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UK Local prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
Background
HMP Bristol (previously known as Horfield Prison) is a Category B men's local prison, located in the Horfield area of Bristol. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
This review visit followed up on the concerns we raised at our last the following judgements about outcomes for prisoners. Figure 1: HMP Bristol healthy prison outcomes in 2019 and 2023 Bristol has had a very troubled recent history; its conditions were so country, with levels of recorded violence – including serious assaults on both staff and prisoners – higher than in most other adult prisons. The prison was understaffed and so most prisoners were locked up for improvements since the inspection. Of the nine areas of concern that Leaders had addressed the staff shortfalls we saw previously, which violence.
— UK IMB Annual Report (2024) —
Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction All prisoners entering and leaving HMP Bristol go through the reception unit. The staff in the unit are supported by reception orderlies, who provide peer mentoring support to the new arrivals. The number of new arrivals can be up to 20 prisoners a day plus returns from court cases, hospital visits and prison transfers. Arrivals now come from a wider area, due to [...]
Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Bristol prison is mainly a Victorian prison built over 150 years ago, with two additional wing blocks built in the 1960s. The typical situation is that cells are occupied by two prisoners in cells originally designed for one. Single occupancy is only for exceptional cases. The prison Governor has assured the IMB that the double occupancy of these cells is [...]
Purposeful activity: Educational opportunities at the prison are good, if they are taken up. There is currently an average attendance of 67% in education and there is a focused effort to improve that through more effective allocations. There are small number of prisoners (circa 20 to 30) who refuse to engage with education or work. A dedicated custodial manager for regime is now working consistently across the week [...]
Preparation for release: The offender management unit (OMU) team at HMP Bristol has a heavy workload. They process over 150 prisoner releases each month on average but remain approachable 21 and helpful to the IMB. They have faced additional challenges this year with the additional processing required by the early release schemes and also with additional recalls. The IMB has seen a small increase in applications from [...]
Progression: Overall, prisoners engaged in purposeful activity (e.g. education and work) increased from 62% in July 2024 to 68% in July 2025.
Visiting
This review visit followed up on the concerns we raised at our last What we found during this review visit At this IRP visit, we followed up six concerns from our most recent concurrent prison monitoring visit.
Mailing
the Urgent Notification (UN) process on 28 July 2023. In that letter, and in the protocol, the Secretary of State commits to respond publicly to my letter within As I indicated in my UN letter, it was very concerning that this was the second
Practical info
Note: rehabilitation and release planning became ‘preparation for release’ in October 2023. team had worked hard to stabilise the prison and then made substantial for prisoners being released back into the community. presenting with substance misuse issues and a fifth in need of mental health for both safety and purposeful activity.
Known issues
country, with levels of recorded violence – including serious assaults on hopelessness among many. The incidence of self-harm was very high and there had been eight self-inflicted deaths since our last inspection. violence. It was also positive that there was now some better support should be commended; however, this progress is fragile.
Contact & address
HMP Bristol 19 Cambridge Road Bristol BS7 8PS See map Help us to improve this page. Give us your feedback in this 2-minute survey ., Bristol BS7 8PS
Higher risk than 86% of peer facilities in United Kingdom.
Capacity (beds)this: 614 · peers avg: 572 (+7%)
Reports
HMIP24 Jun 2024
1.1
HMP Bristol is a category B reception prison holding up to 580 adult
men.
1.2
This review visit followed up on the concerns we raised at our last
inspection of HMP Bristol in 2023.
What we found at our last inspection
1.3
At our previous inspections of HMP Bristol in 2019 and 2023 we made
the following judgements about outcomes for prisoners.
Figure 1: HMP Bristol healthy prison outcomes in 2019 and 2023
Note: rehabilitation and release planning became ‘preparation for release’ in October 2023.
1.4
Bristol has had a very troubled recent history; its conditions were so
bad at the previous two inspections that we wrote to the Secretary of
State invoking the Urgent Notification process (see Glossary). In 2023
we did this because the prison was one of the most unsafe in the
country, with levels of recorded violence – including serious assaults on
both staff and prisoners – higher than in most other adult prisons. The
prison was understaffed and so most prisoners were locked up for
almost 22 hours a day, which undoubtedly contributed to a sense of
hopelessness among many. The incidence of self-harm was very high
and there had been eight self-inflicted deaths since our last inspection.
