HMI Prisons

Chief Inspectors Blog

Photograph of Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor

Chief Inspector’s blog: what's going wrong with education in prisons?

Education in prison has two important functions that ultimately help the establishment and the public to be safer. Prison should be an opportunity for prisoners to spend their time productively and to acquire the skills they need to go on to lead successful lives – it should give them the qualifications and the sense of achievement that will help them to behave both in jail and in the community. Education is a fundamental part of successful rehabilitation and yet it continues to be nowhere near good enough.

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Experiences of black prisoners and black staff blog 3

The power of food

'I visited HMP Swinfen Hall last week, a men’s prison in Staffordshire holding mainly young adults, about a quarter of whom are black. Over the course of an afternoon, I saw the work of ‘Food Behind Bars’ (FBB), a small charity which helps prisons to develop more varied menus and teaches prisoners about cooking and nutrition.'
In this blog, lead inspector Hindpal Singh Bhui shares his experience of visiting a prison to see how food can be used to build trust between black and white prisoners and staff.

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Experiences of black prisoners and black staff blog 2

The experiences of black prison staff

In his second blog about the experiences of black prisoners and black staff, lead inspector Hindpal Singh Bhui reflects on the experiences of a young officer and an experienced senior manager. Both described being undermined by white staff, and feeling worn down by ongoing, destructive, subtle racism. Hindpal argues that this insidious discrimination, which leads to a loss of confidence and sense of belonging, is far more pervasive than overt examples of racist language and behaviour, and needs to be tackled with a sophisticated, multi-layered response.

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Experiences of black prisoners and black staff blog

Racial divisions in prisons: old problems need new solutions

In this blog, lead inspector Hindpal Singh Bhui discusses the reasons behind HMI Prisons' thematic review of the experiences of black prisoners and black staff, and how it has uncovered the human stories and emotions behind the racial tensions. He explains how the report builds on our 2020 review of minority ethnic prisoners’ experiences of rehabilitation and release planning, and how the stories and findings have led to constructive solutions grounded in the experience of people who work and live in the prison community.

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Immigration detainees in prisons thematic

Delays and confusion keeping immigration detainees in prison

Our review of the experience of immigration detainees in prisons has found that they are markedly disadvantaged compared with those held in immigration removal centres, with many in custody for long periods with little or no progress in their cases. Chief Inspector Charlie Taylor said: “... the prolonged detention of people under immigration powers, especially when it is because of inefficiencies in Home Office case-working procedures, is inexcusable given that so many prisons are already overcrowded.”

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Children in custody 2021-22
An analysis of 12–18-year-olds’ perceptions of their experiences in secure training centres and young offender institutions
HMP Maidstone
Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Maidstone by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (3 – 14 October 2022)
HMP Wealstun
Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Wealstun by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (3 – 14 October 2022)
HMP Isle of Wight
Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Isle of Wight by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (20 September – 7 October 2022)

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