The prison was given an Independent Review of Progress in June 2025, 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 & YOI Rochester is a category C training and resettlement prison in Kent, run by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding around 760 men and young adults, and now reconfigured to hold prisoners convicted of sexual offences. A full inspection in August 2024 found the prison fundamentally failing in its rehabilitative purpose, rating safety not sufficiently good and respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release all Poor, a steep decline that triggered an Urgent Notification. This Independent Review of Progress, carried out in June 2025, checks progress against the concerns raised then rather than re-scoring the four healthy prison tests.
Inspectors found good progress on safety, with self-harm down 42% and overall violence down a third since the last inspection, now among the lowest in the category C estate, and good progress on repairing badly dilapidated wings, with a cell audit completed and the vermin infestation markedly reduced. A permanent governor was appointed in March 2025 after an unsettled period, bringing improved visibility and joint working with the adjoining HMP Cookham Wood site. Reasonable progress was also made on leadership, use of force, healthcare oversight and the offender management unit, which had been boosted with additional probation staff.
Inspectors nonetheless found drug availability had worsened, with random testing positivity rising to 48%, the second-highest of any category C prison, while only around a third of suspicion-based drug tests were actually completed. The Care Quality Commission issued a Warning Notice after finding medicine administration poorly managed and prisoners not always receiving critical medicines. There was no meaningful progress on fair treatment, with no equality strategy in place, and contact between offender managers and prisoners remained largely infrequent, with some prisoners having no contact at all throughout their time at Rochester. Staffing levels had fallen since the last inspection and broken window vents remained unrepaired on several wings.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
July 2025
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
| Independent Review of Progress report, HM Inspectorate of Prisons review of progress at HMP & YOI Rochester (2–4 June 2025, published 21 July 2025) | Inspection report (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP & YOI Rochester by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (12–22 August 2024, published 12 November 2024) |
| Easy read summary of the 2024 inspection report | Action plan, HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2024 inspection of HMP & YOI Rochester |