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Training resources

Welcome to the UK NPM training resources page, where staff and volunteers working for UK NPM scrutiny bodies will find resources to learn more about the NPM and preventive work.

What is the UK NPM?

Learn more about the UK NPM and OPCAT in our factsheets

Factsheet: UK National Preventive Mechanism

Factsheet: Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture

NPM Induction Training

Learn about the history and function of the UK NPM, and how staff and volunteers contribute to the NPM mandate in this training video:

Guidance Documents

Preventive guidance

These guidance documents provide practical advice to those working in preventive-based monitoring and inspection.

Image of the cover of guidance entitled Prevention of ill treatment in places where people are deprived of their liberty. Suggestions for leaders and managers in NPM organisations.
Click the image to download the guidance for leaders and managers
Image of the cover of guidance entitled Prevention of ill treatment in places where people are deprived of their liberty. Suggestions for monitors and inspectors in NPM organisations.
Click the image to download the guidance for monitors and inspectors

Guidance on the Environmental Conditions of Detention

This briefing, produced with the University of Edinburgh, refers to the sensory environment in places of detention. The four aspects discussed are sound, temperature, air, and light, and the guidance explains why the environmental conditions of detention warrant further consideration under the broader international rules on detention.

Guidance: Environmental Conditions of Detention

For an in-depth exploration of deprivation of sunlight as a form of torture, see “The Darkness”: Deprivation of sunlight as a form of torture by Senior Secretariat Officer Jane Kilpatrick, Sondra S. Crosby and Brock Chisholm, in the Journal on Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Prevention of Torture volume 33, Nº 1, 2023.

Menopause toolkit

The menopause toolkit supports NPM inspectors, monitors, and visitors in all settings of deprivation of liberty to monitor risk factors and impacts of perimenopause, menopause, and post menopause. It includes a guidance document and awareness training video which you can watch below:

Guidance on Isolation in Detention

This guidance, published in 2017, draws from international standards and best practice regarding isolation and solitary confinement in detention settings. It provides a framework for NPM bodies to apply when examining this issue and making recommendations.

Guidance: Isolation in Detention

NPM Reporting Dashboard

The NPM Reporting Dashboard was launched in August 2025, providing public access to the findings of all 21 scrutiny bodies of the UK NPM in a single, searchable database.

To learn about the functionality of the dashboard, we invite you to watch this instructional video:

Briefings Series

The UK NPM produces concise briefings on topical issues related to the prevention of ill-treatment in places of detention. These briefings aim to share insights and highlight concerns.

Read our briefing on indeterminate detention (2025)

Read our briefing on use of force in the prison estate (2025)

Good Practice Thematic Papers

Every month, the UK NPM uses the Reporting Dashboard to pick out practical examples of good practice reported by NPM bodies in a certain thematic area, enabling cross-sector learning and improvement of practice.

Good Practice Thematic 1 – Key Insights from 2024-25

Good Practice Thematic 2 – Use of Force

Good Practice Thematic 3 – Connection to the Outside World

Good Practice Thematic 4 – Data

Good Practice Thematic 5 – Neurodivergence

Good Practice Thematic 6 – Mental Health