General Details,
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Inspections |
| Regimes | Visits and getting there |
| Local News | |
Key Contact Details
| Name of Prison | HMP & YOI Portland |
| Address: | 104 The Grove Easton Portland Dorset DT5 1DL |
| Other contact details: | |
| Web Site: | |
| Email: | |
| Main switchboard: | 01305 715600 |
| At Risk hotline: | |
| Fax: | 01305 715601 |
| Visits booking number: | 01305 715775 |
| Visits booking email: | n/a |
| Visits booking web site: | n/a |
| Visits centre web site: | n/a |
| Visits centre number: | n/a |
| Type of Prison: | Male Cat C adult and Young Offenders |
HMP&YOI Portland opened in 1848 to provide labour for the construction of Portland Harbour’s breakwater, with early convicts working the Admiralty quarries. It became a borstal in 1921 in response to rising juvenile crime, later a youth custody centre and young offenders’ institution, and since 2011 has held a mixed population of adult Category C men and young offenders aged 18 to 25, with an operational capacity of around 530 across seven wings.
The Independent Monitoring Board’s 2024–25 annual report found a genuinely improving picture, with self-harm incidents falling from 759 to 550 and staff-prisoner relationships described as consistently positive. Healthcare also improved, with the NHS trust filling all its posts for the first time in years and missed appointments dropping to around one in ten. The main concerns raised were continued drug availability, including spice and homemade alcohol, insufficient activity spaces to keep everyone eligible in work or education, and poor ventilation on one wing that left conditions unbearable in hot weather. On release, around nine in ten prisoners now leave with settled accommodation arranged.
For families staying in touch with someone at Portland, the contact details above remain the best starting point for arranging visits.