HMI Prisons

Parc YOI Blog

Photograph of Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor

The children held in custody are now far more likely to have committed serious violent offences and be serving longer sentences than their counterparts just five years ago. This concentration of very high levels of need in a small number of institutions has meant most of the places holding children are volatile, with high levels of reckless and unpredictable violence. But HMYOI Parc has created a different narrative. Since 2018, we have judged outcomes for the children held there to be reasonably good or good at every inspection.

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Annual Report

Photograph of reflection garden at Send prison

2021-22 Annual Report published

Chief Inspector Charlie Taylor has published his Annual Report for 2021-22, outlining the findings from 63 inspection, scrutiny and thematic reports published in the year. The report highlights the poor time out of cell and access to purposeful activity experienced by many prisoners, as well as issues with staff recruitment and retention, concerns for the well-being of women, poor provision for children, haphazard arrangements for immigration detainees and a mixed picture in court custody.

Read the report

Cat C Blog

Running prisons with purpose

In a blog published today (30 June) Charlie Taylor discusses recent inspection reports which have raised serious concerns about the prison system's effectiveness in providing prisoners with genuinely purposeful ways to spend their time. He highlights what seems to be an inertia from leaders that is preventing prisoners getting back into education, training and work, and a comfort with maintaining a limited regime that has supposedly kept violence low. This lack of purposeful activity is particularly concerning for prisoners in category C training and resettlement prisons.

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Chief Inspectors Blog

Chief Inspector’s blog: how good leadership can transform prisons

It is almost three years since my predecessor Peter Clarke announced an Urgent Notification for HMYOI Feltham A following an unannounced inspection. He pointed to a “dramatic decline” in performance at the YOI and “numerous significant concerns about the treatment and conditions of children” held there... But I am pleased to say that our recent experience at Feltham and two other prisons we have inspected shows that positive change is possible – and, for me, the key ingredient is effective leadership.

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Royal Holloway Magna Carta lecture

The importance of good prisons in a criminal justice system

On 6 June 2022 Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor delivered the Royal Holloway’s Magna Carta Lecture at Middle Temple Hall in London. In the lecture he discussed prisons, their purpose, their current state and how they can play a part in interrupting the cycle of offending and reoffending while supporting change and delivering value for money.

Read the transcript

Notable positive practice

Notable positive practice

In our reports, we provide examples of notable positive practice observed during our inspections. By publishing these examples, we hope to share and help inform positive practice within prisons. Our list of examples has now been updated to include those from recent inspections of Werrington, Forest Bank, Bedford, and Winchester.

Read recent examples

HMP Wayland
Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Wayland by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (11–12 and 25–28 April 2022)
Separation Centres
Report on an inspection of Separation Centres by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (11–22 April 2022)
Lincolnshire police custody suites
Report on an unannounced inspection visit to police custody suites in Lincolnshire (9-20 May 2022)
HMP Wandsworth
Report on an independent review of progress at HMP Wandsworth by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (19 - 22 June 2022)

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