| General Details | Inspections |
| Regimes | IRP Reports |
| Visits and getting there | Local News |
Key Contact Details
| Name of Prison | HMP Durham |
| Address: | Old Elvet Durham DH1 3HU |
| Other contact details: | |
| Web Site: | |
| Email: | |
| Main switchboard: | 0191 332 3400 |
| At Risk hotline: | |
| Fax: | 0191 332 3401 |
| Visits booking number: | 0191 332 3417 |
| Visits booking website: | www.gov.uk/prison-visits |
| Visits centre web site: | Click here |
| Visits centre number: | 0191 3323676 |
| Type of Prison: | Male Cat B |
The prison is part of the North East Region and is run by HMPS. It has a capacity of 996 and the #1 governor is Philip Husband, who has been in charge since August 2018.
Durham is a Category B local prison on a historic city-centre site dating to the early 1800s, and since 2017 has functioned mainly as a reception prison for the north of England, taking newly sentenced and remand prisoners straight from court. It has been reported as one of the most overcrowded prisons in England and Wales, with hundreds of men held two to a cell built for one.
A full inspection in May 2024 rated Durham “not sufficiently good” for safety and “poor” for purposeful activity, though “reasonably good” for preparation for release. A follow-up review in January 2025 found little meaningful progress on most of the concerns raised: drug-test positivity had risen from 18% to 24%, assaults between prisoners had increased by almost 60%, over a third of men remained locked in their cells during the working day, and no mental health transfers had been completed within the national 28-day guideline. There was some genuine improvement on release planning, with more men leaving with settled housing arranged, though a quarter were still recorded as sleeping rough afterwards.
Given the reception role Durham plays, the first days after someone arrives can be especially difficult; families may find early contact particularly valuable, alongside using the practical visiting and contact details above.