United Kingdom · North-East · Yorkshire
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UK YOI 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
North-East
Security level
Minimum
Death-row facility
No
‘The Lakes’ facility a few miles away, Hatfield is an open prison with space for assessed outcomes for prisoners as good, our highest assessment, against all we found outcomes against all of our tests to be good, an impressive A very safe place with hardly any violence or self-harm, the success of Hatfield opportunity engendered by a meaningful prison regime. A third of the men were staff to the governor’s vision and the response from prisoners was impressive. In this report we describe the excellent culture we saw at this prison, the optimism among the prisoner population and the genuine team ethos. This — UK IMB Annual Report (2024) — Safety: The safety of all is a priority at HMP Hatfield and the health, safety and fire meetings take place quarterly. They take place on both sites and are multidisciplinary. The Deputy Governor chairs these meetings and issues that have been discussed this reporting year include the following. 4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 This year the IMB and the prison made an effort to ensure that information [...] Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food 5.1.1 Following last year’s report, the capital maintenance programme continues to improve the facilities on both sites. On the main site, B wing now has a new shower block operating and funding has been procured for A and C wings to be renovated over the next year (2025-26). At the Lakes, the toilets that were consistently out of order have now had back-to-wall [...] Purposeful activity: 7.1.1 The observations of the Board confirm that the education, skills and work provision continue to be of a very good standard and is effective in meeting the needs of most of the prisoners. 7.1.2 Novus is still the prison education framework (PEF) provider. Novus offers help and support with all aspects of employment, including job searches, training and education, advice, writing a CV and [...] Preparation for release: 7.3.1 Prisoners are allocated a prison offender manager (POM) - either prison or probation-on arrival at the Lakes and again on transfer to the main Hatfield site (in the case of a prison POM). These remain the same for the duration of their stay, where possible. The POM is easily accessible to prisoners should the need arise, and they generally provide consistent and accurate information in [...]
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Format: Prisoner Name & Number, HMP Hatfield, HMP/YOI Hatfield (Main site) Thorne Road Hatfield Doncaster South Yorkshire DN7 6EL See map HMP/YOI Hatfield (Lakes site) Lancaster Drive Lindholme Doncaster South Yorkshire DN7 6FA See map. Use Send Money to a Prisoner (GOV.UK) for funds — cash not accepted.
opportunity engendered by a meaningful prison regime. A third of the men were working out of the prison on temporary release each day. The governor and his team had worked very hard to build partnerships with a range of local and sustained employment following release. There was tangible commitment by supported by elements such as meaningful offender management and work to were discharged with somewhere to live.
A very safe place with hardly any violence or self-harm, the success of Hatfield
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
What the score is responding to:
This facility scores 18. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 14 points above national average.
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
Located in South Yorkshire and comprising two elements, the main site and ‘The Lakes’ facility a few miles away, Hatfield is an open prison with space for just under 360 adult men. We last inspected it five years ago when we assessed outcomes for prisoners as good, our highest assessment, against all four of our healthy prison tests. At a time when there is much criticism of the prison system, it is pleasing to report that Hatfield has maintained those standards and arguably surpassed them. For the second inspection in a row, we found outcomes against all of our tests to be good, an impressive achievement for a men’s prison. A very safe place with hardly any violence or self-harm, the success of Hatfield is predicated on good relationships, respect, and the sense of purpose and opportunity engendered by a meaningful prison regime. A third of the men were working out of the prison on temporary release each day. The governor and his team had worked very hard to build partnerships with a range of local and national businesses which gave prisoners real employment opportunities. An important element of this was the capacity of these business partners to offer sustained employment following release. There was tangible commitment by staff to the governor’s vision and the response from prisoners was impressive. Employment was at the heart of the prison’s success, but this focus was supported by elements such as meaningful offender management and work to reduce risk. Public protection arrangements were robust and most prisoners were discharged with somewhere to live. There was excellent support for families and a very energetic reading strategy. Since our last inspection, the promotion of equality had improved and there was ongoing investment in the prison’s accommodation, impressively evidenced by the new D wing. In this report we describe the excellent culture we saw at this prison, the optimism among the prisoner population and the genuine team ethos. This does not happen by accident. Hatfield’s purpose is to resettle prisoners. The governor had ensured that everyone understood that, and that they were working toward that shared goal. He and his team should be congratulated for what they were achieving. Charlie Taylor HM Chief Inspector of Prisons August 2024
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food 5.1.1 Following last year’s report, the capital maintenance programme continues to improve the facilities on both sites. On the main site, B wing now has a new shower block operating and funding has been procured for A and C wings to be renovated over the next year (2025-26). At the Lakes, the toilets that were consistently out of order have now had back-to-wall units fitted to conceal the cisterns, and new pans and cisterns fitted. This has prevented the potential for illegal substances to be hidden there. In addition, the Governor has provided funding for these units to be decorated and tiled. Hopefully, these will be completed during the next reporting year, 2025/6. During this reporting year there has been an ongoing problem with bed bugs. This has been dealt with by dedicated staff who have worked with a group of men to disinfect the accommodation wings and reduce the number of incidents. F wing, which used to be a segregation unit when Hatfield was a Borstal (youth detention centre), is now accommodating six prisoners who are serving life sentences. The men all have single rooms and have been given the opportunity to cater for themselves. The F wing kitchen has been refurbished, and this arrangement has proved to be very popular. The opening of D wing in 2024 has been welcomed, especially by those men working night shifts, as D wing is often much quieter during the day. Mobile phones are issued to those men who are working outside the [...]
