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HM Prison Gartree is a Category B men's prison, located in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, England. Gartree is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
—
Current population
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Occupancy
—
Year opened
1965
Operational
Figures from official sources · verified 6 Jul 2026 · methodology
Operator
His Majesty's Prison ServicePopulation held
Mixed/unknown
Opened
1965
Region
—
Security level
—
Death-row facility
No
Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction • Prisoner movements in and out of Gartree are infrequent due to its categorisation as a prison for men serving life sentences; however, over the past reporting period there has been a re-allocation of prisoners to fill the ‘empty’ wing (after fire safety work was completed). The reception function has handled this well and reported issues have related mainly to [...] Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food • As with past reports, the Board once again highlights concern about the ongoing deterioration of the fabric and infrastructure at Gartree. The Board continues to hear complaints about the inadequate heating at Gartree. Despite some new generators/boilers being installed there are still regular problems reported, where heating/hot water does not work on selected [...] Purposeful activity: • For the majority of the reporting period, Milton Keynes College was the education provider. However, their contract ended and this function has been taken over by People Plus Group. • The Board is aware that there have been significant reductions to the education • The Board is aware that there have been significant reductions to the education provision and courses provided. • There is still an [...] Preparation for release: • Progression work continues to be challenging, with the number of resettlement courses being limited, exacerbated by the long sentences and the earlier in their sentence plan that prisoners are entering into Gartree. • There has been an increase in prisoners transferring to category C prisons, • There has been an increase in prisoners transferring to category C prisons, making space for new [...] — UK IMB Annual Report (2024) — Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction • Prisoner movements in and out of Gartree are infrequent due to its categorisation as a prison for men serving life sentences; however, over the past reporting period there has been a re-allocation of prisoners to fill the ‘empty’ wing (after fire safety work was completed). The reception function has handled this well and reported issues have related mainly to [...] Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food • As with past reports, the Board once again highlights concern about the ongoing deterioration of the fabric and infrastructure at Gartree. The Board continues to hear complaints about the inadequate heating at Gartree. Despite some new generators/boilers being installed there are still regular problems reported, where heating/hot water does not work on selected [...] Purposeful activity: • For the majority of the reporting period, Milton Keynes College was the education provider. However, their contract ended and this function has been taken over by People Plus Group. • The Board is aware that there have been significant reductions to the education • The Board is aware that there have been significant reductions to the education provision and courses provided. • There is still an [...] Preparation for release: • Progression work continues to be challenging, with the number of resettlement courses being limited, exacerbated by the long sentences and the earlier in their sentence plan that prisoners are entering into Gartree. • There has been an increase in prisoners transferring to category C prisons, • There has been an increase in prisoners transferring to category C prisons, making space for new [...]
No visiting information available.
No mailing information available.
Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.
No major issues documented in our database.
No public contact details available.
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
What the score is responding to:
This facility scores 12. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 8 points above national average.
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
4.1 Reception and induction • Prisoner movements in and out of Gartree are infrequent due to its categorisation as a prison for men serving life sentences; however, over the past reporting period there has been a re-allocation of prisoners to fill the ‘empty’ wing (after fire safety work was completed). The reception function has handled this well and reported issues have related mainly to property lost or delayed on transfer. • New arrivals are given inductions / first night safety interviews to help identify • New arrivals are given inductions / first night safety interviews to help identify risks and vulnerabilities until full inductions can be carried out on G wing (and now D wing) the next day. The Board often receives complaints about basic items such as bedding, plates, cutlery and clothing not being provided on or soon after arrival. Supplies of some basic items continues to be an issue. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody • Once again, the number of ACCT documents opened has increased over the past year from 243 in 2023/24 to 266 in 2024/25. See Table 1 and 2 below. • Prisoners with an ACCT (assessment, care in custody and teamwork) review are • Prisoners with an ACCT (assessment, care in custody and teamwork) review are recorded on the daily briefing sheet. Prisoners on ACCTs (and in post closure) are discussed at the weekly safety intervention meeting (SIM) to ensure prison staff and other professionals work together as a multi-disciplinary team to agree [...]
