The prison was inspected in June 2026, 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 High Down is a category C training and resettlement prison for adult men in Banstead, Surrey, run by HM Prison and Probation Service. At the time of the inspection it held 1,085 men against a capacity of 1,113, with 48% from minority ethnic backgrounds, over a third convicted of sexual offences and around three-quarters assessed as high risk of serious harm. This full inspection, carried out in June 2026, rated safety Reasonably Good, an improvement from Not Sufficiently Good, respect Reasonably Good, purposeful activity Not Sufficiently Good, an improvement from Poor, and preparation for release Not Sufficiently Good, unchanged from 2023.
Inspectors found the positive drug testing rate had fallen to 19%, down from 31% at the last inspection, and self-harm rates had substantially reduced. Governor Emily Martin was praised for her commitment to developing the prison’s role as a category C establishment, and specialist units, including a Psychologically Informed Planned Environment (PIPE) and a community living unit, provided good quality environments for the men held there.
Even so, inspectors found living conditions on some houseblocks were not good enough, with dirty cells and prisoners lacking basic items, and illicit drugs remained the biggest threat to stability despite the improvement. Too many unemployed prisoners had less than four hours unlocked time a day, education attendance remained low, and understaffing in the offender management unit severely limited the support prisoners received, while many reported too little contact with their probation officer.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
September 2026
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
| Inspection report, Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP High Down by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (1–11 June 2026, published 7 September 2026) | Easy read summary of the 2026 inspection report |
| Independent Review of Progress report, HM Inspectorate of Prisons review of progress at HMP High Down (3–5 May 2024, published 22 July 2024) | Inspection report (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP High Down by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (31 July–17 August 2023, published 13 November 2023) |
| Easy read summary of the 2023 inspection report | |