Prison officer declarable associations: who you must declare

In shortThere is no list of declarable names, groups or relationship thresholds; the published position is a set of principles, so the test is whether it could affect, or be seen to affect, your job or security.

The honest published answer is: there is no list of names, no list of banned memberships and no threshold such as 'second cousin or closer'.

What exists is a set of principles. HMPPS staff must declare private interests that interfere, or could interfere, with the performance of their duties. Staff must report changes in their personal circumstances during vetting aftercare.

And the Civil Service rules say that where a conflict of interest arises you declare it so that management can decide how to proceed.

That shifts the question from 'is this on the list?' to 'could this affect, or be seen to affect, how I do my job or my security?'. If the answer might be yes, declare. The cost of declaring a relationship that does not matter is a short conversation.

In shortThe framework wants pre-existing offender relationships declared so they can be managed rather than discovered, and the form is not an admission of corruption.

The Counter Corruption framework says staff must declare private interests that interfere or could interfere with the performance of their duties, and that line managers and LCCMs keep a register. LCCMs are Deputy Governor grade in most establishments and are security-cleared to SC level.

• Business interests (including secondary employment).
• Serious financial difficulty.
• Criminal convictions, cautions or investigations.
• Relationships or associations with offenders.
• Other domestic or personal circumstances.

In shortVetting does not end when you are cleared: you report change events as they happen, and no threshold is published for 'criminal associates'.

The Security Vetting policy (PSI 07/2014, AI 05/2014, PI 03/2014, revised 20 February 2025) says individuals must report changes in personal circumstances, 'including partners and criminal associates', and that line managers should watch for changes in behaviour. Holders of Security Check and Developed Vetting complete an annual security review form.

If you are an applicant rather than a serving officer, our guides to vetting, vetting and family in prison and the free vetting checker cover what is asked before you start.

• Address.
• Marriage, civil partnership or co-habiting.
• New housemates or relatives sharing the home.
• Relationships or relatives abroad.
• Finances (large receipts or hardship).
• Involvement in criminal activity.
• Criminal charges, warnings and convictions.
• Involvement with any individual, group, society or organisation that may be of security concern.
• Disciplinary procedures.
• Security incidents, including employer sanctions for code of conduct misconduct.

In shortNo published rule bars you from the job because a relative or partner has a record, but a change should be reported rather than left to be discovered.

No published rule says that having a relative or partner with a criminal record bars you from being a prison officer or requires you to resign. The published vetting framework asks about criminal associates and relationship changes after appointment, and the unpublished HMPPS Vetting Action Team deals with individual cases.

In the Counter Corruption framework, the concern is the risk of abuse of position, influence or pressure, not the label.

In shortThe published texts do not name the organisations of concern, so three practical questions decide whether to ask.

At recruitment, Enhanced Check Level 2 includes a signed declaration of not belonging to racist groups, and Annex F asks staff to report involvement with any individual, group, society or organisation that may be of security concern. The published texts do not name the organisations.

The Civil Service Management Code lists freemasonry, membership of societies, clubs and other organisations and family as examples of private interests which can give rise to conflicts where they share an interest with someone the civil servant deals with officially.

In shortThe published aim is to remove the risk rather than punish the disclosure, but declaring is not risk-free and HMPPS-specific guidance is not public.

The published Counter Corruption framework describes a sensible sequence: your declaration is recorded on a register held by your line manager and LCCM; the LCCM considers whether the interest can be managed. Management options include moving duties, changing who supervises you, restricting access to certain prisoners or information, and in some cases a transfer.

You may be asked for further information, reminded of your obligations, or asked to keep the LCCM updated. If asked to sign anything, you can take a copy and ask your POA rep to read it.

If a declaration leads to an investigation, you have the same rights as in any investigation, including to be accompanied. Our guides to investigations and relationships with prisoners explain those stages.

Declaring is not risk-free, and anyone who says otherwise is overselling. But the published policy tilts clearly towards early disclosure. A conflict that is discovered rather than declared can be treated as concealment, and in a corruption context the risk of dismissal and criminal investigation is the highest in the system.

1. Write down the facts: who, how you know them, when it started, any contact since you joined, and anything you have been asked to do.
2. Do not contact the person to 'sort it out' or to ask them to stop; if there has been pressure, keep messages and tell your LCCM.
3. Ask your line manager or LCCM for the current conflict of interest form, or use the one on your intranet, and complete it factually.
4. Take a copy of what you submit with the date, and note who you gave it to.
5. If you are worried about the consequences, speak to your POA rep first, but do not let that delay a report where there is any pressure on you.
6. Update the declaration if circumstances change, and report vetting changes through the vetting route as well.

In shortIf you work under a risk management plan, the plan itself can include contact and association requirements, and breaching it would be a conduct matter.

Since 1 April 2026 the HMPPS policy framework on risk assessed access for personnel with lived experience of the criminal justice system (issued 5 March 2026) governs people who cannot obtain standard clearance because of their own criminal history.

It offers role-specific risk management plans through Going Forward into Employment for directly employed posts and LEAP for non-directly employed posts.

We have summarised it because declaration and risk management overlap.

In shortIf any answer to the decision checklist is yes, declare.

The framework's example of relationships known 'through friends, family or previous employment' covers distant, informal and pre-joining relationships, which is exactly where people go wrong.