• Progression work continues to be challenging, with the number of resettlement courses being limited, exacerbated by the long sentences and the earlier in their sentence plan that prisoners are entering into Gartree. • There has been an increase in prisoners transferring to category C prisons, • There has been an increase in prisoners transferring to category C prisons, making space for new category B prisoners who are earlier in their sentences. • In line with the Security Categorisation Framework, those serving indeterminate • In line with the Security Categorisation Framework, those serving indeterminate sentences have their review as part of the scheduled sentence planning reviews (these are every three years for ISPs). This continues to cause frustration to some prisoners who lose the incentive to behave/progress. • The high number of IPP prisoners at Gartree continues to be a cause for --- • Gartree has a young adult (YA) strategy and uses a range of measures to support the YA population (age 21-25), who form a growing number of the prison population. The Board is encouraged by the work being undertaken around, safety, wellbeing, building family ties and sentence planning. • Management of the self-isolating (SI) prisoners seems to have improved, with • Management of the self-isolating (SI) prisoners seems to have improved, with some long-term self-isolators being reintegrated into the normal regime. However, the Board remains concerned that these prisoners may not [...]
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food • As with past reports, the Board once again highlights concern about the ongoing deterioration of the fabric and infrastructure at Gartree. The Board continues to hear complaints about the inadequate heating at Gartree. Despite some new generators/boilers being installed there are still regular problems reported, where heating/hot water does not work on selected wings. • Poor condition of the buildings and cleanliness continues to be an issue on some • Poor condition of the buildings and cleanliness continues to be an issue on some wings and communal areas. We have found servery areas, association rooms and stairwells dirty, with leftover food and rubbish lying around. It is unfortunate as on some wings the communal areas are clean and well-kept and despite the poor fabric and condition of the establishment, staff and some prisoners make efforts to maintain clean and tidy living conditions as best they can. • The Board has received many complaints about beds (slats missing, dirty and • The Board has received many complaints about beds (slats missing, dirty and old mattresses), broken or missing cell furniture, nowhere to sit and eat in cells. • Some prisoners with disabilities and/or mobility issues living on G and H wing • Some prisoners with disabilities and/or mobility issues living on G and H wing have voiced concerns to the Board about issues they experience in accessing healthcare facilities. The prison does refer to social care and [...]
• For the majority of the reporting period, Milton Keynes College was the education provider. However, their contract ended and this function has been taken over by People Plus Group. • The Board is aware that there have been significant reductions to the education • The Board is aware that there have been significant reductions to the education provision and courses provided. • There is still an emphasis on promoting/providing maths and English Level 2. • There is still an emphasis on promoting/providing maths and English Level 2. • Some of the prisoners working in the workshops and studio have asked for • Some of the prisoners working in the workshops and studio have asked for access to more vocational courses. They are also keen to explore how their skills could be used to provided services that could help the wider community. • The kitchen continues to provide vocational work (and training) but some of the prisoners working there remain frustrated by the working conditions and lower levels of pay. • Workshops offer a range of jobs, from the less skilled (airline headphone • Workshops offer a range of jobs, from the less skilled (airline headphone refurb/packaging) to the more skilled (sewing shops and a bicycle refurbishment shop) alongside gardening, recycling, print studio and a laundry. • The workshops are run by enthusiastic and well-informed staff, and prisoners • The workshops are run by enthusiastic and well-informed staff, and prisoners engaged in work tend to be [...]
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World Prisons. (2026). HM Prison Gartree. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hm-prison-gartree
"HM Prison Gartree." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hm-prison-gartree.
@misc{worldprisons-hm-prison-gartree,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HM Prison Gartree},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hm-prison-gartree},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}