Violence against staff at Woodhill Prison has increased 45% since 2023, with a ‘damning’ new inspection report revealing stark issues. Woodhill has now received a second ‘urgent notification’ meaning the Secretary of State must get to grips with improvements in the next 28 days.

This followed another inspection, of HMP Swaleside, which also found that rates of violence in the prison were ‘very high’ and that there had been ‘serious assaults’ on staff. It also reported that the prison was dirty, in need of refurbishment and that it was ‘profoundly failing’ in its core function.  

Speaking on the conditions of the two prisons, the Chief Inspector stated that, through the use of drones, the dealing of drugs was ‘rife’ and that there were ‘frightening levels’ of violence by prisoners on one another and on staff. 

Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust said that the findings were ‘deeply troubling’ and that the prisons had failed in their duty to those in their care. She clarified that the findings in the report were ‘far from isolated issues’, and that the government must respond by ensuring that the prisons fulfilled their purpose of ‘rehabilitation’ and public protection’. 

The Urgent Notification that was triggered following the inspection of HMP Woodhill is a process introduced in 2017 and serves to raise immediate issues following inspections of prisons which requires a response and action plan from the Secretary of State within 28 days. 

Woodhill and Swaleside recorded the two highest rates of assaults of any category B training prison. The rate of violence against staff in Woodhill has increased by 45% since its last inspection in 2023, where it had the highest rate of serious assaults against staff at the time. A third of these assaults had used weapons. 

Despite the appointment of an experienced Governors at Woodhill and Swaleside, the Chief Inspector believes that a change in the prison will require ‘sustained, significant support from the prison service’.