Decision report 201204690

Summary

Mr C complained that a prison officer had written comments about inappropriate behaviour in Mr C's record. Mr C thought that the comments would have an adverse effect on his prospects, for example, with the Parole Board.

We were satisfied, from relevant Scottish Prison Service guidance, that it was appropriate and, in fact, expected that prison officers would record their observations about prisoners. The guidance made it clear that such comments were part of a wide range of information, collected from a range of sources and considered as part of a whole, rather than in isolation. The form on which the comments were written also had text printed across the top to the effect that any information on the form would be seen as a contribution and not assessed in isolation. We took the view that the officer had not acted inappropriately in recording the comments and that they should not, in isolation, affect Mr C's prospects.