REWARDING opportunities have opened up for volunteers seeking new and challenging roles at Dartmoor Prison.

The Independent Monitoring Board, IMB, at Dartmoor Prison is looking to recruit new members from all walks of life in the local area.

IMB members are appointed by the Ministry of Justice to monitor day-to-day life in the prison to ensure that prisoners are treated with fairness and justice.

They have access to the prison and can talk to any prisoner out of sight and hearing of members of staff if necessary.

A typical monitoring visit may include the wings, kitchens, workshops, classrooms and healthcare centre.

A spokesperson for Dartmoor IMB said: 'We need to find successful applicants who are good listeners, enthusiastic and non-judgmental.

'They will need to be good communicators verbally and on paper, computer literate or willing to learn, able to work in a team, and relate to prisoners, prison officers and civilian staff.

'They will need to be able to come to the prison for an average six and a half days a month.'

The IMB members work to ensure that proper standards of care and decency are maintained within the prison.

Board members also see prisoners who have asked for help from the Independent Monitoring Board in resolving specific problems.

If there is a serious incident at the prison, members attend to monitor the way the incident is managed.

Training for this role is provided, so no previous knowledge of the criminal justice system is needed.

The IMB is encouraging applications from younger people and those from ethnic minority communities as these are under-represented on the current board.

The Dartmoor prison IMB meets monthly to share information, monitor trends and raise issues.

The Governor attends part of the meeting to answer questions, and the board also writes an annual report for the minister of justice.

For more information, email contact details to [email protected]">[email protected]