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Case ref:201103108
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Date:April 2012
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Body:Scottish Prison Service
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Sector:Prisons
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Outcome:Not upheld, action taken by body to remedy, no recommendations
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Subject:staff treatment
Summary
Mr C complained that the prison governor failed to properly investigate his complaint about prison staff referring to him by his surname and not including his title. The governor had responded by asking one of the managers to raise this with staff.
We confirmed with the SPS that the manager had indeed raised the issue at a subsequent staff meeting. The SPS also advised us that there was no specific rule on how staff should address prisoners but that the SPS Standards of Conduct state that prisoners should be treated with respect at all times.
Given the lack of specific guidance on this matter, along with the fact that not all prisoners will share Mr C's preference on how they are addressed, we considered that the actions taken by the governor in highlighting the matter to staff were reasonable.