Skip to content

Crime in prisons

Investigation — Authorised Professional Practice

All topics

Summary

This section addresses the protocols and guidance concerning criminality in prisons, detailing the established Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between the National Police Chiefs Council and relevant bodies. It highlights the necessity for police engagement in the discovery, reporting, and investigation of crimes occurring within prison systems. The document references key guidelines and toolkits for police support in managing crime in prisons, including effective responses to incidents and requirements for investigations. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration among various authorities to ensure a cohesive approach to handling crimes within the prison environment.

Key principles

  • 1Protocols for handling crimes in prisons have been developed with various authorities.
  • 2The importance of police involvement in prison crime investigations is emphasized.
  • 3Guidance toolkits are provided for effective police support in prisons.

Defined terms

MoUs
Memoranda of Understanding

Full guidance

This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.

Protocols and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) have been developed between the National Police Chiefs Council and relevant other bodies to address criminality in prisons. These include:

Additional advice includes:

(Restricted access – requires login to College Learn)

NOMS (2015) Commencement of Section 79: Offence of throwing articles into prisons-Commencement-of-s79-Offence-of-throwing-articles-into-prisons.pdf)

Do not provide personal information such as your name or email address in the feedback form. Read our privacy policy for more information on how we use this data

What is the reason for your answer?

Reproduced from the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice under the Open Government Licence v3.0, as captured on 2026-06-27. APP is amended over time — check the source link below for the current version. This is a reference, not operational authorisation.

APP is the authoritative source for UK policing practice and is updated over time. For the current, official version — including any operational detail not reproduced here — go direct.

Read the full APP guidance

Source: College of Policing — Authorised Professional Practice · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-27.