HMP Belmarsh

What we found

Belmarsh is a competent prison that manages several significant operational challenges. The turnover of remand or unsentenced prisoners had increased and posed a significant challenge, but recorded violence remained similar to other reception prisons and a focus on tackling gang affiliations had helped to promote positive behaviour. Use of force had increased. Although there was enough purposeful activity to provide at least part-time employment for all prisoners, only 22% of spaces in the sample reviewed were allocated and attendance was poor. A third of prisoners were locked up during working hours and some prisoners had as little as 90 minutes a day out of their cells.

Points to note: Self-harm incidents were lower than comparable jails, but just a third of prisoners being managed under assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) felt cared for. Even when prisoners were in acute crisis, often no actions had been set to address their needs and prisoners subject to constant supervision or placed in anti-tear clothing had insufficient oversight.