Investigate deaths in custody? Why, Shaw is just the man. Allegations about racism in an asylum reception centre? Put the call in again. A riot and fire at a new immigration centre? Find Shaw to lead the inquiry.

It is a testament to the reputation Shaw has gained as Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, that the work of his office has expanded since he took the post in 1999.

The core of his job remains investigating complaints from prisoners, but it has extended to include deaths in prison and probation custody as well as one-off inquiries at the request of ministers.

Complaints from prisoners to the ombudsman have risen year on year since 1999 to reach a record 4,000 in 2004. As the number has increased Shaw has moved towards a more informal method of resolving disputes, many of which he says could have been resolved on the prison wings.

“We have moved away from approaching complaints in a highly formalised way with each one resulting in a legalistic report. It is quicker and cheaper for the taxpayer,” he says.

Shaw wonders whether the quadrupling in the number of complaints is as a result of society becoming more litigious, or less deferential, or a reflection of the success of his office in providing a service to prisoners. But he is sure of one thing: “It is easier for prisoners to complain than in the past and prisoners are much less frightened of recriminations and are confident that complaining may result in something being done,” he says.

He also believes that governors welcome his role. “If you are trying to improve regimes and decency in prisons, you want to know when things are going wrong,” he says.

A year ago Shaw, 52, was handed the job of investigating deaths in prison and probation hostels after it became clear that it was no longer tenable for the Prison Service to investigate the deaths themselves.

In the first year 223 deaths were referred to the ombudsman’s office, comprising 97 apparently self-inflicted deaths, 106 from natural causes, three homicides and 17 others.

Shaw is most concerned at the disproportionately high number of self-inflicted deaths by women in prison and the number of prisoners dying of natural causes.

“Prisons used to be a young person’s place. The deaths from natural causes are significantly above what we expected. This may suggest the prison population is becoming more elderly and that there may be a generation of prisoners who have abused drugs for 30 and 40 years who are prey to diseases linked to intravenous drug use.”

Shaw, formerly head of a leading penal reform group, says that his new task is an indication of good thinking in Whitehall. “What it represents is greater openness and an independent light being shone on the dark places for which the State is responsible . . . it is actually about showing confidence in public institutions — that they will sustain vigorous independent examination and will benefit from it.”

Shaw says he has yet to meet anyone in the prison system who does not believe that it is better and more legitimate for him, rather than the Prison Service, to investigate deaths in custody. He is also full of praise for prison officers who respond admirably when they arrive at the scene and cut someone down and try to revive them. “It is physically and emotionally draining to cut somebody down. They are not principally trained to do it.”

Richard Ford is home affairs correspondent for The Times

Born: March 26, 1953, in London

Education: Rutlish Grammar School, South London. BA, Warwick University; MA, Leeds University; PhD Kent University.

Career: Lecturer, Coventry and Maidstone; research officer National Association Care and Resettlement of Offenders 1979-80; Home Office research officer 1980-81; Director, Prison Reform Trust 1981-99; Prisons Ombudsman 1999; Prisons and Probation Ombudsman 2001 to the present.

What he says: “In Swedish, Ombudsman means representative of the people. I see my role as ensuring that there are no hidden places in our prisons.”

Little-known fact: He is a Second Class Marksman.

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