HMIP Report, HMP Peterborough (Male)

The prison was given an Independent Review of Progress in October 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 Peterborough (Male) is a reception and resettlement prison serving courts across Eastern England, run by Sodexo on behalf of HM Prison and Probation Service, holding around 906 men against an operational capacity of 944. A full inspection in January 2024 rated safety reasonably good, an improvement from not sufficiently good, while respect declined to not sufficiently good and purposeful activity declined to Poor, both down from reasonably good, and preparation for release remained not sufficiently good, unchanged. This Independent Review of Progress, carried out in October 2024, checks progress against the concerns raised then rather than re-scoring the four healthy prison tests.

Inspectors found good progress on health assessments for new arrivals and on resettlement support, and reasonable progress on security around drug availability. Officer unavailability had improved to 29% of the workforce, down from 37% at the time of the full inspection, easing some of the pressure on the regime.

Inspectors nonetheless found insufficient progress on promoting positive behaviour and on time out of cell, which had in fact worsened, with 54% of prisoners locked up during the working day compared with 42% at the last inspection. There was no meaningful progress on monitoring new arrivals withdrawing from substances or on enrichment and personal development activity. The positive drug test rate remained unchanged at 27%, and around 28% of prisoners released between February and August 2024 became homeless, essentially the same proportion as before.

Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
November 2024

HMP Peterborough (Male)

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