Low Newton inspection report 2026
Summary
This busy County Durham prison held 267 women, including those serving long sentences, on remand or on short recalls. Our scores of good for our safety, respect and preparation for release, and reasonably good for purposeful activity, reflect a well-run, decent prison whose success was underpinned by the quality of relationships between staff and prisoners. The governor, who took over in January 2024, was behind many of the positives we saw on this visit. His particular focus had been to improve the culture, creating an environment that was more supportive to the many very troubled women in his care. He had built a leadership team that was strongly behind his vision, and he was beginning to transform the way in which staff understood and interacted with the women. There remained some officers who were not yet comfortable with the new approach.