Wendy Sinclair-Gieben is a public servant and former teacher who has served as
His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland since July 2018.
She is the eighth person and first woman to hold the post.
Career
Sinclair-Gieben was educated in Scotland and holds a
Bachelor of Education and a master's degree in Criminology and Management from the
University of Cambridge. Following an initial career in teaching, working with children with special needs in the
Northern Territories of
Canada, she transferred to public sector in 1998, working in criminal justice, immigration detention and healthcare management. She was a prison governor for
HM Prison Service in
England & Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Engli ...
from 1998 to 2006. She then moved into the
private sector, serving as a prison director with
Serco
Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor for the provision of government services, most prominently in the sectors of health, transport, justice, i ...
, first at
HMP Kilmarnock
HM Prison Kilmarnock is a prison in Bowhouse, Hurlford near Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is situated south-east of Hurlford on the Mauchline Road. Its location means it is locally known as ''Bowhouse Prison''.
The prison was opened ...
and, from 2009, in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, including at the Wandoo Reintegration Facility for young men in
Perth, WA.
Her appointment as HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in succession to
David Strang was announced by the
Scottish Government in May 2018 and she took office the following July.
In recognition for her work in rehabilitation and reintegration, she has received the Lord Justice Woolf award for Resettlement and the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia award for Operator and Service Provider Excellence.
Other work
Sinclair-Gieben has worked as a non-executive director of the charity NOFASD, which raises awareness and provides support to families living with
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in Australia.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair-Gieben, Wendy
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Living people
British prison inspectors
Year of birth missing (living people)