News
Risley prisoners to get suggestion forms after critical inspection
Men at HMP Risley will be able to put forward ideas for improving the jail on new suggestion forms, after inspectors found its complaints system was not working well.
Prison profile
HMP Risley
Category C Public (HMPPS)
Population1,013of 1,034 operational places (98%)
Last inspectedMay 2026Full inspection
Latest inspection
At its last full inspection (May 2026; report published August 2026), inspectors found outcomes for prisoners were not sufficiently good for purposeful activity and preparation for release; reasonably good for respect; good for safety. It held 1,013 people at the time, against an operational capacity of 1,034.
Read our story Read the inspection report
Healthy prison tests: inspectors grade four areas from 1 (poor) to 4 (good).
Inspection history
- Safety: good · Respect: reasonably good · Purposeful activity: not sufficiently good · Preparation for release: not sufficiently good Read our story
- Follow-up visit assessing progress against the key concerns from the previous full inspection. Read the report (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, opens external site) ↗
- Safety: reasonably good · Respect: not sufficiently good · Purposeful activity: poor · Rehabilitation and release planning: not sufficiently good Read our story
- Short scrutiny visit during the Covid-19 pandemic; not graded. Read the report (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, opens external site) ↗
Our reporting
News
HMP Risley good for safety but too few men have meaningful activity, inspectors found
Inspectors found the Cheshire prison, which now holds only men convicted of sexual offences, calmer and safer than in 2023, but release outcomes and activity places still fell short.
News
Woman who smuggled drugs into prisons spared jail over delay and recovery
A judge at Liverpool Crown Court suspended the sentence of a 38-year-old woman caught passing cocaine and cannabis to a prisoner at HMP Risley, citing long delay and her recovery.
News
Risley still had no sex offender programmes seven years on, inspectors found in 2023
The inspectorate's report on HMP Risley, published in July 2023, called the lack of programmes for men convicted of sexual offences an astonishing failure, and found unemployed prisoners locked up for 22 hours a day.