HMP Brixton: severely overcrowded jail failing to provide education and training or reduce men’s risk ahead of release
Brixton is a category C training and resettlement prison in the heart of London holding a complex population with a large proportion of men convicted of sexual offences, significant levels of mental health need and substance misuse.
Despite around 140 men being released each month, the prison was failing to prepare prisoners for their return back into the community. There remained no accredited offending behaviour programmes and this hampered work to reduce risk, especially for those convicted of sexual offences. Despite efforts to negotiate transfer of prisoners to other prisons that offered suitable programmes, no prisoners had yet been transferred for that purpose.
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.
The prison was also failing to provide men with enough to do within prison walls: while the number of unemployed prisoners was not clear, with the prison providing figures ranging from 17-25%, what was clear was the inadequacy in provision of education, skills and work. There were insufficient activity spaces on courses prisoners needed to study and many work and education sessions did not take place at all.
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. A ‘safety summit’ on the causes of violence connected drugs, mobiles and debt as the main drivers, but initiatives like this were yet to have an impact on effective action or change. Self-harm, while lower than at comparable prisons, increased 38% since the last inspection and not enough was being done to prevent it. Learning from near misses did not always take place and night staff did not routinely carry anti-ligature knives or know who in their care was at risk of self-harm.
We met many dedicated staff at Brixton and found much to commend, but fundamentally the prison was failing to deliver on its intended role as a training and resettlement prison.
Notes to editors
- This inspection took place 4-21 June 2024. At the time of the inspection, the prison held 740 men. The operational capacity of Brixton is 798 men.
- A copy of the full report, published on 24 September 2024, can be found on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website: HMP Brixton
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
- Please email media@hmiprisons.gov.uk if you would like more information.