The prison was given a full inspection in August and September 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 Rye Hill is a category B training prison in Warwickshire, in the process of re-roling towards category C, run by G4S on behalf of HM Prison and Probation Service, holding 662 men against a certified normal accommodation of 600. Inspectors rated safety, respect and preparation for release all Good, unchanged from the previous inspection, while purposeful activity declined to reasonably good, down from Good, reflecting insufficient vocational training capacity as the population grows. A new director had taken over only months before the inspection, with continuity well maintained.
Violence fell sharply, with just 27 violent incidents in the previous year compared with 138 at the last inspection, and only 11% of prisoners said they felt unsafe, down from 30%. Drug test positivity was under 1%, among the lowest of any adult male prison, and there had been no use of PAVA, batons or special accommodation all year. Ninety-one per cent of prisoners said staff treated them with respect, healthcare was rated well above comparator prisons, and initiatives such as a long-sentence planning programme, secure video calling used by 45% of prisoners, and a scheme letting fathers read to their children by video stood out.
Inspectors nonetheless found a serious lapse in public protection, with breaches of contact restrictions going unactioned in all but one of 15 monitored cases. Hospital escort shortages caused 62 cancelled appointments in three months, and mental health provision was stretched thin. Some trusted prisoner mentors enjoyed freedoms that generated resentment among others, and minority ethnic prisoners reported markedly worse outcomes than white prisoners on access to managers, fair treatment of applications and complaints. Sixty-four cramped double cells were judged too small for prisoners to live with dignity, and foreign nationals had too little translated material and no free independent legal advice.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
September 2024
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
| Inspection report (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Rye Hill by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (20–21 August and 2–13 September 2024, published 26 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 Rye Hill | |