Swaleside prison: Shocking violence and gaps in public protection 

The Howard League for Penal Reform has responded after HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, announced today (Wednesday 17 December) that he has issued an urgent notification to the Secretary of State for Justice about Swaleside prison.

Inspectors visited the Kent prison between 1 and 11 December and found one of the highest rates of violence of all prisons in England and Wales. In 2025 alone, six men had been assaulted or stabbed during their first night in the jail.

Most wings in the prison were filthy, and many cells were in a poor state of repair. The inspectors also found widespread graffiti, fire damage, broken furniture, dilapidated flooring, and showers that were dirty, mouldy and poorly maintained.

Overall, a third of men told inspectors they had been assaulted by another prisoner and many said they currently felt unsafe. Staff and prisoners also reported underlying tensions between different cultural groups, with many men too frightened to go to health care appointments or use the gym. Use of force was found to be prevalent, while levels of scrutiny were lacking. The prison was also unable to share with inspectors any data at all on the use of segregation.

Inspectors noted drones, bringing in drugs and sometimes knives, were exacerbating the instability, which had not been helped by the lack of a permanent governor for many months in 2024 and 2025.

Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This alarming report typifies the chaos, violence and a lack of control that is increasingly common in the long term and high secure prison estate. Swaleside is supposed to be a training prison for men on long sentences that keeps the public safe and gives people the skills and support they need to move on from crime. But the dismal findings from this inspection reveal the opposite – violence is rife, the men are unsafe, held in squalor, and there are shocking gaps in public protection.

“This is the latest in a long line of inspections that reveal the level of disorder that exists in a prison system on the brink of collapse. Without effective leadership and reform, and proper investment, prisons such as Swaleside will continue to fail their staff, the men in their care and the public.”

Notes to editors

1. The Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the world. It is a national charity working for less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison.
2. The Chief Inspector’s letter to the Secretary of State for Justice about Swaleside prison will be published on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website: https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/
3. For detailed analysis of how sentencing policy failures have contributed to the prison capacity crisis, read our explainer article on sentence inflation: https://howardleague.org/what-is-sentence-inflation/

Contact

Noor Khan
Press and Public Affairs Officer
Tel: +44 (0)20 7241 7873
Email: [email protected]