HMP Leeds safer and improving but self-inflicted deaths a concern, inspectors found

HMP Leeds had become much safer since inspectors judged it unsafe in 2017, but self-harm and deaths in custody remained serious concerns. HM Inspectorate of Prisons set out those findings in a report published in March 2020.

Inspectors visited the category B local prison between 25 November and 6 December 2019. They found a generally competent institution where improvement was evident in many areas.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke acknowledged the challenges of running a prison like Leeds. “Overall, though, we were encouraged by what we saw,” he wrote. He said further work on safety, especially for men at risk of self-harm, was a priority.

How the prison had changed

The inspectorate assesses prisons against four healthy prison tests: safety, respect, purposeful activity, and rehabilitation and release planning. Purposeful activity covers education, work and time out of cell. Rehabilitation and release planning covers offender management, public protection and preparation for release.

In 2017, inspectors found Leeds unsafe and not good enough on respect and purposeful activity. Release planning was better. By 2019, the Chief Inspector of Prisons wrote that safety was much better, although much remained to be done. Inspectors now judged respect reasonably good. Their assessments of purposeful activity and of rehabilitation and release planning stayed the same, though both areas had improved.

Built in 1847, Leeds was a classic inner-city Victorian prison serving West Yorkshire. It could hold up to 1,131 adult men and held 1,051 at the time of the inspection. Around two-thirds of prisoners lived in overcrowded conditions. Some 20% were on remand, and just over 11% had returned to prison on licence recall.

Turnover was high. Many men had significant needs: 92% said they had problems on arrival, and 61% reported mental health problems. Almost a third presented a high or very high risk of harm to others.

Overall, though, we were encouraged by what we saw. Leeds could not yet be described as cultivating a rehabilitative culture as aspired to by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), but we could see some very important work being done and improvements were evident.

Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons

Safer, but deaths and self-harm

A new reception offered a welcoming environment. Staff saw new arrivals quickly, and risk assessments were generally satisfactory. A body scanner in reception was helping to detect contraband.

Violence had fallen, and serious violence had fallen considerably. Good intelligence work and drug detection technology had cut the availability of drugs. Mandatory testing showed a positive rate as low as 6.6%, a substantial improvement since 2017.

Yet over a third of prisoners told the inspectorate’s survey that they felt unsafe and intimidated by staff. Some prisoners said staff sometimes used excessive force, and inspectors found evidence to support that view. The overall amount of force was high. The prison took robust action against poor practice when it found it.

Since the last inspection, eight prisoners had taken their own lives, and one man had died by homicide. Investigations into several other deaths were continuing. Case management for men in crisis was not good enough, despite recommendations from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Self-harm was much higher than at similar prisons and than in 2017. The report found the prison’s safeguarding strategy not effective enough.

Daily life and staff

Inspectors generally saw good and relaxed relationships between staff and prisoners, but not consistently. Some observations suggested dismissive and potentially intimidating behaviour. Only just over half of prisoners said staff treated them respectfully. Many officers were inexperienced: 56% had less than two years’ service.

Cells were cramped, but a proactive approach to cleanliness and basic amenities helped. A prisoner maintenance team known as Q-branch also improved living conditions. Consultation with prisoners was meaningful, and health services were generally good. Systems for applications and complaints needed to be more reliable.

Time out of cell varied widely. A man in full-time work could get about nine hours a day, while an unemployed man on the basic regime might get as little as two. Spot checks found 40% of prisoners locked in their cells during the working day. There were too few activity places, and not all were filled. Teaching and learning needed to improve.

Release planning and later inspections

Partnership working on rehabilitation was strong. Contact between prison offender managers and prisoners was better than inspectors usually saw. Most men received good resettlement planning and support, despite mixed outcomes in public protection. Interventions to tackle offending behaviour remained limited.

Inspectors have reported on Leeds again since, with full inspections published in September 2022 and October 2025 and independent reviews of progress published in August 2023 and May 2026. This article covers the report published in March 2020.