The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a Crown Censure to HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) over radon at HMP Dartmoor. The watchdog acted after a major investigation into the management of the radioactive gas at the prison.
The HSE formally notified HMPPS of its decision. It found that, following measurement of the gas in 2023, prisoners and staff faced levels far above the safe limit for “prolonged lengths of time”.
The HSE took enforcement action in February and again in December 2023. In 2024 HMPPS cleared out the prison, which had held 700 men, and mothballed it.
A number of former prisoners and staff at Dartmoor are now considering taking action against HMPPS over the matter.
A Crown Censure is the toughest sanction the HSE can take against a Crown body. It is not a formal finding of guilt. However, it is the equivalent of a decision to authorise criminal charges.
A formal hearing will now take place to confirm the censure. Once confirmed, a censure serves as an official reprimand. It also leaves a lasting public record that a Crown body failed to comply with the law. Crown properties do not face fines.
Crown Censures are rare. There have been 44 in the past 27 years. Five of them concerned HMPPS, and two more involved the Scottish Prison Service.
The last censure against HMPPS followed a 2018 training exercise in which officers simulated being petrol bombed. The trainers had not taken precautions, and the flames left a number of participants badly injured. Some needed skin grafts.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The wellbeing and safety of staff and prisoners is our priority. Since 2022 we have strengthened radon monitoring and mitigation across the estate.”
The spokesperson acknowledged the HSE decision to begin Crown Censure proceedings. It would be inappropriate to comment further while the proceedings continued, the spokesperson added.
HMP Dartmoor is a Category C prison for men in the South West. Its last full inspection, in October 2023, rated safety and rehabilitation and release planning as reasonably good. Inspectors judged respect not sufficiently good and purposeful activity poor.
