Sue Brookes has paid tribute to the “commitment and compassion” of her former colleagues after being awarded a CBE
She said she hopes the accolade also helps SPS staff to feel that efforts for those in their care are noticed and appreciated.
Mrs Brookes, who retired last year after almost 37 years with the Scottish Prison Service, was recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours “for services to people in custody”.
She was the Governor of many establishments, including HMP Edinburgh and HMP & YOI Cornton Vale, and most recently Interim Director of Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement.
The work she led was bold and transformative. In particular, it was her vision that set SPS on a journey to becoming a more trauma-informed organisation.
She led the introduction of non-pain inducing control and restraint, which has been piloted successfully in establishments.
She was instrumental in the implementation of the Strategy for Women in Custody, which has delivered a step change in how we support those in our care.
And most recently, thanks to work started by her, SPS published a new education strategy, Learning for a Better Future, seeking to ensure education is accessible to all, where people have the opportunity to learn in an atmosphere of dignity, respect, and compassion.
After receiving the award, Mrs Brookes was keen to highlight the “shared endeavour” of working in SPS and how much she had learnt from the courage and dedication of those staff she had worked alongside.
"From my perspective, any recognition for this award is shared by the members of all of the teams of staff I have worked with over the years," she said.
"My final HQ Strategy post is only a culmination of those experiences. In SPS any achievement is always due to the quality of the relationships that exist between people, and these have to be worked at hard in order to move the organisation forward.
"It's only when you get to the end of your career that you have an opportunity to look back and see how much progress has been made.
"That progress is again a shared endeavour. I hope all staff across SPS feel that their commitment and compassion has been noticed and appreciated in some way by this award.
"I have always felt honoured to work alongside SPS staff and have learnt so much from their courage and dedication to some of the most vulnerable and challenging people in our society.
"I have been proud to call them my colleagues and friends and will say so when I receive the award from whoever presents it on the day."