Ford inspection report 2023
Report for Ford Prison
Summary
Ford is an open prison in West Sussex that housed 382 prisoners at the time of our inspection. The governor, appointed in April 2022, had taken advantage of a lower roll and a full complement of staff to make some excellent progress in transforming the culture at the prison, building the confidence of officers and improving staff-prisoner relationships. He and other leaders were visible around the site and well known to prisoners and staff, and the prison was a much more positive place than it had been at our scrutiny visit during the pandemic. Prisoners liked living in the new pod accommodation that had been recently expanded, but the older parts of the jail were well past their best. There had been some refurbishment of these blocks, including new showers, but further work is required. The shabbiness of the house blocks is no excuse for those areas of the prison, such as the kitchen, that were not being properly cleaned.