HMIP Reports, HMP Bristol

The prison was given an Independent Review of Progress in June 2024, the full report can be read on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website, just follow the links below. In their latest report the inspectors said:

HMP Bristol is a category B local and reception prison in Horfield, Bristol, operated by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding up to around 580 adult men. Following a full inspection in July 2023, the then Chief Inspector invoked the Urgent Notification process, having judged Bristol one of the least safe prisons in the country, citing high violence, self-inflicted deaths, ready availability of drugs, severe overcrowding and prisoners spending as much as 22 hours a day locked in their cells. On HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ four-point healthy prison scale, the 2023 inspection had rated safety and purposeful activity poor, and respect and preparation for release not sufficiently good, continuing a pattern of low scores stretching back over several previous inspections.

This Independent Review of Progress, carried out in June 2024, does not re-score the four healthy prison tests; instead it assesses how far a prison has moved since the concerns that triggered the Urgent Notification. Inspectors found that the governor and her senior team had done much to stabilise the day-to-day running of the jail: staffing had returned to full strength, daily regimes were now more predictable, and education, work and healthcare appointments were largely going ahead as planned rather than being cancelled.

On safety, the picture was mixed. Violence between prisoners had fallen by around a quarter compared with the 2023 inspection, but remained higher than at comparable reception prisons elsewhere in the country. Self-harm had not yet come down and stayed roughly double the rate seen at similar establishments.

Relationships between staff and prisoners had also improved, helped by the return to full staffing, though inspectors noted that some low-level poor behaviour by prisoners was still going unchallenged by officers. On purposeful activity, roughly two-thirds of prisoners were attending education, training or work, short of the prison’s own 80% target, and time out of cell varied widely depending on which activities a prisoner was engaged in.

Preparation for release had strengthened, with a new dedicated coordination role and a weekly board overseeing release planning, although gaps remained in securing settled accommodation for people leaving custody. Inspectors summed up the overall picture as encouraging but precarious, commending the leadership team’s efforts while cautioning that the improvements were fragile and dependent on continued, sustained support from HMPPS centrally.

Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
August 2024

HMP Bristol

To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below: