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A lack of regular, purposeful activity for prisoners has been a key factor in a concerning rise in drug use and violence, according to the Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor, in his annual report; his sixth and final.
He said: “At a cost of ยฃ59,000 a year for each prison place the taxpayer has the right to expect more for their money. In the best jails prisoners live in an environment with clear rules, where they are incentivised to behave. We know that if they are supported to get work on release, recover from drug addiction and maintain meaningful relationships, it is possible to reduce their likelihood of reoffending and, crucially, create fewer victims of crime. For the first time in years, the prison service has some much-needed space in the estate. Now is the time to act and deliver much-needed, long-term change.”
He was referring to further early release of prisoners, deplored by the Police Federation which has complained that violent offenders are released far earlier than their sentence indicated.
Activity
The report summed up that widespread ingress of illicit drugs, and an ‘illicit economy’ of drug dealing remains a grave threat to stability in prisons. Mr Taylor wrote: “A failure across government to take this national security threat seriously means that many prisons are losing the fight against criminality. Senior figures in organised crime gangs seem to operate with impunity, building up successful prison networks that make enormous amounts of money.” While ‘a lack of meaningful purposeful activity’ has been ‘consistent’ in prisons, Mr Taylor pointed to ‘a worrying deterioration in activity and levels of safety for prisoners in the long-term, high-secure estate (LTHSE) in which most men are serving long sentences’. He wrote: “In the LTHSE we found worrying failings in security, with inadequate staff training, broken CCTV, netting that had not been replaced and windows that were easily breached.” Also inspected is ‘the immigration estate’; court custody, which ‘continued to show better coordination between agencies and contractors’; and young offender institutions (YOIs); apart from the well-run and effective one at Parc, ‘the rest of the youth estate remains too much too violent’, he said.
Vetting
Mr Taylor reported on ‘huge delays to vetting’ that have affected the recruitment of officers and other staff, including at prisons ‘that already suffer from chronic staffing shortages’.
Tech
As for technology, Mr Taylor said inspectors ‘found good use of body scanners, CCTV, and drone countermeasures’ – drones being used to carry contraband such as drugs into jails – yet some physical security, at gates, windows and netting, was lacking.
More reading
The report covers the findings of 84 reports published between April 2025 and March 2026. Visit www.hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk.
Review
Meanwhile the Labour Government has announced that former Conservative Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, will lead a review of the prison system. Steve Gillan, General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association (POA) complained of ‘yet another review‘.
Photo by Mark Rowe: Maidstone Prison wall.
