HMIP Inspections, Hatfield

The prison was given a full inspection in July 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 & YOI Hatfield is a category D open prison near Hatfield Woodhouse, South Yorkshire, run by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding 353 prisoners against a baseline certified normal capacity of 358. Inspectors rated all four healthy prison tests Good, unchanged from the previous inspection in 2019, an achievement they described as impressive given how rare it is for a prison to maintain top ratings across every area over consecutive inspections.

Violence was exceptionally low, with no staff assaults and only two prisoner assaults recorded in the previous 12 months, and there had been no self-harm incidents since November 2020 and no self-inflicted deaths since 2015. Around 74% of prisoners had accessed release on temporary licence, with around a third out on paid community employment daily, and 92% of those released were in employment six months on. Seventy per cent of prisoners released had settled, sustainable accommodation arranged, and 78% said their time at Hatfield had made them less likely to reoffend. Family contact support was strong and the enrichment offer wide, including a gym, library, chess, darts, snooker and book clubs. Of 15 recommendations made at the previous inspection, 12 had been fully achieved.

Inspectors nonetheless found showers and toilets in two main-site wings, and at the satellite Lakes site, stained and in poor condition, with funding gaps preventing full refurbishment. They also found prisoners in education and industries workshops were not being taught about fundamental British values or the risks of radicalisation and extremism.

Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
October 2024

HMP & YOI Hatfield

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