Issued by: Ministry of Justice

Refurbishments, extra staff training and a review of security will take place at HMP Rochester in response to concerns raised by the Chief Inspector of Prisons.

- Conditions set to be improved through priority works to cells and living areas

- Extra support for senior leaders will be urgently deployed

- Inspectors found “chaotic” wings and only a third of prisoners in education

Refurbishments, extra staff training and a review of security will take place at HMP Rochester in response to concerns raised by the Chief Inspector of Prisons.

The prison received an Urgent Notification at the beginning of September, after inspectors found “endemic” drug use, increasing levels of violence and less than a third of prisoners in purposeful activity.

The Prison Service will conduct a full assessment of the prison’s security measures to tackle drug use and is urgently deploying extra support for senior leaders.

The prison will also deliver an improved programme of staff training, including on how to better support prisoners at risk of harm and prison security procedures.

The inspection also raised serious concerns around dilapidated accommodation, with inspectors describing it as “some of the worst conditions seen in recent years”. Priority cells, showers and windows will be refurbished immediately to ensure staff and prisoners have an adequate environment in which to live and work.

Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Lord James Timpson, said:

"This report is yet another example of the prison crisis we inherited. Violence and illicit drug use is at dangerously high levels and cells are in squalid conditions.

"We are taking immediate action to improve conditions at HMP Rochester, offering additional support for our hard-working staff and addressing the drivers of violence."

The inspectors also highlighted that Rochester was failing in its rehabilitative purpose as a prison, with less than one third of the population engaged in purposeful activity during the working day. The prison is developing a new curriculum to get more prisoners into training and education that will help them find work on release.

The Urgent Notification at HMP Rochester marked the first category C prison, and the fourth prison overall in the last 12 months, to receive the worst possible result under HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ inspection framework.

The government is tackling the crisis it inherited and has already taken action to reduce overcrowding that is contributing to violence, pressure on staff and a decline in education and training.

The Urgent Notification process was introduced in 2017 to ensure immediate, urgent action was taken when necessary to address serious concerns identified by inspectors.

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