Lord Chancellor orders urgent action to improve HMP Wandsworth – uk.gov

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) issued an Urgent Notification in May after finding that HMP Wandsworth had alarmingly high rates of self-harm, dangerous levels of violence and nearly 50 per cent of prisoners taking drugs.

As the inspectorate recognised, the level of chaos at HMP Wandsworth was typical of a prison system crippled by the overcrowding crisis with over 80 per cent of offenders at the jail sharing cells designed to hold one person.  

The report also revealed how crumbling infrastructure, inadequate security measures and consistent staffing pressures had contributed to the prison’s unacceptable rating.  

The government is immediately addressing the inspectorate’s concerns by deploying extra specialist staff to help turn the jail around and redirecting £100 million from across the Prison Service that will be spent over 5 years to deliver urgent improvements. This includes cell windows being repaired, shower refurbishments and investment in fire safety measures.  

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said:  

This is the reality of a prison system in crisis. Cells are overcrowded, infrastructure is crumbling and our hard-working prison staff are at risk of violence and harm.  

Our staff deserve better and we are taking immediate action at HMP Wandsworth to do what is necessary to protect the public, lock up dangerous offenders and make prisons safe for the brave staff who work there.

Other measures to bolster prison security and safety at HMP Wandsworth include: 

• the deployment of specialist security and drug staff and introduction of new leadership
• regular beefed-up drug searches from specialist drug detection teams
• advanced violent reduction training sessions available to prison staff
• improved access to rehabilitative services, such as education and employment workshops for prisoners

The inspection of HMP Wandsworth was the sixth since May 2022 that resulted in an Urgent Notification – the worst possible result under HMIP’s current inspection framework – and is why the Lord Chancellor has today published an urgent action plan to address the prison’s failings. 

The Lord Chancellor took immediate action in her first week to avoid a breakdown of law and order due to the overcrowding crisis in prisons that risked a breakdown of law and order with police unable to make arrests.  

This includes being able to stop the End of Custody Supervised Licence Scheme and giving probation staff more time to plan for an offender’s release by temporarily reducing the release point of some standard determinate sentences from 50 to 40 per cent with important safeguards and exemptions to keep the public safe.  

Sentences for serious violent offences of four years or more, as well as sex offences, will be automatically excluded, and, in an important distinction from the End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme, the early release of offenders in prison for domestic-abuse connected crimes will also be excluded. 

The Urgent Notification process was introduced in 2017 to ensure immediate, urgent action was taken when necessary to address serious concerns identified by inspectors.