| Michael Spurr | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 20, 1961 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Durham University |
| Occupation | Chief Executive Officer |
| Years active | 2010 – |
| Employer | National Offender Management Service |
| Organization | Ministry of Justice |
| Salary | £145,000 – £149,999[1] |
| Predecessor | Phil Wheatley |
Michael Spurr, (born September 20, 1961), is the current Chief Executive Officer of the National Offender Management Service, an agency of the Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom that runs the combined prison and probation services for England and Wales. He joined HM Prison Service in 1983 as a prison officer, before undergoing training to become a Governor a year later. Following a series of posts as Governor and in headquarters, he was named Deputy Director General of the Prison Service in 2006, moving to the role of Chief Operating Officer following the reorganisation of NOMS in 2008.
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Prior to joining the Prison Service, Michael graduated from Durham University with a BA in Economics and Economic History.[2] At the time of graduating from University, Michael was running a youth club, and following the suggestion of his careers advisor to look at the prison service, he felt that becoming a borstal house master would be a good idea, and so signed up.[2]
Michael joined the Prison Service in 1983, the same year that borstals were abolished, initially as a prison officer in HMP Leeds. He then moved to HMP Stanford Hill to begin training as an Assistant Governor after a year. Following the completion of his training he transferred to HMP Swaleside, before becoming Deputy Governor of HMYOI Aylesbury and then Governing Governor of the same establishment in 1993.[2]
He then moved into HQ operations, managing the prison population and a system for managing disruptive prisoners.[2] He moved back into an operation role in 1996, becoming Governing Governor of HMP Wayland, and afterwards in the same position at HMP Norwich, which splits it’s adult and young offender functions over two sites.[2] In 2000, he became Area Manager for London North and East Anglia, and then following a restructuring of areas, the manager for the Eastern region. In 2003, he became Director of Operations for the Prison Service, which included sitting on the Prison Service Management Board for the first time. The role involvement the management of all Area Managers other than those in the High Security Estate.[2] In 2006, he was annouced as Deputy Director General of the Prison Service.[2]
Following the reorganisation of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) in 2008, he took on the role of Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for delivery of operations for prisons and probation.[2] He was subsequently made Chief Executive of NOMS, taking on full responsibility for running the prisons and probation services.[3] This coincided with a change in title for the head of the service, as his predecessor, Phil Wheatley, had been known as the Director General,[4] with Michael taking over the post on 8 June 2010.[4][5]
At the time of his appointment, the National Association of Probation Officers (NAPO) had been calling for NOMS to be abolished. Michael responded that he felt that while the service needed to change, there remains a requirement for national oversight and management for prisons and probation.[6]
As CEO of NOMS, he has made clear his opposition to staff corruption in prisons, “I am absolutely clear there are corrupt staff; I am absolutely clear we have to tackle that and not pretend it doesn't exist. I'm clear that we must work through what intelligence we've got about the potential for corruption - and then identify those involved and take action.”[3]