Welcome to the Prisoner Ombudsman

The Prisoner Ombudsman is appointed by the Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland and is completely independent of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS).

The Prisoner Ombudsman investigates:

• Complaints from prisoners held in Northern Ireland
• Visitors to prisoners held in Northern Ireland
• Deaths in Prison Service custody in Northern Ireland

The current Ombudsman is Tom McGonigle, and a team of investigators and other staff support him.