Outcomes for men at HMP Swaleside remained disappointing, and the prison was failing in its central task of helping high-risk men progress through long sentences, inspectors found.
The inspectorate’s report, published in February 2022, followed an inspection between 18 and 29 October 2021. Swaleside is a category B training prison for adult men on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. It held 964 men at the time, against an operational capacity of 1,090.
Most men there were serving over 10 years, and a third were serving life or another indeterminate sentence. Nearly all presented a serious risk of harm. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said that for the second inspection in a row, inspectors had found “a lacklustre and poorly coordinated service that was failing to meet the needs of the public or prisoners”.
How the prison was graded
Inspectors assess prisons against four healthy prison tests. Swaleside scored not sufficiently good, the second-lowest grade, for safety, respect and purposeful activity, which covers education, work and time out of cell. Rehabilitation and release planning was poor, the lowest grade.
Three areas had stayed the same since the previous full inspection in 2018. Respect had declined from reasonably good. Inspectors said their judgements took account of the prison’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The prison had not achieved either of the two key safety recommendations from 2018, or the one on purposeful activity. It had achieved one of two key recommendations on rehabilitation and release planning.
In the prisoner survey, fewer than half of respondents thought their time at Swaleside would make them less likely to offend.
The progress of high-risk men, serving long sentences, was at the heart of the prison’s mission, yet for the second successive inspection we saw a lacklustre and poorly coordinated service that was failing to meet the needs of the public or prisoners.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
Violence, force and self-harm
Violence was on the rise. Assaults on staff had fallen since 2018 but remained higher than at similar prisons. Leaders did not yet fully understand the causes and had no long-term plan to make the prison safer. Over a third of men in the survey said they felt unsafe.
Use of force had increased substantially. Inspectors saw good de-escalation, but some force was excessive. The prison had held no use of force management meetings and lacked enough body-worn cameras. In the segregation unit, inspectors found two unfurnished cells that staff had used many times without senior managers’ authorisation.
Several prisoners alleged that staff had assaulted them. Muslim prisoners and those from racial minorities reported more negatively on bullying or victimisation by staff.
There had been three self-inflicted deaths since the last inspection, two of them a few months before the visit. Self-harm had almost doubled since 2018. Managers found that over three months, 10 prisoners accounted for almost two-thirds of incidents. Care for men at risk of suicide and self-harm was variable.
Strengths and weaknesses
The report did not tell only a negative story. Mr Taylor described the governor as enthusiastic and committed. The leadership team’s energy was carrying the prison some distance, and despite significant operational risk it was settled.
Inspectors found pockets of good practice, including work to upgrade the environment and good work in the psychologically informed planned environment (PIPE) unit. Innovative arrangements supported new staff, and some useful work promoted equality. Time out of cell was better than inspectors sometimes see.
However, inspectors found weak coordination between departments and too little use of data. Oversight structures were often underdeveloped or missing. Too many staff stayed in offices, away from prisoners. Staff served meals too early, often at cell doors, and self-cook facilities had gone at the start of the pandemic.
Most cells met a decent standard, but too many toilets lacked lids and were dirty. The prison did not issue enough clothing and bedding.
Health care staff were overstretched by long-standing shortages. Too many men missed appointments because no officers were available to escort them. Mr Taylor said shortages of staff, including specialists, were a fundamental strategic risk that needed HMPPS, the prison and probation service, to intervene.
Recommendations and later reports
Mr Taylor said: “we sensed that leaders and their staff were doing their best and working hard to take the prison forward”. Inspectors called for more coordinated planning, urgent improvement in rehabilitation work and a clear strategy to increase staffing.
Inspectors have reported on HMP Swaleside several times since. Independent reviews of progress followed in October 2022 and September 2024, with a full inspection in December 2023. An Urgent Notification followed in December 2025 and a further full inspection in March 2026.
About this story
This story is based on HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ report on HMP Swaleside, published on 22 February 2022, following an inspection that ended in October 2021. It covers an earlier inspection: the prison’s profile has the latest findings. All figures and judgements are the inspectorate’s. Read the full inspection report · See the prison’s profile in our directory.
