Erlestoke inspection report 2024
Report for Erlestoke Prison
Summary
Erlestoke, in rural Wiltshire, is a category C prison for men serving sentences of over 10 years that held 503 prisoners at the time of this inspection. At our last inspection in 2021, we were concerned enough by our findings to come back to the jail for a review in 2022. On our return, we found that the prison, with additional funding from the prison service, was beginning to make some progress. I am therefore disappointed to report that momentum has been lost and the improvements have not been sustained. Erlestoke is supposed to be a national resource that represents a progressive move for prisoners coming from other jails but, on this inspection, many prisoners had limited work and training opportunities and drug-taking was rife. Sixty per cent of prisoners we surveyed told us it was easy to get hold of drugs.