In addition, one man had also recently been charged with murdering
his cellmate.
Report of an independent review of progress at HMP Bristol
What we found during this review visit
1.5
At this independent review of progress we found the governor and her
team had worked hard to stabilise the prison and then made substantial
improvements since the inspection. Of the nine areas of concern that
we assessed, progress was reasonably good or better in eight and
insufficient in just one.
1.6
Leaders had addressed the staff shortfalls we saw previously, which
had enabled them to run a consistent daily routine for prisoners. The
governor had set ambitious targets that all prisoners should be
allocated to activity and that attendance should be higher than 80%.
While this had not yet been achieved, improved oversight and drive
had led to many more prisoners being employed productively during
their time at Bristol. This certainly made prisoners feel less frustrated
and, alongside other proactive measures, had reduced levels of
violence. It was also positive that there was now some better support
for prisoners being released back into the community.
1.7
The progress made by the governor, her leadership team and staff
should be commended; however, this progress is fragile. Violence,
while reduced, remains higher than in most other reception prisons and
levels of self-harm have not yet come down. To consolidate and build
on the gains made that we note in this report, the governor will need
continued support from HMPPS.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
July 2024
Report of an independent review of progress at HMP Bristol
Section 2 Key findings
2.1
At this IRP visit, we followed up six concerns from our most recent
inspection in July 2023 and Ofsted followed up three themes based on
their latest inspection of the prison.
2.2
HMI Prisons judged that there was good progress in four concerns,
reasonable progress in one concern and insufficient progress in one
concern.
Figure 2: Progress on HMI Prisons concerns from July 2023 inspection (n=6)
This bar chart excludes any concerns that were followed up as part of a theme within Ofsted’s
concurrent prison monitoring visit.
2.3
Ofsted judged that there was reasonable progress in all three themes.
Figure 3: Progress on Ofsted themes from July 2023 inspection (n=3).
Report of an independent review of progress at HMP Bristol
Notable positive practice
2.4
We define notable positive practice as:
Evidence of our expectations being met to deliver particularly good
outcomes for prisoners, and/or particularly original or creative approaches
to problem-solving.
2.5
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Bristol prison is mainly a Victorian prison built over 150 years ago, with two additional wing blocks built in the 1960s. The typical situation is that cells are occupied by two prisoners in cells originally designed for one. Single occupancy is only for exceptional cases. The prison Governor has assured the IMB that the double occupancy of these cells is consistent with the national rules in the Prison Service instructions. Nearly all prisoners spend most of their time in their cell unless at work or education. They eat their meals in the cells, which only have one table fixed to the wall and a chair. Where there is a toilet in the cell, this may or may not be screened off by a curtain. B wing (built in the 1960s) which holds 99 prisoners still has no in-cell sanitation and there is no concrete, funded plan to resolve this. In the meantime, prisoners have to continue to press their cell call bell to gain access to the toilet via remote monitoring when the prison is in patrol state (this is the 12 hours overnight and during the day when prisoners are not undertaking activities out of their cell). Prisoners tell us this can take some time and on occasions they resort to using bottles and may pour urine out of the windows. Generally, the prison is clean and tidy. Prisoners carry out a regular programme of painting cells to refresh them. The grounds of the prison are kept clean and maintained by a working party of prisoners, who have told the [...]
Educational opportunities at the prison are good, if they are taken up. There is currently an average attendance of 67% in education and there is a focused effort to improve that through more effective allocations. There are small number of prisoners (circa 20 to 30) who refuse to engage with education or work. A dedicated custodial manager for regime is now working consistently across the week Monday to Friday, and this has improved engagement by both staff and prisoners, alongside the new pay policy introduced in October 2024. A range of educational courses including maths and English are provided, many leading to accredited qualifications. The IMB hears positive feedback from prisoners about their education classes. Every month there is an award for ‘learner of the month’, which is attended by the prisoner's family and is well received. This year there were fewer cancellations of classes due to lack of education staff or prison staff. Since the UN was issued in 2023, there has been an improvement in the quality and quantity of education provision, and this been acknowledged by OFSTED. The education and skills provider is changing in October 2025 and changes to courses on offer are planned to help further improve attendance. From April 2025 there was a budget cut of 50% to the dynamic purchasing system for additional education and training opportunities outside of the main education contract. This has forced prison staff to engage more widely with external charitable [...]
