Belmarsh inspection report 2021
Report for Belmarsh Prison
Summary
Belmarsh is a high-security, men’s prison in south-east London that held 675 men at the time of our inspection, of whom nearly 60% were unsentenced and 17% were category A prisoners. Within the jail there is also high secure unit. The prison services the London courts, particularly Woolwich and the Old Bailey, but because of reduced courtroom space created by COVID-19 restrictions, prisoners had been attending courts further afield. This had led to a strain on resources in the prison because more staff were required for escort duty. While maintaining a strong security focus, the governor had set out to improve relationships between officers and prisoners and to create a more representative and caring staff team. Although this change was not manifested in our survey results, inspectors commented on the many positive interactions they saw in the jail and prisoners often told us.
Inspection ratings
Findings
Priority concerns
HMIP later summarised the 2021 concerns as high levels of violence, inadequate governance of use of force, poor use of data and severely limited time out of cell.
Other key concerns
Violence; use of force governance; data use; time out of cell.