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Northern Ireland Prison Service Medal
Obverse and reverse of medal, with operational ribbon
Type	Service medal
Awarded for	5 years of meritorious service
Presented by	the United Kingdom
Eligibility	Prison officers, and other staff of the Northern Ireland Prison Service
Status	Currently awarded
Established	15 January 2002
Northern Ireland Prison Service Medal ribbon Northern Ireland Prison Service Medal ribbon for prison officers
Order of Wear
Next (higher)	Royal Ulster Constabulary Service Medal
Next (lower)	Union of South Africa Commemoration Medal

The Northern Ireland Prison Service Medal was established by Royal Warrant on 15 January 2002. Agreed to in principle by the Queen in 2000, the medal was created to recognise Northern Ireland Prison Service personnel who had served in the "difficult and often dangerous conflict" during the Troubles. This included the murder of 28 prison staff, with dozens more wounded and many forced to move home due to intimidation.

Eligibility

The medal was awarded to Northern Ireland Prison Service personnel who, between 1 January 1971 and 29 September 2002, completed five years meritorious full or part-time service in a prison establishment. Those qualifying included both operational staff – prison officers and governors – and non-operational personnel – including chaplains, instructors and medical and maintenance staff. Headquarters personnel did not qualify, unless they had specifically been placed in danger or had made an exceptional contribution to prison establishments. The five years service requirement did not apply to those killed or retired due to injury.

No provision was made for ribbon clasps to recognise further periods of service.

Service that counted towards the Northern Ireland Prison Service Medal could also count towards the award of the Imperial Service Medal and, after its creation in 2010, the Prison Services Long Service Medal.

Up to April 2009 a total of 3,412 medals were awarded, 3,211 to prison officers and governors, and 201 to civilian staff. A small number of late claims were made after this date.

Appearance

The Northern Ireland Prison Service Medal is circular and made of cupro-nickel. The obverse bears the effigy of Queen Elizabeth wearing the Imperial State Crown, and surrounded by an appropriate inscription. The reverse depicts a design of the flax flowers surrounding the inscription Northern Ireland Prison Service surmounted by three keys. It is inscribed on the rim with the full name and prison service number of the recipient.

The medal is suspended from a ribbon 1.25 inches (32 mm) wide. It is composed of equal stripes of green and navy blue flanking a stripe of sky blue. For operational staff – prison officers and governors – a thin stripe of red is centred on the sky blue stripe.

References

1. ^ "No. 56878". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 March 2003. p. 3353.
2. "Medal for NI prison staff". BBC News. 29 August 2000. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
3. ^ Jim Galloway. The Northern Ireland Prison Service Medal. Orders and Medals Research Society Journal, March 2021, Vol 60 No 1. Pages 44–49.
4. ^ The Northern Ireland Prison Service Medal : Royal warrant (PDF). : Stationery Office. 2002. ISBN 9780101545228. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2004.

• Civil awards and decorations of the United Kingdom
• Awards established in 2002
• Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth
• 2002 establishments in Northern Ireland
• Penal system in Northern Ireland
• The Troubles (Northern Ireland)
• Prison officer awards