A report into HMP Hull has found the prison has “relatively low” levels of violence but a growing problem with drug-taking.
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons visited between April 14 and 16 and published its findings last Tuesday. HMP Hull serves local courts and holds a significant number of prisoners “convicted of or charged with sexual offences”, the report said.
The review visit was made to follow up on concerned raised at an inspection last year. It said “levels of violence remained relatively low but positive drug test results had increased”.
It said, in the previous inspection, 40% of prisoners surveyed said it was easy to obtain drugs. Another concern raised at the time was that many prisoners were “locked up for over 22 hours a day”.
Even when prisoners were unlocked, they “had little access to any on-wing activities” and their “attendance at education was also poor and many workshops were closed”.
The latest report noted improvements in many areas. It said “good work” was being carried out to improve housing outcomes for inmates upon release, but this was “not yet reducing the numbers being released homeless”.
Drugs use was previously flagged as a concern but “there were signs that this type of incident was now gradually reducing” and “intelligence-led cell searching was appropriately resourced to reduce the availability of illicit items”.
However, the report also found the prison “remained very overcrowded”. It said nearly two-thirds of prisoners lived in cells originally built for one and there had been “insufficient support from HMPPS” to improve this.
It added that violence “remained comparably low but self-harm was increasing”. There were plans in place to improve safety outcomes and “time out of cell and attendance at activities had improved”.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This Government inherited a prison system in crisis – overcrowded, with drugs and violence rife. While we have seen notable improvements since the last inspection, we fully acknowledge the challenges that remain at HMP Hull.
“We are already addressing the concerns raised, including work to upskill staff so they can better reduce the risk of self-harm. This is on top of landmark sentencing reforms announced last week to reduce pressure on our prisons.”
On May 23, the Justice Secretary announced sentencing reforms following recommendations made by former Justice Secretary David Gauke in an independent review, with the aim of ensuring prisons cut crime, boost rehabilitation and reduce reoffending.
The Ministry of Justice’s 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy outlines a target of 14,000 new prison places by 2031, driven by £2.3 billion towards prison builds over 24/25 and 25/26.
This follows the net capacity of the prison estate increasing by just 500 places between May 2010 and July 2024.