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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 2d

Our researchers are conducting a survey at HMP Birmingham at the start of an inspection. If you have information about the establishment, please email: [email protected]

Photograph of a prison visiting hall with details of the HMI Prisons email address overlaid.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 2d

Points to note:
- Six self-inflicted deaths since Nov. 2021
- Not enough done to address causes of self-harm
- Serious, longstanding risks to patient safety
- Insufficient activity spaces
- Impressive range of family initiatives
- Prisoners could eat lunch and dinner together.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 2d

HMP Altcourse: illicit drugs posed major threat to safety and security.

Read the report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

And the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/report-...

See the healthy prison scores:

A bar graph showing HMP Altcourse health prison outcomes for 2021 and 2025. Safety remained the same at 'not sufficiently good' and respect continued to be 'reasonably good'. Purposeful activity dropped from 'reasonably good' to 'poor' and preparation for release' improved from 'not sufficiently good' to 'reasonably good'.

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Pact @prisonadvice.bsky.social · 8d

@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social has today published a report about HMP Pentonville setting out 'comprehensive failures' at the prison.

Read the response from our Deputy CEO, Ellen Green 👇👇

www.prisonadvice.org.uk/latest/news/...

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 8d

Points to note:
- 44% of prisoners felt unsafe
- Drugs drove violence
- New arrivals received little support
- Poor relationships between staff and prisoners
- Lack of support for vulnerable men
- Most prisoners locked up 22 hours a day
- Release dates incorrectly calculated.

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 8d

HMP Pentonville: comprehensive failures creating chaos, violence and fear.

Read the report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

Read the press release: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/compreh...

See the healthy prison scores:

Bar graph visualising the healthy prison scores for Pentonville when it was inspected in 2022 and 2025. The score for safety had declined from not sufficiently good to poor, the score for respect had remained not sufficiently good, the score for purposeful activity had remained poor, and the score for preparation for release had declined from not sufficiently good to poor.

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 9d

Points to note:
- Detainees positive about staff
- Accommodation reasonable and detainees could move about freely
- Violence, use of force and self-harm rare
- Women not always separated sufficiently from men
- Care for vulnerable individuals not always good enough.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 9d

Residential short-term holding facilities at Larne House, Manchester and Swinderby: calm and well managed, but some concerns.

Read the report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

Read the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/reports...

Report on an unannounced inspection of the residential short-term holding facilities at Larne House, Manchester and Swinderby by HM Chief Inspector of prisons (7-11 July 2025)

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 9d

Points to note:
- Violence had increased and many prisoners did not feel safe
- Too few work and education places
- Prison infrastructure required investment
- Living conditions and functioning of workshops affected
- Officers trained to support prisoners with addictions.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 9d

HMP Wakefield: Too many prisoners locked up during working day

Read the inspection report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=hm...

And the press notice:
hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=ne...

See the healthy prison scores:

Bar graph illustrating the healthy prison scores for HMP Wakefield in 2022 and 2025. The scores for Respect and Preparation for release remained reasonably good; the score for safety declined from reasonably good to not sufficiently good and the score for Purposeful activity declined from not sufficiently good to poor.

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Nacro @nacro.bsky.social · 15d

Campbell Robb, Chief Executive at Nacro, responds to today's @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social 'Children in custody' report 2024-2025, he says YOIs are "entrenching disadvantage."

👉Nacro knows it doesn’t have to be this way. We help young people to move on and be who they want to be.
shorturl.at/sbErX

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 15d

Our researchers are conducting a survey at HMP Featherstone at the start of an inspection. If you have information about the establishment, please email: [email protected]

Photograph of a visits hall, with the HMI Prisons email address overlaid on top.

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 15d

More than a third of children in custody spend less than two hours a day out of their cell during the week. More than half spend less than two hours a day out of their cell on weekends.

Young people who've already been failed by the system are being failed again.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 15d

In this year's Children in custody report, many of the issues identified in our 2023-24 inspections remained.

Find out more about some of our key findings in the infographic below.

Read the report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

Bar graphs that show how safety was still not good enough, how for some children, relationships with staff were poor, and how time out of cell varied across establishments.

Donut charts that show who the children in our survey are. 99% identified as male; 1 in 3 reported having a disability; including any physical, mental or learning needs that affected their day-to-day live; 2 in 5 were unsentenced or on remand and 10% reported having children of their own.