The offender management unit (OMU) team at HMP Bristol has a heavy workload. They process over 150 prisoner releases each month on average but remain approachable 21 and helpful to the IMB. They have faced additional challenges this year with the additional processing required by the early release schemes and also with additional recalls. The IMB has seen a small increase in applications from prisoners concerning sentence management and release dates. OMU clinics have been implemented across all wings and operate every two weeks, and the IMB understands that they are well received. The employment hub has engaged positively with prisoners and established productive relationships with a number of external companies who offer employment to prison leavers. Bristol performs strongly compared with its comparator prisons in securing prisoner employment six weeks after release although the figure for positive outcomes, as opposed to neutral or negative outcomes, remains below 10%. Work is currently underway to refocus education and skills training opportunities inside the prison to more appropriately match demand from prisoners and employment opportunities outside. This year has seen the opening of the Keys Café, an innovative coffee shop initiative organised through the Restore Trust in a previously disused prison building. The café serves the public with food and drinks and employs two former prisoners at a time for two months, providing valuable support in reintegrating them into [...]
4.1 Reception and induction All prisoners entering and leaving HMP Bristol go through the reception unit. The staff in the unit are supported by reception orderlies, who provide peer mentoring support to the new arrivals. The number of new arrivals can be up to 20 prisoners a day plus returns from court cases, hospital visits and prison transfers. Arrivals now come from a wider area, due to capacity pressures in the prison system and the courts. A total of 23% of prisoners arrive after 6pm, meaning they may get limited support for their first night. All arrivals, including returns from court and external hospital visits, undergo a full search plus are scanned in the body scanner. Any prisoners found with illicit items are offered an amnesty. If they scan positive and refuse the amnesty, they are taken directly to the segregation unit. When the IMB speaks with these prisoners in segregation, they raise concerns about delays to their induction and lack of certain medications (for safety reasons). Once they no longer scan positive, they move to a wing and induction takes place. A comprehensive induction takes place within the first two days. The average wait for induction has decreased from three days in July 2024 to one day in July 2025. A small minority of prisoners refuse induction. New arrivals requiring detoxification from drugs or alcohol go to a separate detox wing. These prisoners complete their induction and move onto the general wings when they are ready. The IMB [...]
HMP Bristol is a category B reception prison holding up to 580 adult men,
although the roll was slightly reduced at the time of our inspection. Situated in
an inner-city location, the prison serves the local courts, receiving prisoners
from the community, and many returned repeatedly to the institution. Many of
those we met were unconvicted or unsentenced prisoners, with nearly a third
presenting with substance misuse issues and a fifth in need of mental health
assessments.
Following this inspection of the prison, I wrote to the Secretary of State invoking
the Urgent Notification (UN) process on 28 July 2023. In that letter, and in the
inspection debriefing paper that accompanied it (both published with this report
at www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons), I set out my concerns and the
judgements that had caused me to follow that course of action. Under the UN
protocol, the Secretary of State commits to respond publicly to my letter within
28 days, explaining how outcomes for those detained will be improved. His
response, for which I am grateful, is also published on our website.
As I indicated in my UN letter, it was very concerning that this was the second
time in consecutive inspections of prisons since 2019 that I had needed to
invoke this process. This was our fifth inspection of Bristol since 2013 and it
continued to be a prison with chronic and seemingly intractable problems. In our
three most recent inspections it attracted our lowest healthy prison test scores
for both safety and purposeful activity.
Healthy prison assessments for HMP Bristol since 2013
1 - outcomes for prisoners are poor
2 - outcomes for prisoners are not sufficiently good
3 - outcomes for prisoners are reasonably good
4 - outcomes for prisoners are good
