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HMP Leeds: inspectors find deaths, overcrowding and lock-up worsening at reception prison
Inspectors rated HMP Leeds poor for safety and purposeful activity after finding that outcomes had fallen across every healthy prison test since 2022.
Overcrowding
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HMP Brixton rated poor for activity and release work at most overcrowded category C jail
Inspectors found the south London resettlement prison was failing at its core task of preparing men for release. Ofsted rated education inadequate, and nearly a third of men felt unsafe.
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Most men at HMP Durham spent 22 hours a day or more locked up, inspectors found
Inspectors rated the overcrowded reception prison poor for purposeful activity and found a thriving drugs market, but said new leadership gave cause for cautious optimism.
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HMP Dartmoor failing as a training prison, with regime curtailed most of the time
Inspectors found the regime at the Devon jail was curtailed more than 80% of the time without leaders knowing, and rated purposeful activity poor. The prison has since closed temporarily for radon-related works.
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Overcrowded Pentonville could not safely care for its prisoners, inspectors found in 2022
The inspectorate's report on HMP Pentonville, published in October 2022, found violence had fallen and safety had improved, but overcrowding, long lock-ups and weak offender management left outcomes short of good in every area.
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HMP Leeds well led but deaths remained high, inspectors found in 2022
The inspectorate's report on the Victorian reception prison, published in September 2022, praised its leadership and cleanliness but recorded 28 deaths since 2019 and poor time out of cell.
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HMP Lincoln much safer but overcrowding persisted, inspectors found in 2020
An inspection report on HMP & YOI Lincoln, published in April 2020, found clear improvement since 2017, with good relationships between staff and prisoners, but severe overcrowding and too many men released homeless.
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HMP Wandsworth: cell bells went unanswered in overcrowded prison, inspectors found in 2018
A report published in July 2018 found HMP Wandsworth overcrowded, with cell bells ignored and 42% of men locked up during the working day, though release planning had improved.