43303 - Regional RIPA Manager

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Regional based role providing support to establishments by ensuring compliance with statutory regulations of RIPA. See job description for further information.

Overview of the job

This is a regional based role, delivering services at a national, regional and local establishment level. The role holder will report to the nationally based HMPPS Covert Activity Team. 

This role provides support to establishments by ensuring compliance with the statutory requirements of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), in particular, ensuring that all of the statutory requirements of RIPA Authorising Officer (CHIS and Directed Surveillance) are completed satisfactorily and in compliance with the Act and its associated Codes of Practice. 

The role holder will need to engage directly with establishment senior management to discuss relevant covert opportunities and undertake risk management. This will entail close and frequent liaison with the relevant establishment Governors (Deputy Governor/Governing Governor) to ensure that such applications demonstrate/ contain the justification and lawful basis underpinning such activity and to ensure that effective risk assessment and management takes place. 

Where required they will also need to engage with senior law enforcement counterparts in covert policing to ensure that a balanced cross government approach to case management is applied. 

The role holder will also be required to liaise with the HMPPS Central Authorities Bureau and ensure that authorities are in place where appropriate. This will include ensuing that timely reviews, renewals and cancellations are submitted for all of the region’s RIPA applications. 

The role holder’s RIPA statutory duties provide the oversight and compliance functions in relation to HMPPS RIPA applications for the prison establishments (as set out in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)). The role holder’s oversight functions include ensuring that all RIPA applications are evidenced as being proportionate, necessary and lawful. 

The role holder will have to supervise and manage all of the staff within their Regional RIPA Unit, performing all of the required HMPPS line management functions. As head of the Regional Unit they will also be responsible for managing any financial aspects of running the unit and ensuring that all required management information is captured effectively. 

This role will also include management oversight of all their region’s HMPPS structured debriefing, targeted communications monitoring, CHIS status drift management and proactive CHIS recruitment activities. 

The role requires some travelling across the region and throughout the country and the post holder will be required to perform on call duties.

Summary

The role holder will be regionally based reporting to the HMPPS Covert Activity Team.

Responsibilities, Activities and Duties

The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties: 

• Managing all HMPPS RIPA applications on behalf of the establishments within the area of their geographic responsibility.
• Ensuring that all of the statutory responsibilities of RIPA Authorising Officers (CHIS and Surveillance) within their regions are carried out effectively.
• Challenging poor performance effectively and supporting good practice, this will involve sensitive dialogue with the most senior prison managers in their regions and often involve demonstrating to them that their RIPA compliance performance may need to be improved.
• Ensuring that all applications demonstrate why they are proportionate, necessary and lawful (in accordance with RIPA and other relevant Human Rights legislation).
• Acting as strategic tactical RIPA adviser to PGDs, Heads of Groups, Governing Governors and Deputy Governors within their region.
• Strategic supervision of CHIS use and conduct applications and associated risk assessments (including ensuring that risk assessments and risk management plans are comprehensive, relevant and up to date).
• Ensuring that all meetings/contacts are properly authorized and that appropriate authorisations for use and conduct are in place.
• Ensuring that all reporting (accurately and in good time) all information supplied by the source and has been evaluated objectively.
• Ensuring the welfare of the source is properly considered and reported on.
• Ensuring the source is properly tasked and thoroughly briefed regards their personal security.
• Ensuring that appropriate levels of tradecraft are applied across their region.
• Ensuring that all information obtained through RIPA activity is sanitized appropriately and properly entered onto Mercury.
• Ensuring that the unit caters for the intelligence requirements of all establishments within their region.
• Attendance at Regional/Group - Governing Governor, Deputy Governor and tasking meetings as required.
• Liaison with associated law enforcement agency Dedicated Source Units at a strategic level to develop partnership agreements, identify ways of working together and developing sound operational inter-agency practices.
• Strategic oversight of all regional Structured Debriefing operations, CHIS status drift, Targeted Communications Monitoring within their region.
• Monitoring and ensuring regional compliance to the HMPPS Policy, RIPA CPIA legislation and other relevant legislation.
• Dealing with and reporting to the CAB and RIPA SRO any suspicions of RIPA/Prison Rule breaches or instances where a source is acting as an agent provocateur or otherwise exceeding their tasking.
• Continually monitoring the potential for exposure and in particular, any liability issues that may accrue for HMPPS.
• Line management of all staff within the Regional RIPA units, and acting as regional ‘Head of Profession’ for establishment CHIS Handlers.
• Management of any financial reporting for the regional RIPA units including CHIS rewards and expenses. 

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation Scheme and shall be discussed in the first instance with the job holder. 

Behaviours

• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Experience

• The job holder must have good knowledge of custodial operational practice.
• The job holder must have in depth knowledge of the principles, legislation, rules, policies and tools of RIPA and intelligence management.
• The job holder will have in depth knowledge of RIPA 2000, OSC guidance, Operational Guidance Documents, Offender Management Act (PSO 1100), - Request for Productions. (PSO 1801) NPIA Guidance Documents on Covert Operations, Knowledge of Word, Excel, PowerPoint. IIS and PINS-Saadian.
• The job holder will have in depth knowledge CHIS and Covert Surveillance practices both theoretical and practical application. The new prison National Intelligence Model and basic analysis awareness. The management of Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) in prisons is complex and requires thorough assessment and risk management, the job holder requires the highest level of skills and knowledge to make decisions which will invariably impact on risk and may if not handled sensitively adversely impact on human safety.
• The job holder will have experience of completing intelligence reports on Mercury.
• The job holder will have extensive experience of overt and covert criminal investigation in a prison, intelligence management, interviewing techniques, structured debriefing and understanding of disclosure (CPIA, Parole Board and other Civil Law Jurisdictions).
• The job holder will recognise the sensitivities around undertaking HMPPS and law enforcement covert activity in a prison environment and be able to liaise with LEA/Police partners particularly in relation to the use of CHIS within Prisons.

Technical

• Knowledge of and attendance on appropriate courses for the following areas:
  • Covert Policing Management of CHIS – HMPPS Handlers course
  • National CHIS in Prison Course
  • Structured Debriefing Course
  • Criminal and Civil Court Public Interest Immunity procedure
• Post holder must be vetted to SC, Strap level 2. 

Hours of Work (Unsocial Hours) Allowances

37 hour week 

Required Hours Allowance 

This role requires regularly working unpredictable and unsocial hours and be on call to attend their place of work at any time. A 17% payment will be paid in addition to your basic pay to recognise this. Unsocial hours are those hours outside 0700 - 1900hrs Monday to Friday and include working evenings, nights, weekends and Bank/ Public holidays.