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New prison officer training to tackle manipulation and illicit relationships
HMPPS is reportedly building lessons on spotting manipulation into a new 12-month programme for officers, after dozens of female staff ended up in court.
HMPPS
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Ombudsman warns over deaths of at-risk prisoners in segregation units
Eight of the 14 prisoners who died in segregation units between April 2024 and December 2025 were on suicide and self-harm monitoring, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has found.
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New vetting rules bar many former prisoners from working in jails
HMPPS guidance taking effect on 1 April automatically excludes people with certain convictions from prison roles. Charities want decisions based on individual risk rather than offence type.
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Wheelchair user held a week past her release date wins £14,000 compensation
A woman unlawfully detained for seven days in a women’s prison, then released after dark with no transport or support, has received £14,000 in damages.
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Inspectors give mixed ratings to Approved Premises in Northampton and Wrexham
HM Inspectorate of Probation rated Bridgewood in Northampton as requiring improvement and Plas y Wern in Wrexham as good, in its eighth and ninth visits to Approved Premises.
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Probation Service is failing, Public Accounts Committee warns
The committee’s report finds recalls at a record high, a sharp fall in the quality of risk assessments and staff working well beyond capacity.
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Prison drug budgets underspent as threats grow, spending watchdog finds
The National Audit Office says the prison and health services must act faster on security and work together better, with half of prisoners having an identified drug problem.
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HMP Doncaster to gain new workshops after inspectors criticise lack of activity
Two portable workshop buildings due by March 2026 will add 80 activity places a session, according to the Prison Service’s response to an inspection report.
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MPs criticise prison service over £4m-a-year lease on empty HMP Dartmoor
The Public Accounts Committee says HMPPS wasted taxpayers’ money by signing a new lease for the radon-affected prison, which it cannot leave until at least 2033.