The safety of all is a priority at HMP Hatfield and the health, safety and fire meetings take place quarterly. They take place on both sites and are multidisciplinary. The Deputy Governor chairs these meetings and issues that have been discussed this reporting year include the following. 4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 This year the IMB and the prison made an effort to ensure that information about the role of the open estate is accurate. In the past, prisoners have expected to be given parole shortly after arriving on site. Men are now informed, at their sending prison, that on arrival at the Lakes they will be assessed for their suitability for ROTL (release on temporary licence) and this can take up to eight weeks to complete. As a consequence, men now appear to be more settled and happier to engage with this procedure. Once they do arrive at reception, prisoners are seen by a nurse to discuss any ongoing physical, mental health and substance misuse needs. They are then taken to their accommodation by a PID worker to settle in. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody 4.2.1 During the reporting year there have been no self-inflicted deaths or reported incidents of self-harm. However, this year, two assessment, care in custody and teamwork documents (ACCTs, used to support prisoners who are at risk of self-harm and suicide) were opened and closed after 24 hours as the men involved received support from staff. It was deemed no longer necessary for the men to be on [...]
7.3.1 Prisoners are allocated a prison offender manager (POM) - either prison or probation-on arrival at the Lakes and again on transfer to the main Hatfield site (in the case of a prison POM). These remain the same for the duration of their stay, where possible. The POM is easily accessible to prisoners should the need arise, and they generally provide consistent and accurate information in supporting the men, identifying issues at the earliest opportunity to minimise disruption. 7.3.2 There is no longer capacity in the community to offer offending behaviour programmes on ROTL. However, specifically identified risk management work can take place with the COM on ROTLs. This forms part of agreed ROTL arrangements, where appropriate, and features in the individual’s sentence plan. The prison, alongside the community probation team, is establishing these sessions in the community so that they can be accessed while on ROTL. They are valuable to prisoners in addressing some of the issues that may have played a part in their offending and support their reintegration into society. As in previous years, prisoners attending report that they feel a benefit from participating. 7.3.3 Offender management arrangements in Hatfield support multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). Prison offender managers (POMs) are required to submit a report to support MAPPA meetings about members of the prison population and attend the meetings where necessary. POMs are notified by a community [...]
7.1.1 The observations of the Board confirm that the education, skills and work provision continue to be of a very good standard and is effective in meeting the needs of most of the prisoners. 7.1.2 Novus is still the prison education framework (PEF) provider. Novus offers help and support with all aspects of employment, including job searches, training and education, advice, writing a CV and interview preparation. A total of 32 functional skills places are available to the men. Warehousing and CSCS cards (the leading skills certification scheme in the UK construction industry) meet the needs of employers engaging with HMP Hatfield and directly support paid employment opportunities offered by various employers in logistics and warehousing, amongst others. 7.1.3 Prisoners arriving at HMP/YOI Hatfield are assessed for levels of numeracy and literacy and learning needs. The holistic needs of individual prisoners are considered, together with any qualifications and skills gained at previous establishments. Prisoners with learning difficulties and disabilities have equal access: a screening takes place during induction to provide tailored support plans for these men. 7.1.4 Functional skills delivery continues to be strong against the relevant targets. Further progress has been made in English and maths achievements, due to the aspirational approach that Hatfield applies. 7.1.5 Open University and other distance learning course are offered and undertaken in the prisoner’s own [...]
Full inspection of HMP/YOI Hatfield (2019-08-05)
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World Prisons. (2026). HMP Hatfield. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-hatfield
"HMP Hatfield." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-hatfield.
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-hatfield,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HMP Hatfield},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-hatfield},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}