HMP Bedford
Inspection report - Bedford (PDF, 1.8 MB)
Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Bedford by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (30 October - 9 November 2023)
We issued an Urgent Notification for this prison on 15 November 2023.
Bedford healthy prison scores
What we found
An inner-city, Victorian reception prison, Bedford held prisoners in some of the worst conditions inspectors have seen. Filthy floors and serveries compounded the overcrowded conditions in which most prisoners were held, while many cells had broken furniture and windows and were covered in graffiti. Some cells were damp and had problems with mould, and on days of heavy rain the segregation unit ran with sewage. The jail was also battling infestations with rats and cockroaches.
Some of the accommodation in Bedford was the worst I have seen. The smell of mould in one cell was overpowering, with the walls damp to the touch, while the underground segregation unit, which held acutely mentally unwell men, was a disgrace. If our prisons are truly going to protect the public, then they must be able to play their part in supporting men and women to move on from offending. Penning people in squalor for 23 hours a day with no meaningful access to education, training or work, or to fresh air or exercise is not going to achieve that, as the levels of violence and self-harm at Bedford attest.
Inspectors were particularly concerned about the increase in levels of self-harm and the fragility of the support for the most vulnerable prisoners, particularly as there had been a serious deterioration in mental health services. Levels of violence remained very high, particularly assaults on staff which were among the highest in the country. Much of this was the result of the limited time that prisoners had out of cell to escape their terrible living conditions in the fresh air and with anything meaningful to occupy their time.