Report on an independent review of progress at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park

Dates of review: 19 June – 16 July 2023

Summary of findings: While the prison had made good or reasonable progress in most areas  of concern identified at the 2022 inspection, inspectors found that the rate of self-harm was now the highest in the women’s estate. The number of times force had been used had increased since the inspection by 31%, and a large proportion of the incidents involved women who were self-harming or threatening to self-harm. Inspectors were very concerned to see force used against women to strip them of their clothing to replace with anti-rip clothing (designed with material that is more difficult to rip and so reduce the likelihood of making ligatures).

Points to note: Some court warrants still referred to the use of imprisonment as a ‘place of safety’ to authorise detention for acutely mentally unwell women who could have been diverted to a care setting. In the last eight months, 25 women had a warrant that specifically mentioned ‘place of safety,’ ‘own protection,’ or mental health problems as one of the reasons for imprisonment.

Read the report: HMP/YOI Eastwood Park