Brixton inspection report 2024
Report for Brixton Prison
Summary
Dating from the beginning of the 19th century, Brixton is one of the oldest prisons in the country and is now a category C resettlement prison serving South London and the wider region. With capacity for up to 798 prisoners, about 740 were in residence at the time of our inspection, although this figure belies the conditions behind the prison’s walls: Brixton remains the most overcrowded category C prison in the country. The throughput of prisoners is considerable, with around 140 men being released each month. Compounding these issues, the jail holds a complex population with a large proportion of prisoners experiencing substance misuse and/or mental health challenges. This is the third time we have been to Brixton since 2022, a year in which we carried out both a full inspection and an independent review of progress. At that time, we described a struggling institution where outcomes were assessed as ‘poor’ in two of our healthy prison tests, respect and purposeful activity, with outcomes being only a little better in safety and preparation for release.