Donut charts that show some groups continue to be overrepresented: 33% were Muslim, 8% were from the Traveller community, 63% were from an ethnic group other than white, 46% had health problems (including mental health) and 65% reported having been in local authority care.

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 15d

In this year's Children in custody report, many of the issues identified in our 2023-24 inspections remained.

Find out more about some of our key findings in the infographic below.

Read the report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

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Reposted by HMI Prisons

Russell Webster @russellwebster.com · 15d

The experiences of children in custody deteriorate further
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social says that children in custody are being failed by having to live in establishments dominated by violence, disorder and lack of education with HMYOI Parc the lone exception.
www.russellwebster.com/the-experien...

The experiences of children in custody deteriorate further

Inspectorate says that children in custody are being failed by having to live in establishments dominated by violence, disorder and lack of education with HMYOI Parc the lone exception.

www.russellwebster.com

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 15d

Today we published our 2024-25 Children in custody report.

Many children continue to feel unsafe, uncared for and fail to get to education.

Read the report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

And the press release: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/outcome...

Children in custody 2024-25: an analysis of 12-8-year-olds' perceptions of their experiences in secure training centres and young offender institutions, September 2025. Cookham Wood was re-rolled as an adult men's prison in 2024.

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 16d

Points to note:
- Care for new arrivals and women who harmed themselves was better
- Staff support and capability had improved
- However, frequent regime curtailments and a lack of full-time activity spaces
- Women waited too long for transfer to secure hospitals.

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 16d

HMP & YOI Eastwood Park: some improvements in safety, but increased self-harm, violence and use of force.

Read the inspection report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

And the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/report-...

See the healthy prison scores:

A bar graph showing HMP Eastwood Park healthy prison outcomes for 2022 and 2025. Safety increased from poor to not sufficiently good, respect and preparation for release remained reasonably good and purposeful activity remained not sufficiently good.

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 22d

Follow our inspectors as they inspect a category C men's prison in 'A Prison Inspector Calls', tonight at 8pm on BBC Radio 4.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 29d

In a broadcasting first, the BBC followed an HMI Prisons team as they inspected a category C men's prison.

Their documentary sets out to provide insight into the process of inspection, and the problems faced by the prison system.

Listen at 8pm, 16 September on BBC Radio 4.

The cover image of the File on 4 documentary series.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 23d

Our researchers are conducting a survey at Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre at the start of an inspection. If you have information about the establishment, please email: [email protected]

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 23d

Points to note:
- New prisoners not allocated to work, training or education activities quickly enough.
- Infection control needed attention.
- Transfers to mental health units slow.
- Overcrowded conditions.
- Prisoners acquired employability-enhancing skills.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 23d

HMP Hewell: Progress on drugs, but issues to address

Read the inspection report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=hm...

And the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=ne...

See the healthy prison scores:

Bar chart showing healthy prison scores at HMP Hewell in 2025 compared with 2022. Outcomes in safety and preparation for release had both remained not sufficiently good; outcomes in respect had remained reasonably good; outcomes in purposeful had risen from poor to not sufficiently good.

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HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 26d

In 'Food allergies in prisons: a hidden health risk', a blog published today, researcher Emma King explores the challenges prisoners can have in accessing appropriate food, and the impact it can have on their health.

Read the blog:
hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/food-al...

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 27d

Graphic which says: Forest Bank, men's local 2025: The Alert, Intervene, Monitor (AIM) electronic tool identified prisoners who appeared to be withdrawing from the prison regime and might be vulnerable. The prison then provided these men with additional support, including key work and welfare checks. Hindley, men's cat C training, 2024: The Salam Project offered support to prisoners in crisis. It took place on a Sunday, when prisoners were normally locked up, and provided a break from the monotany of the prison routine. Likewise, Epic Hope, a not-for-profit organisation that provided suicide prevention support in the local area, had delivered training for staff and prisoner peer mentors.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 27d

Graphic which says: However, some prisons were delivering better support for those in crisis. Nottingham, men's cat B local 2025: "'Grab bags' containing activities, games and reading material for prisoners in crisis and under constant supervision were a positive new initiative, designed to alleviate boredom and to encourage positive interaction with the regime and with the officer supervising them."

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