Stephen Shaw, CBE (born 26 March 1953) is former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales.
[1] He was first appointed Prisons Ombudsman in October 1999; from 1 September 2001 his remit was extended to take in complaints against the National Probation Service (NPS) from those under supervision in the community.
In 2003, Alan Travis noted in UK newspaper The Guardian, "His predecessor, Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Woodhead, had his powers so clipped by the former Conservative home secretary, Michael Howard, that the small and little-known club that is the British and Irish Ombudsmen Association refused him membership on the grounds that he was not independent enough".
As Ombudsman, Shaw conducted a range of other investigations including the major inquiry into the fire and disturbance that occurred at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre in February 2002.
He also served as one of two independent members of the Parole Board’s review committee that considers the cases of released prisoners who have committed serious further offences.