013 following approval by the Justice Select Committee of the House of Commons the previous month. He started in the role in February 2014.^[5]

Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Justice is a senior position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, held in conjunction with the office of Lord Chancellor since it was created in 2007, replacing the former post of Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. On 9 May 2007, the Department for Constitutional Affairs was abolished, and a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was created in its place. The Ministry of Justice is also responsible for certain functions transferred from the Home Office.

Christopher Stephen Grayling is a British Conservative Party politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Transport between 2016 and 2019. He has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom and Ewell since 2001. Grayling previously worked in the television industry.

The Justice Select Committee of the United Kingdom is a select committee of the House of Commons which scrutinizes the policy, administration, and spending of the Ministry of Justice. In addition, the committee examines the work of the Law Officers of the Crown, the Serious Fraud Office, and the Crown Prosecution Service. The committee also reviews draft Sentencing Guidelines issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council.

McDowell resigned as Chief Inspector in February 2016 after it was announced that the company his wife worked for, Sodexo Justice Services, was chosen by the Ministry of Justice to run probation services in six local areas from April 2016. As HMIP would be inspecting the company's probation practice it was considered that there was a perceived conflict of interests.^[6]

Related Research Articles

Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, which is the part of Her Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales.

The National Probation Service for England and Wales is a statutory criminal justice service, mainly responsible for the supervision of offenders in the community and the provision of reports to the criminal courts to assist them in their sentencing duties. It was established in its current form by the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act in April 2001, but has existed since 1907 as a set of area based services interacting at arm's length with central government.

Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) responsible for the correctional services in England and Wales. It was created in 2004 as the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) by combining parts of both of the headquarters of the National Probation Service and Her Majesty's Prison Service with some existing Home Office functions. In 2017, some of the agency's functions transferred to the Ministry of Justice and it received its current name.

HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B men's prison, located in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England. The prison was operated by G4S from 2011, before it was returned to HM Prison and Probation Service in August 2018. The government takeover was originally planned to be temporary pending improvement, but became permanent in April 2019.

HM Prison Stafford is a Category C men's prison, located in Stafford, Staffordshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. In 2014 it became a sex offender-only jail.

HM Prison Brinsford is a male juveniles' prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Brinsford, in Staffordshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales. The current Chief Inspector is Peter Clarke; he took over from Nick Hardwick in 2016.

The Longford Prize is an annual award presented in the United Kingdom to an organisation or individual working in the field of social or penal reform. The award was established in 2002 in honour of Lord Longford, a lifelong penal reform campaigner, and has been sponsored by both The Independent and The Daily Telegraph. It is organized in association with the Prison Reform Trust and is presented at the annual Longford Lecture.

Rodney Emrys Morgan is Professor Emeritus, University of Bristol and Visiting Professor at the University of Sussex. He is the former chair of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (2004-7) and prior to that was HM Chief Inspector of Probation for England and Wales (2001-4).

HM Prison and Young Offenders Institute Bullingdon is a public sector prison operated by HM Prison and Probation Service an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice.

HM Prison Moorland is a Category C men's prison and Young Offenders Institution, near Hatfield Woodhouse in South Yorkshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is jointly managed with the nearby Hatfield Prison.

Michael Spurr, was Chief Executive Officer of HM Prison and Probation Service 2010-2019. He joined HM Prison Service in 1983 as a prison officer, before training to become a Governor a year later. He became Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service in 2010, retiring in 2019.

Neal Hazel is a British criminologist and social policy analyst who is best known for his research on youth justice and on family support. He is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Salford and is the former Her Majesty's Deputy Chief Inspector of Probation for England and Wales.

Sarah Payne is the head of the National Offender Management Service in Wales, previously having worked as the chief executive of the Wales Probation Trust. Prior to her probation work, she was chief executive of the charity YWCA England and Wales. She was an area manager and a governor in HM Prison Service, having entered the service directly from university on a graduate scheme.

Sue McAllister CB was the Director General of the Northern Ireland Prison Service between 2012 and 2016. She was the first woman to hold the post. Prior to this, she was Governor of HM Prison Gartree and HM Prison Onley.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben is a public servant and former teacher who has served as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland since July 2018. She is the eighth person and first woman to hold the post.

References

1 2 "Paul McDowell Graduated in 1998". Birmingham City University School of Social Sciences. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
↑ "HM Chief Inspector of Probation to be honoured at university awards ceremony". Birmingham City University press release. 22 January 2015.Missing or empty |url= (help)
1 2 "House of Commons Justice Committee Seventh Report: Appointment of HM Chief Inspector of Probation". UK Parliament. Hansard. 8 October 2013. pp. Appendix F. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
↑ "Paul McDowell: Committed to prison work". The Guardian. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
↑ "New Chief Inspector of Probation announced". gov.uk. Ministry of Justice. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
↑ "Probation chief Paul McDowell resigns over 'conflict of interest'". BBC. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

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[BCU-1] 1 2 "Paul McDowell Graduated in 1998". Birmingham City University School of Social Sciences. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

[Honorary_Doctorate-2] "HM Chief Inspector of Probation to be honoured at university awards ceremony". Birmingham City University press release. 22 January 2015.Missing or empty |url= (help)

[Justice_Select_Committee-3] 1 2 "House of Commons Justice Committee Seventh Report: Appointment of HM Chief Inspector of Probation". UK Parliament. Hansard. 8 October 2013. pp. Appendix F. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

[4] "Paul McDowell: Committed to prison work". The Guardian. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

[5] "New Chief Inspector of Probation announced". gov.uk. Ministry of Justice. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

[6] "Probation chief Paul McDowell resigns over 'conflict of interest'". BBC. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2016.