HMP Winchester
Inspection report - Winchester (PDF, 1.8 MB)
Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Winchester by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (7-18 October 2024)
We issued an Urgent Notification for this prison on 23 October 2024
Winchester healthy prison scores
- poor for safety
- poor for respect
- poor for purposeful activity
- reasonably good for preparation for release.
What we found
Self-harm was now among the highest in the prison estate, and prisoners were especially frustrated by an inability to use phones to contact their families. In the Inspectorate’s survey of prisoners, over a quarter said they currently felt unsafe and 57% said they had felt unsafe at some point in the jail.
A staggering 47% of prisoners who responded to the survey said it was easy to get illicit drugs, and 41% had tested positive in random drug testing, which had only recommenced in August. Security was seriously compromised across the site: more than a third of CCTV cameras were broken and damage to the fabric of the building had resulted in one prisoner being able to remove his own cell door. Offensive graffiti, insufficient furniture and, in some cases, damp and mould that was so bad that inspectors questioned if some cells were actually for habitation, further added to a pervasive sense of neglect and dilapidation.