The prison was given a full inspection in January 2026, 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 Portland is a category C resettlement prison and young offender institution in Dorset, run by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding 514 men and young adults against an operational capacity of 537. Inspectors rated respect reasonably good and safety not sufficiently good, both unchanged, while purposeful activity improved to reasonably good, up from not sufficiently good, and preparation for release remained not sufficiently good, unchanged. Inspectors described committed staff and improving leadership still hampered by entrenched issues, with 8 of the 15 recommendations from the previous inspection achieved.
Ninety-one per cent of staff said they supported the prison’s core priorities, and 73% of prisoners said they were treated with respect by staff. Around 60% of prisoners were in full-time work or activity, supporting a nine-hour daily unlock regime, and Ofsted rated education provision Good, praising effective quality-improvement arrangements. The employment hub, helping prisoners move into community jobs before release, was singled out as impressive.
Inspectors nonetheless found drug debt linked to violence and instability a serious risk, with a 31% positive rate on random mandatory drug testing. Self-harm rates were among the highest of comparable category C prisons, and root-cause analysis of incidents was judged insufficient. Healthcare came in for criticism, with inadequate clinical leadership and a corrective action plan required after a regulatory breach was found, and only 67% of prisoners knew who their keyworker was. The prison’s remote Dorset location was cited as a barrier to prisoners maintaining family contact, and some high-risk prisoners were released without settled accommodation in place.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
February 2026
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
| Inspection report, Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP & YOI Portland by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (13–29 January 2026, published 20 April 2026) | Easy read summary of the 2026 inspection report |