HMP Isle of Wight continued to underperform significantly, inspectors found, even though two of its four inspection grades had improved. On the Albany side of the prison, an electronic night sanitation system gave men only seven minutes to use the lavatory before they returned to their locked cells. Some prisoners used buckets in their cells instead, and often tipped the contents out of the windows.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons published its report in June 2026. Inspectors completed their fieldwork in March 2026.
The prison is a category B training prison for men, spread across two sites, Albany and Parkhurst. Most of its population are men convicted of sexual offences, and it also has a small local remand function. It held 961 men at the time of the inspection, against an operational capacity of 968.
How inspectors graded the prison
The inspectorate judges prisons against four healthy prison tests: safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release. Purposeful activity covers education, work and time out of cell.
Inspectors judged safety, respect and purposeful activity not sufficiently good. They rated preparation for release reasonably good.
At the previous full inspection, published in January 2023, inspectors had rated purposeful activity and rehabilitation and release planning poor, the lowest grade. Safety and respect scored not sufficiently good on both occasions. The inspectorate also carried out independent reviews of progress at the prison in February 2020 and July 2023. These follow-up visits check how far a prison has acted on earlier concerns.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said Isle of Wight still lacked meaningful incentives for the many prisoners who behave well. He also pointed to a poor regime, frequent staff shortages and too few suitable workshops. The ageing site did not help, and he described the Albany side as simply not fit for purpose.
Self-harm remained high and was the fifth highest of all adult male prisons.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons report
Violence, drugs and self-harm
The prison was taking on more category B prisoners convicted of sexual offences, some serving very long or indeterminate sentences. Inspectors said the prison service had not planned staffing for this change in population.
Violence had risen since the last visit and continued to climb. In the inspectorate’s survey, 56% of prisoners said drugs were easy to get, a large increase on last time. A quarter said they currently felt unsafe. The prison’s own safety strategy named debt, illicit substances and bullying as the main drivers of violence. Use of force had also increased, and scrutiny of it was weak.
One priority concern read: “Self-harm remained high and was the fifth highest of all adult male prisons.” Leaders had begun to put more support in place. But they had not done enough to understand underlying causes such as debt and the limited regime.
Conditions in the segregation unit were poor. When the unit was full, some men could shower only every other day. The governor had moved staff into the unit to keep prisoners and officers safe.
Oversight of adjudications, the prison’s internal disciplinary hearings, had lapsed. At the time of the inspection, 138 cases remained unresolved. A newly appointed crime-in-prisons co-ordinator had started to make progress on cases that needed police involvement.
Regime, buildings and health care
Leaders had promoted more officers to supervising roles. These and other temporary promotions left gaps on the landings. The regime was curtailed frequently, and inspectors’ checks found a third of prisoners locked behind their doors.
Many workshops had closed because the prison struggled to recruit trainers. Attendance at workshops was reasonably good, but attendance at education was unacceptably poor. Retired and sick prisoners had a poor regime.
Cells were generally well kept, but landings and stairways were dirty and many showers needed repair. The report criticised slow purchasing: “Absurd MoJ procurement rules meant it had taken far too long for the governor to be able to purchase replacement washing machines.”
Health care had improved, but governance remained loose. Prisoners with addiction problems had very little support. Mental health care for the most seriously ill was reasonably good, yet staff shortages left many men without adequate care. Some patients waited longer than the 28-day guideline for transfer to a mental health unit.
Progress on rehabilitation
Probation staff remained hard to recruit. Even so, the senior probation officer and the psychology teams had created a much more rehabilitative environment than at the last inspection. Public protection work had improved considerably. Staff worked hard to keep sentence plans and release preparation up to date.
A trauma-informed wing helped some very complex men begin to understand and address their offending. Inspectors counted it among seven examples of notable positive practice. Others included a well-structured induction programme called settlement, run jointly by staff and prisoners, and a varied gym timetable seven days a week. A resettlement course also helped men returning to the community after long sentences.
Early days were mixed. In the survey, 91% said reception staff treated them well. Only 28% said they had been offered a shower on their first night, and 43% said they could get phone credit in their first few days.
The report identified 15 key concerns, six of them priorities. Inspectors called on the prison service to improve staffing on the complex site and to fund repairs to its buildings. The Chief Inspector of Prisons said leaders also needed to think more imaginatively about rewarding good behaviour.
About this story
This story is based on HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ report on HMP Isle of Wight, published on 29 June 2026, following an inspection that ended in March 2026. All figures and judgements are the inspectorate’s. Read the full inspection report · See the prison’s profile in our directory.
