HMP Highpoint, a large training and resettlement prison in Suffolk, was found to be safe and respectful with reasonably good provision of work, training and education.

However, for the third consecutive inspection, its rehabilitation and release work was assessed as not sufficiently good. Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said this finding was disappointing, though he expressed confidence that the prison could improve.

Highpoint, holding almost 1,300 men on two sites on a former Royal Air Force base, has benefited from consistent leadership, with the current governor having been in post since 2013.

Mr Clarke said the maintenance of standards in most areas was “based upon and made possible by the positive ethos that ran through the establishment. The strength of relationships between staff and prisoners had created a collaborative environment that was focused on establishing and maintaining a safe, decent and purposeful community.”

The “healthy prison” assessment for respect improved to good, the highest grade, reflecting “the excellent relationships that existed between staff and prisoners, the decent living conditions, the high levels of cleanliness and the shared respect that prisoners and staff take in their surroundings. I found that in many parts of the prison, the general atmosphere, freedom of movement and accessibility to facilities and activities made it easy to forget that this was category C and not an open prison.”

There was much to learn for comparable prisons. “In particular,” Mr Clarke commented, “the visibility and active involvement in the senior leadership in checking and maintaining decent standards across the prison was notable.” Over a three-week cycle, all 1,181 cells are checked by senior managers.

There was still work to do tackle illicit drugs, however. Over a third of prisoners said it was easy to get hold of drugs and 13% said they had acquired a drug habit since coming into Highpoint. “The linkage between illicit drugs, violence and debt is clear, and the supply reduction strategy needed to be reinvigorated.”

The overall provision of purposeful activity was reasonably good. Inspectors found a very low 10% of prisoners locked in their cells during the working day which, Mr Clarke said, “compared extraordinarily well with their main comparator prisons where the figure had been around the 40% mark… Beyond the formal delivery of education, training and employment, the prison ensured that there was both a culture and the tangible delivery of constructive community and rehabilitative activities, including life skills.”

Inspectors were concerned, however, to find that for the third successive inspection “many of the fundamentals of rehabilitation and release planning were not in place. The population was complex, with around a half presenting a high risk of harm and some 150 being associated with organised crime groups. Despite this, there were serious weaknesses in work to ensure that the public was properly protected.”

The prison did not have a systematic and reliable process for ensuring that all high-risk prisoners approaching release were reviewed to ensure there were no gaps in risk management planning and there were some weaknesses in basic public protection work, potentially allowing contact between prisoners and victims. These issues needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency “and not allowed to carry on as they have in the past.”

However, Mr Clarke concluded:

“Despite the failings in rehabilitation and release planning, overall this was a very encouraging inspection of a prison that has found a way of treating high risk prisoners with respect in decent surroundings. There is still work to be done around violence, drugs and resettlement, but with the solid foundations that are in place in terms of the incredibly strong positive ethos that permeates the prison, there is no reason why the necessary improvements cannot be achieved.”

Phil Copple, Director General for Prisons, said:

“I am pleased inspectors have praised the excellent relationships between staff and prisoners at HMP Highpoint, creating an environment where offenders can focus on education and rehabilitation. Since the inspection, the prison has strengthened its checks on incoming mail for drugs and are working closely with the police to catch those responsible. Action has been taken to deal with victim contact concerns and the prison is focusing on ways it can better prepare offenders for release.”

– End –

Notes to editors
1. The full report, published on 22 January 2020, can be found on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website.

2. HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment, and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.

3. HMP Highpoint is a category C training and resettlement prison. It is situated in Suffolk on the site of a former Royal Air Force base. It is a large establishment, holding a little under 1,300 prisoners at the time of this inspection. It is spread over two sites and uses many of the buildings from its days as an RAF facility. Originally, there were two prisons, one holding women and the other holding men. In 2005, the women’s prison became a men’s prison and in 2011, the two prisons merged to form HMP Highpoint, with a North and South site.

4. HM Inspectorate of Prisons assesses adult prisons against four “healthy prison tests” – safety, respect, purposeful activity and rehabilitation and release planning. There are four assessments – good (4), reasonably good (3), not sufficiently good (2) and poor (1). In 2015 Highpoint scored 3-3-3-2. In 2019, it scored 3-4-3-2.

5. Notable features from this inspection: Highpoint is one of the biggest category C training prisons in the country and is split across two sites; almost all prisoners were serving over four years and nearly half were assessed as presenting a high risk of harm; 17% of the population were foreign nationals; 18% of the population were aged under 25; and there was a clear rehabilitative approach throughout the prison and almost all prisoners were on the enhanced incentives and earned privileges (IEP) scheme level.

6. This unannounced inspection took place between 12 and 23 August 2019.

7. Please contact John Steele at HM Inspectorate of Prisons on 07880 787452, or at john.steele@justice.gov.uk, if you would like more information.