Last inspectedJune 2024Full inspection, unannounced
Source: HM Inspectorate of Prisons report published 16 September 2024; visiting details from GOV.UK · last checked 29 October 2026
Latest inspection
At its last full inspection (June 2024; report published September 2024), inspectors found outcomes for prisoners were poor for purposeful activity; not sufficiently good for safety and respect; reasonably good for preparation for release. It held 503 people at the time, against an operational capacity of 512. An independent review of progress was published in June 2025.
Safety: not sufficiently good · Respect: not sufficiently good · Purposeful activity: not sufficiently good · Rehabilitation and release planning: not sufficiently good Read our story
Inspectors found too little work and education at the Wiltshire training prison, with drugs easy to obtain and earlier gains lost. A new governor brought fresh energy, they said.
The inspectorate's report on HMP & YOI Erlestoke, published in December 2021, found rising violence, high self-harm and slipping standards, with the prison graded not sufficiently good in all four areas.
Prison News staff
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