Birmingham inspection report 2023

Summary

The inspection of HMP Birmingham in the summer of 2018 led to an Urgent Notification to the Secretary of State, in which the then Chief Inspector of Prisons described: ‘a prison that was rife with drugs and violence, a staff team that had retreated to wing offices for their own safety and prisoners held in conditions of utter squalor.’ I am delighted to report that our latest inspection of this large, inner-city reception jail found that it was much safer and more decent. Much of the credit for this transformation must go to the governor, who took over in 2018 and had applied a relentless effort to improve standards. He had focused on reducing the ingress of drugs, including dealing with some serious staff corruption issues. With the supply of drugs far lower than in 2018 there has been a fall in violence by more than 60%. He had also sought to improve the competence and capability of his staff and restore authority and order to the jail. The leadership team, which was wellmotivated and supportive of the governor’s priorities, had helped to improve stability.

Inspection ratings