26/08/2016

Head Of NI Prison Service To Step Down

The head of the Northern Ireland Prison Service is to step down.

Sue McAllister will leave her post at the end of October.

Mrs McAllister was appointed in May 2012 and was the first woman to hold the most senior position within a prison service anywhere in the UK.

She said: "It has been a great privilege to lead the Prison Service over the past four years. When I became Director General my focus was to lead the transformational reform envisaged in the Prison Review Report. With the conclusion of the reform programme in March, my role has come to a natural end and the time is right for a new Director General to lead the Service."

Sinn Féin MLA Declan Kearney said: "Sue McAllister has been integral to the implementation of the prison reform programme outlined in the Anne Ower report of 2011.

"Comprehensive reform of the Northern prison system has still to be completed. The management and operation of the local penal system continues to face major challenges.

"It is essential that there is now a smooth transition to the appointment of a new Director General for the prisons' service."

An open recruitment competition will be launched in September for her successor.

(CD)

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