Dame Anne Elizabeth Owers, (''née'' Spark; born 23 June 1947) was

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales. The current chief insp ...

. Owers was the fifth holder of the post, appointed in August 2001, succeeding

David Ramsbotham General David John Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham, (6 November 1934 – 13 December 2022) was a British Army officer, who later served as HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. He was awarded a life peerage in 2005, and later sat on the crossbenches of t ...

. Her appointment was renewed in June 2006 and in March 2008. She was appointed as the first National chair the Independent Monitoring Boards in October 2017. She was chair of the

Independent Police Complaints Commission The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. On 8 January 2018, th ...

, and prior to this, she directed

JUSTICE Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, the UK-based

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and

law reform Law reform or legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing change in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency. Intimately related are law reform bodies or law commissions, w ...

organisation. Owers was educated at

Washington Grammar School Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, and studied history at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...

. On graduating she went to

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

to teach and to carry out research into African history. While taking time out to bring up her three children, Owers continued to undertake research and voluntary advice and race relations work. She joined the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants in 1981 as a research and development officer and was appointed its general secretary four years later. In June 2008, she was appointed Chairman of

Christian Aid Christian Aid is the relief and development agency of 41 Christian (Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox) churches in the UK and Ireland, and works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster ...

, succeeding

John Gladwin John Warren Gladwin (born 30 May 1942) is a retired Anglican bishop. From 2004 to 2009, he was the Bishop of Chelmsford in the Church of England. He stands in the open evangelical tradition. Early life Gladwin was born on 30 May 1942 in Her ...

. She opposed the Government's former proposal to build " Titan jails". Owers was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 2000 for her work in human rights and elevated to

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2010, she was appointed to the position of Chairman of Clinks, a charity that supports the work of the voluntary and community sector working with offenders and their families. She is also a Trustee of The Butler Trust. She was appointed head of the

(IPCC) in March 2012. In July 2012, she gave the 2012 John Harris Memorial Lecture, hosted by the Police Foundation. Also in 2012, she was the winner of the

Perrie Award The Perrie Award has been presented annually since 1995 by the Perrie Lectures Committee to the person who has done most to promote an understanding of the work of the Prison Service in England and Wales, and pushed forward the development of ...

.The Perrie Lectures
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References

External links

Expectations of HM Prison Inspectorate (2006 edition) online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owers, Anne 1947 births Living people British prison inspectors Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge People from County Durham