Last inspectedJuly 2023Full inspection, unannounced
Source: HM Inspectorate of Prisons report published 17 October 2023; visiting details from GOV.UK · last checked 29 October 2026
Latest inspection
At its last full inspection (July 2023; report published October 2023), inspectors found outcomes for prisoners were poor for safety and purposeful activity; not sufficiently good for respect and rehabilitation and release planning. It held 544 people at the time, against an operational capacity of 580. An independent review of progress was published in August 2024.
Safety: poor · Respect: not sufficiently good · Purposeful activity: poor · Rehabilitation and release planning: not sufficiently good Read our story
The Chief Inspector of Prisons formally told the Justice Secretary of urgent and significant concerns. The government must respond publicly within 28 days. Read our story
The Chief Inspector of Prisons formally told the Justice Secretary of urgent and significant concerns. The government must respond publicly within 28 days. Read our story
A 61-year-old woman who worked at HMP Bristol has received a sentence of six years and three months for her part in a conspiracy to bring drugs and SIM cards into the jail.
The Chief Inspector of Prisons invoked the Urgent Notification process at the Bristol reception prison for the second time since 2019. Inspectors found high violence, easy access to drugs and men locked up for almost 22 hours a day.
In July 2023 the Chief Inspector of Prisons used the Urgent Notification process at HMP Bristol for the second time in four years, citing violence, self-inflicted deaths and drugs.
In June 2019 the Chief Inspector of Prisons invoked the Urgent Notification process at HMP Bristol, saying the jail had been in drift and decline for years despite special measures.
Prison News staff
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