HMP Dartmoor

Key Contact Details

Important update: HMP Dartmoor is currently closed and holding no prisoners. It was evacuated in 2023 after dangerously high levels of radon — a naturally occurring radioactive gas linked to lung cancer risk, common in granite areas like Dartmoor — were discovered in the buildings, at levels reported to be many times the permissible limit. A reopening was attempted, but radon was detected again in July 2024 and the remaining prisoners were moved out a second time. As of the most recent reporting, the Prison Service has said the site is likely to remain closed for several years while specialists assess how it can safely reopen, with no confirmed reopening date. The contact and visiting details below relate to how the prison operated before closure and should be checked before relying on them.

Before its closure, Dartmoor was one of the best-known prisons in England, built between 1806 and 1809 to hold French and later American prisoners of war, and later became a civilian prison. Most recently it operated as a Category C prison for men assessed as presenting a lower risk, including many older and white-collar prisoners, with capacity for around 680 men across six wings.

Dartmoor’s closure was one of several factors behind the wider prison capacity crisis of 2024, which led to thousands of prisoners being released early elsewhere in the estate. Anyone with a family member who may have been at Dartmoor should confirm their current establishment through the official Find a Prisoner service, as they are very likely to have been transferred.