HMP Brixton
Inspection report - Brixton (PDF, 1.9 MB)
Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Brixton by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (4-21 June 2024)
Brixton healthy prison scores
What we found
There was an ongoing failure by national leaders to take advantage of Brixton’s location in terms of the many local employment opportunities. No prisoners were being released on temporary licence and many staff told us that the prison did not have enough space or infrastructure to be an effective category C resettlement jail. At the time of the inspection the employment hub was closed and the employment advisory board had been disbanded.
With 66% of prisoners in shared cells designed for one person, Brixton is the most overcrowded category C prison in the country. Cells designed with toilets in the middle made it impossible to have enough furniture for two prisoners, and fresh air out of these cramped, dirty cells was limited. Some prisoners on the basic regime had just 45 minutes a day to shower and go outside.
With nothing to do with their time and confined to their cells, many prisoners were turning to drugs: 450 prisoners were receiving support for substance misuse, and 42% of prisoners said it was easy to get illicit drugs.