HMP Maidstone made too little use of interpreters, inspectors found in 2023

Staff at HMP Maidstone made too little use of professional interpreters, leaving some vulnerable men without proper assessment, inspectors found. The inspectorate’s report, published in January 2023, called this its most concerning finding at the Kent jail, which held only foreign national men.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor wrote: “Our most concerning finding was that there was limited use of the translation service by staff”. He explained that some men who may have been at risk of suicide or self-harm did not receive adequate assessment, particularly on arrival.

Inspectors visited the category C training prison between 3 and 14 October 2022. It held 579 men at the time, many of whom expected deportation at the end of their sentences. The operational capacity stood at 600.

Grades fell in safety

Inspectors assess every prison against four healthy prison tests. They grade each one as good, reasonably good, not sufficiently good or poor.

Safety dropped from reasonably good in 2018 to not sufficiently good. Respect, which covers how staff treat prisoners and their living conditions, stayed reasonably good. Purposeful activity, which covers education, work and time out of cell, scored poor. Rehabilitation and release planning, which looks at preparing men for release, scored not sufficiently good.

Overall, the report found that outcomes stayed the same in three areas and declined in one. Inspectors identified 15 key concerns and named five of them as priorities.

Progress since the previous inspection was weak. In 2018, inspectors made six recommendations about key concerns. By 2022, the prison had achieved none of them in full, partly achieved two and failed to achieve four.

Our most concerning finding was that there was limited use of the translation service by staff.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons

Language, anxiety and immigration

In reception, staff were polite, but the lack of interpretation for men who did not speak English was pervasive and undermined safety. Some interviews took place with no privacy. Peer workers led induction with enthusiasm.

Key Home Office documents about prisoners’ cases appeared only in English. Some men told inspectors they had signed documents they did not understand.

More prisoners than at the previous inspection said they felt unsafe. Many linked this to their uncertain immigration status, while others raised debt and antisocial behaviour. Home Office delays in processing cases added to the anxiety.

The Chief Inspector of Prisons said some staff did not appear to understand the needs of this group. This applied especially to the many men held beyond their tariff, the minimum term set by the court, and those contesting their immigration status. Inspectors heard of men who told officers they felt depressed and received only an application form for mental health services.

The overall rate of violence had fallen since 2018, although a homicide had occurred within the previous year. There had also been one self-inflicted death since the last inspection. Self-harm rates were low, but inspectors observed widespread anxiety and distress. Oversight of the use of force was weak, and staff often switched on body-worn cameras too late.

The complaints and applications system was in disarray. Inspectors said this added to prisoners’ frustrations.

Education rated inadequate

Ofsted rated the provision of work and education inadequate. The education provider had failed to offer a curriculum that matched labour shortages in the community. It also ignored restrictions on work for men whose immigration status was in doubt.

There was no English teacher, which the report called a huge loss given the population. The prison had no strategy to teach prisoners to read. More than a fifth of prisoners had no job or place in education.

Time out of cell, however, compared well with other prisons. Since September 2022, men in work or education spent seven hours and 45 minutes a day out of their cells. Unemployed men had four hours. Inspectors said this was much better than in most recent category C inspections.

The prison ran no programmes to address offending behaviour. Many men who needed such a course could not move to a prison that delivered one, so they could not progress with their sentence.

Some 36% of men left Maidstone for release into the community. Support for them was very limited, because offender managers could not begin planning until the Home Office had decided on their status.

Old buildings and a new governor

The prison dates from 1819, and the report described it as more than 200 years old. Some original cells remained dark, cavernous and sometimes damp, with poor ventilation and little natural light. Parts of the jail were barely fit for purpose.

Very high standards of cleanliness eased these conditions, and most men had single cells. A programme to improve the showers had begun, although many shower rooms remained in poor condition. Inspectors also found that the food had deteriorated and was unpopular.

In survey responses, fewer prisoners than in 2018 said staff treated them with respect. Inspectors saw some excellent officers, but too many staff seemed passive or distant.

The governor had arrived six months before the inspection and was well liked by both prisoners and staff. Inspectors said the governor had set clear, suitable and well-communicated priorities. The Chief Inspector of Prisons wrote that “I was left with the sense that Maidstone is a prison that will continue to improve”.

Inspectors have reported on HMP Maidstone again since, with an independent review of progress published in January 2024 and a full inspection published in March 2026.