Blog: Reflections on My First Year as Chair of the UK NPM
Sherry Ralph was appointed as Chair of the UK National Preventive Mechanism on 2 September 2024 for a three-year term. Sherry is also the CEO of the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA).
Reflecting on my first year as Chair of the UK NPM, I am deeply impressed by the exceptional commitment, expertise, and energy demonstrated by our members and central team. It has been a year marked by hard work, learning, and collaboration. I would like to take this opportunity to share some key highlights and extend my sincere thanks.
Our annual conference, hosted this year in Scotland, was a genuine pleasure. It brought together colleagues from across the four nations and all detention settings, enabling us to explore both the challenges of prevention and the opportunities for enhanced collaboration. The event underscored the value of the UK NPM as a truly national network—facilitating shared learning, thoughtful scrutiny, and impactful recommendations. These gatherings are vital for engaging with colleagues, academics, and Ministers on key issues in detention.
Prevention lies at the heart of the UK NPM’s mandate, and this year we made significant progress in equipping members with new tools and approaches. The preventive guidance for monitors and managers, alongside the prevention training programme, exemplifies what can be achieved in this space. While the mandate of prevention can often appear abstract, the development of practical materials for monitors and their managers marks a meaningful step forward. I was encouraged by the depth of engagement in the sessions and the widespread enthusiasm across the UK NPM to continue advancing our understanding of prevention.
A standout achievement this year has been the launch of the new Reporting Dashboard—a major advancement in promoting transparency, accountability, and impact. This tool enables us to track, in a single location, the breadth of recommendations made across the NPM, highlighting both best practice and areas that remain of concern resulting in recommendations for change. It will serve governments, policymakers, monitors, academics, and others by focusing workstreams and benchmarking best practices across all detention settings.
This milestone reflects the tremendous effort of the central team, and I am profoundly grateful for the persistence and expertise that brought it to fruition. None of the outcomes outlined above—nor the many other workstreams—would have been possible without the tireless dedication of the UK NPM team and UK NPM bodies.
I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed their time, knowledge, and passion over the past year. I would particularly like to commend Sam, Jane, Chelsea, and Sarah for their outstanding contributions.
Looking forward, there remains much to be done. The pressures across detention settings are considerable, and the importance of our preventive mandate has never been greater. Nevertheless, I am confident that the energy, expertise, and commitment I have witnessed this year will enable the UK NPM to continue playing a vital role in safeguarding rights and improving practice across the UK. I am especially pleased to see the dashboard already being used by stakeholders to inform and advise detention settings.
It has been a privilege to serve as Chair over the past twelve months. I look forward to building on this foundation and continuing our essential work in the year ahead.
Sherry Ralph
Chair, UK NPM