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A–D category: Not yet verified.
Official guide description: High security prison
Official guide · Checked 13 September 2026. This wording does not establish an A–D category.
Predominant function (2025/26): Category B
Ministry of Justice performance classification. This describes the stated performance year, not a current A–D category or the categories of every prisoner.
Monthly snapshot: 24 August 2026
Operational capacity is the capacity reported for this prison in the same monthly bulletin.
Official monthly spreadsheet · Ministry of Justice publication
Prison site location
View on the prisons map
Location information checked 13 September 2026.
19 March 2026
Our inspection of Swaleside, a category B training prison on the Isle of Sheppey, revealed a prison in disarray, with the lowest scores in my five years as chief inspector. Containing 879 men, most of whom were serving long or indeterminate sentences, levels of violence…
17 December 2025
Urgent Notification for HMP Swaleside issued 15 December 2025. Inspection debriefing paper HMP Swaleside debrief paper ( PDF, 268 KB ) ( PDF, 268 KB ) HM INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS 3rd floor 10 South Colonnade Canary Wharf London E14 4PU Tel: 020 3334 0353 E-mail:[email protected]…
23 September 2024
Report on an independent review of progress at HMP Swaleside by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (12-14 August 2024) Over the last year drones delivering drugs and other illicit items had become a major problem that clearly impacted almost all the concerns reviewed at this…
12 December 2023
First opened in the 1980s and located on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, Swaleside is a category B training prison currently able to hold 839 adult men. This constitutes a temporary reduction in population, although at the time of our inspection there were advanced…
5 October 2022
we found that the shortage of officers was worse than at our last inspection leading to very limited time out of cell (see Glossary of terms) for most prisoners. Leaders (see Glossary of terms) were unable to address the issue locally as the Ministry of…
22 February 2022
HMP Swaleside is a category B training prison for adult men and is part of HM Prison and Probation Service’s (HMPPS) long term and high security estate. Built mostly in the late 1980s and located on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, the prison was…
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