HMP Rochester Receives Urgent Notification for Systemic Failures
HMP Rochester in Kent has received an urgent notification due to systemic failure and decline. An inspection found rising violence, drug use, and inadequate activities for inmate rehabilitation. The prison's poor conditions and ineffective management led to severe concerns requiring immediate intervention.
HMP Rochester in Kent has been issued an urgent notification after a decade of systemic failure and decline.
It is the first Category C prison, typically focused on training and resettlement, to receive such a notice since the introduction of the urgent notification process in 2017.
An unannounced inspection from 12 to 22 August revealed dire conditions, increasing violence, self-harm, drug use, and an almost complete lack of activities preparing inmates for release.
The prison, which has been consistently poorly rated over the past decade, was found to have inadequate public protection work and an ineffective offender management unit.
Conditions were squalid, with infestations of rats and mice, and prisoner assaults rose by 67% over the past year.
The Ministry of Justice has been approached for comment.
It is the first Category C prison, typically focused on training and resettlement, to receive such a notice since the introduction of the urgent notification process in 2017.
An unannounced inspection from 12 to 22 August revealed dire conditions, increasing violence, self-harm, drug use, and an almost complete lack of activities preparing inmates for release.
The prison, which has been consistently poorly rated over the past decade, was found to have inadequate public protection work and an ineffective offender management unit.
Conditions were squalid, with infestations of rats and mice, and prisoner assaults rose by 67% over the past year.
The Ministry of Justice has been approached for comment.
