Prison Services (Operational Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

The Prison Services (Operational Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was established by Royal Warrant on 17 December 2010. The medal is awarded for long service to members of the various prison services of the United Kingdom.

Prison Services (Operational Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Obverse and reverse of the medal
Type	Long service medal
Awarded for	20 years operational service
Presented by	the United Kingdom
Eligibility	Members of Her Majesty's Prison Service, the Northern Ireland Prison Service, Scottish Prison Service, and the prisons on Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man.[1]
Established	17 December 2010
Ribbon bar of the medal
Order of Wear
Next (higher)	Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service Medal[2]
Next (lower)	Rhodesia Medal[2]

Criteria

To qualify for the medal, a recipient must have served on operational prison duties for twenty years. This service can be either continuous or aggregated, and can include both full and part-time service. Those who move to non-operational Prison Service duties due to injury can also receive the medal after a total of twenty years service. There is no provision for ribbon clasps to recognise further periods of service.[1]

Prison officers with a minimum of 25 years service were previously eligible for the Imperial Service Medal on retirement.[3] As they cover the same service, the introduction of the Prison Services Medal meant that operational prison staff ceased to be eligible for the Imperial Service Medal.[4]

Appearance

The Prison Services (Operational Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is circular, 1.4 inches (36 mm) in diameter, and made of cupro-nickel. The obverse, designed by Ian Rank-Broadley, bears an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II with the wording ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID DEF. The reverse depicts a prison doorway with a crowned Royal Cypher. Above the design is the inscription FOR EXEMPLARY SERVICE.[1] The name and details of the recipient are impressed on the rim of the medal.[5]

The medal has an ornate scrolled suspension, the 1.25 inches (32 mm) wide ribbon being black with two narrow white stripes at each edge.[1]

References

1. "No. 59672". The London Gazette. 17 January 2011. p. 615.
2. "No. 62529". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 2019. p. 327.
3. "H.M.Prison Service Performance Recognition" (PDF). Para 4.2.8. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
4. "Freedom of Information request". 19 September 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
5. John Mussell (ed). Medal Yearbook 2015. p. 269. Published by Token Publishing Ltd. Honiton, Devon.