Downview

Overcrowding

86%

Average: 107%

• Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA): 356

• Population: 307

Downview is a closed women’s prison in Sutton for ages 18 and over. Downview was temporarily closed and converted to a category C men’s prison in 2015, however before it was re-opened the Ministry of Justice announced that it would become a women’s prison again to hold women from London following the closure of Holloway prison. Women began being transferred to Downview from Holloway in May 2016.

Read Downview’s latest inspection report here.

About this information

Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) is the prison service’s own measure of how many prisoners can be held in decent and safe accommodation. Any occupancy above CNA means that the prison in question is overcrowded.

Restricted status: women placed on restricted status are deemed to pose a high risk to the public if they were to escape. They are held in closed women’s prisons, and sometimes placed in the segregation unit.

Closed prisons: the majority of women’s prisons are closed prisons. Women who are assessed as not being suitable for open conditions are held in these prisons.

Open prisons: there are two open prisons for women, Askham Grange and East Sutton Park. They hold women who have been assessed as posing a low risk.