United Kingdom · South-West & South Central · Devon
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UK Local prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
Capacity
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Current population
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Occupancy
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Year opened
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Operational
Figures from official sources · verified 6 Jul 2026 · methodology
Operator
HM Prison & Probation ServicePopulation held
male
Opened
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Region
South-West & South Central
Security level
Medium
Death-row facility
No
found during this visit was encouraging. Assessed as being not sufficiently good outcomes had improved and were now reasonably good for safety, respect and — UK IMB Annual Report (2023) — Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction There have been 972 receptions this reporting period, of which 264 were from HMP Dartmoor. Members routinely (but irregularly) monitor the reception process and generally observe that new arrivals are treated well and staff and orderlies (trusted prisoners who take on work to provide services that contribute to the running of the prison) are seen to treat prisoners [...] Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food The Board has observed good progress on the refurbishment and maintenance of the showers and washrooms across living blocks, but this has not been matched by progress on roof repairs and flooring replacement. Three cells on the Mains enhanced unit have remained out of action for the entire reporting year, at a time when pressure on cell spaces has been intense. [...] Purposeful activity: Not covered Preparation for release: Not covered Progression: A survey of 148 prisoners (20% of the prison population at the time) was conducted from 3-30 June 2024, after the main influx of prisoners from HMP Dartmoor. The ratio of VPs to Mains reflected the new population balance: 82 VPs (55% of survey) and 66 Mains (45% of survey). All were randomly selected by Board members when they visited the wings, and they were asked four basic questions, as [...]
found during this visit was encouraging. Assessed as being not sufficiently good
Format: Prisoner Name & Number, HMP Channings Wood, HMP Channings Wood Denbury Newton Abbot Devon TQ12 6DW See map Help us to improve this page. Give us your feedback in this 2-minute survey .. Use Send Money to a Prisoner (GOV.UK) for funds — cash not accepted.
HMP Channings Wood is a category C training and resettlement prison near
HM Inspectorate of Prisons completed a full inspection of HMP Channings Wood in July 2022; the published report is available on the HMIP website.
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
What the score is responding to:
This facility scores 13. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 9 points above national average.
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
4.1 Reception and induction There have been 972 receptions this reporting period, of which 264 were from HMP Dartmoor. Members routinely (but irregularly) monitor the reception process and generally observe that new arrivals are treated well and staff and orderlies (trusted prisoners who take on work to provide services that contribute to the running of the prison) are seen to treat prisoners with respect, especially the elderly and vulnerable. Healthcare staff see prisoners on arrival and Listeners (prisoners trained by the Samaritans to provide confidential emotional support to fellow prisoners) are made available. Reception staff try to limit issues that late arrival times might cause for prisoners, beginning the preparatory administrative work as soon as they can confirm the details of the prisoners on the vehicle. As has been noted in previous reports, late arrivals on a Friday can result in prisoners not receiving access to their phone PIN account (which allows prisoners to make phone calls) until the following Monday. Where possible, the business hub brings forward the accounts of those due to arrive on a Friday so that they have access to the phone over the weekend. If this cannot be done, staff try to mitigate the effects by offering prisoners a call on the office phone. Anecdotally, though, this remains the main cause of prisoner dissatisfaction. Volumetric control of property is often exceeded, with prisoners arriving with more property than permitted. This leads [...]
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food The Board has observed good progress on the refurbishment and maintenance of the showers and washrooms across living blocks, but this has not been matched by progress on roof repairs and flooring replacement. Three cells on the Mains enhanced unit have remained out of action for the entire reporting year, at a time when pressure on cell spaces has been intense. The damage caused by severe water ingress in the CSU office has worsened during this period. The office remains out of use, requiring activities, such as adjudications, segregation reviews and clerical work, to be undertaken in a single room. This is a very unsatisfactory situation for CSU staff and prisoners. The Board believes this is detrimental to the effective running of the unit. These problems persist because roof repairs are not the responsibility of Government Facility Services Ltd (GFSL), so separate contracts must be raised and go to competition. This has been a long-running issue and, to date, there are no timelines for repairs, although in his reply to the Board’s last report, the Minister stated that works would be carried out in the 2024-2025 financial year. Such delays undermine the delivery of operationally essential services and are not afforded the priority they deserve. Members have received some complaints about the food provided, but the number of applications (written representations to the IMB) from prisoners has been low. When Board members have sampled food, [...]
A survey of 148 prisoners (20% of the prison population at the time) was conducted from 3-30 June 2024, after the main influx of prisoners from HMP Dartmoor. The ratio of VPs to Mains reflected the new population balance: 82 VPs (55% of survey) and 66 Mains (45% of survey). All were randomly selected by Board members when they visited the wings, and they were asked four basic questions, as follows. DO YOU FEEL SAFE? Yes Most of the time Some of the time No Yes+most of the time No+some of the time --- --- --- --- --- --- --- VP 75% 5% 15% 5% 80% 20% MAINS 92% 5% 3% 0% 97% 3% VP and Mains 82% 5% 10% 3% 87% 13% 87% of the population felt safe all/most of the time, but Mains felt significantly safer. ARE YOU TREATED FAIRLY AND HUMANELY? Yes Most of the time Some of the time No Yes+most of the time No+some of the time --- --- --- --- --- --- --- VP 56% 20% 16% 8% 76% 24% MAINS 47% 24% 17% 12% 71% 29% VP and Mains 52% 22% 16% 10% 74% 26% 74% of the population felt they were treated fairly and humanely all/most of the time but VPs felt they were treated somewhat better. ARE YOUR HEALTHCARE NEEDS BEING MET? Yes Most of the time Some of the time No Yes+most of the time No+some of the time --- --- --- --- --- --- --- VP 37% 28% 21% 14% 65% 35% MAINS 60% 15% 8% 17% 75% 25% VP and Mains 48% 21% 15% 16% 69% 31% 69% of the population surveyed felt their needs were being met all/most of the time, but Mains felt significantly more satisfied. --- HAVE YOU HAD HELP TO PREPARE FOR RELEASE? [...]
HMP Channings Wood is a category C training and resettlement prison near Newton Abbot in Devon. Just over a third of the 662 prisoners held at the time of our inspection had been convicted of an offence of a sexual nature. The clearer sense of purpose for the prison and the evidence of progress we found during this visit was encouraging. Assessed as being not sufficiently good against all four of our healthy prison tests at recent inspections, we judged that outcomes had improved and were now reasonably good for safety, respect and
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World Prisons. (2026). HMP Channings Wood. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-channings-wood
"HMP Channings Wood." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-channings-wood.
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-channings-wood,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HMP Channings Wood},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-channings-wood},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}