United Kingdom · South-East & East · Norfolk
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
Step-by-step guidance using the United Kingdom system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
UK Local prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
Capacity
—
Current population
—
Occupancy
—
Year opened
—
Operational
Figures from official sources · verified 7 Jul 2026 · methodology
Operator
HM Prison & Probation ServicePopulation held
male
Opened
—
Region
South-East & East
Security level
Medium
Death-row facility
No
Levels of violence at Bure were very low, although they were higher than similar prisons. At 9.6% the rate of positive, random drugs tests was surprisingly high, but this had not led to a deterioration in behaviour which was generally good. The prison had recently held a safety summit to understand the causes of violence and was in the process of putting into place an action plan. A small High standards set by staff meant that the jail was kept very clean, and the that most had to eat on their own in their cells. — UK IMB Annual Report (2024) — Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction The Board has observed that: • Prisoners entering reception are treated appropriately by trained, efficient and pleasant staff. • Prisoners and property are searched and some are scanned. Items of property not allowed are stored until release or transfer. • Healthcare staff are on hand to assist with prisoners’ physical and mental health needs along with any medication [...] Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food The Board has observed that: • All areas of the prison are clean with a good supply of cleaning materials and laundries well run by orderlies. • Draughty windows, leaks in cells, mould and unpredictable and inefficient heating systems in some wings require substantial planned and reactive maintenance. • From February to June the prison suffered from a serious gas [...] Purposeful activity: The Board has observed that: • The library is well stocked and run by staff who are passionate to ensure that the library provides a relaxed, well-disciplined educational environment. Additional activities are available to prisoners such as book groups, emergent readers groups and film nights. Although film nights had to be suspended during the year due to lack of staff, the prison worked with [...] Preparation for release: The Board has observed that: • The (offender management unit) OMU benefits from strong senior leadership and a largely experienced team of staff. • The head of the OMU will attend prison council meetings and give both verbal and written feedback to address concerns and questions. The board would suggest that these explanations are not always communicated in a timely fashion. • Change to [...]
Visits booked online via the GOV.UK Prison Visits Booking service. Photo ID required. Visit frequency varies by the inmate's IEP level.
Format: Prisoner Name & Number, HMP Bure, HMP Bure Jaguar Drive Badersfield Norwich Norfolk NR10 5GB 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.
provision of key work, something we have seen recently in only a handful of Our biggest concern at this inspection was the quality of purposeful activity on offer. Although prisoners were unlocked for most of the day, many were bored – were able to get to education, with long waits to get onto the English course. particularly with the education provider, which was failing to identify or support inspectors felt that there were credible plans to improve the education, training and work offer, but they also highlighted an ongoing lack of workshop and 12 prisoners a month were being released directly from Bure, making their
Levels of violence at Bure were very low, although they were higher than similar prisons. At 9.6% the rate of positive, random drugs tests was surprisingly high, violence and was in the process of putting into place an action plan. A small number of men accounted for most of the self-harm at the prison and good
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
What the score is responding to:
This facility scores 23. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 19 points above national average.
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
4.1 Reception and induction The Board has observed that: • Prisoners entering reception are treated appropriately by trained, efficient and pleasant staff. • Prisoners and property are searched and some are scanned. Items of property not allowed are stored until release or transfer. • Healthcare staff are on hand to assist with prisoners’ physical and mental health needs along with any medication requirements. Personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) are complete prior to location to the induction wing. • Induction orderlies are on hand to accompany new arrivals to the residence unit and help them settle in. A comprehensive induction programme is delivered by induction orderlies the day after arrival, followed by part two a few days later. • Phoenix Futures attend to identify those with drug or alcohol issues and may arrange to engage with them within two to three days. • There are not enough trained officers for the body scanner due to officers retiring or moving on and no training has been held since the introduction of the scanner to replace these staff. Clothes parcels sent in can take longer than they should to be handed over to recipients. Clothing is washed prior to distribution but nevertheless, property has been observed to be held for three weeks or beyond before being reunited with the prisoner. The Board has some concerns that: • prisoners who arrive late are only offered a cold meal. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody The Board has observed that: • [...]
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food The Board has observed that: • All areas of the prison are clean with a good supply of cleaning materials and laundries well run by orderlies. • Draughty windows, leaks in cells, mould and unpredictable and inefficient heating systems in some wings require substantial planned and reactive maintenance. • From February to June the prison suffered from a serious gas failure which impacted on heating, hot water and the kitchens. Temporary generators and temporary outdoor kitchens were brought in very quickly to mitigate the issues. In addition, portable heaters and additional blankets were made available to identified vulnerable prisoners. • During the gas failure, the kitchen staff worked tirelessly to provide hot meals on single electric rings, maintaining as varied a menu as possible. The Board has some concerns that: • When laundry machines break down it takes some time to address and therefore puts pressure on the orderlies, especially on residence 7, which has 20 double cells and a larger number of prisoners on the wing. • The timeliness of the responses from staff to vulnerable prisoner requests for additional heating, varies significantly across the wings. • Repairs to accommodation to ensure the buildings are prepared for winter, is slower than should be the case, resulting in cells which are cold and draughty. • The clothing exchange does not receive the same number of items back from the outside laundry that it sends. For instance, [...]
The Board has observed that: • The library is well stocked and run by staff who are passionate to ensure that the library provides a relaxed, well-disciplined educational environment. Additional activities are available to prisoners such as book groups, emergent readers groups and film nights. Although film nights had to be suspended during the year due to lack of staff, the prison worked with the library staff to develop an innovative solution to re-introduce the service. Library and education orderlies are fully trained and engaged with their job in both the library and the learning resource centre (LRC). There has been a smooth transition from Suffolk Libraries holding the contract to Greenwich Leisure Limited. • The learning resource centre is clean, despite requiring repair and decoration. The LRC promotes a good learning environment. The displays in the classroom are attractive, up to date, and focused on the learning required in that subject. Excellent staff/prisoner relationships were observed, which the Board believe promotes learning. During the year the prison has issued reminders to staff and prisoners of the rules in place to ensure good attendance. Learners are aware of the consequences of not adhering to these rules. • The Shannon Trust is active and impressive in supporting people to develop much needed reading skills. • Open University and the Prison Education Trust are available to allow prisoners to gain levels 2-6 qualifications. From our observations, [...]
The Board has observed that: • The (offender management unit) OMU benefits from strong senior leadership and a largely experienced team of staff. • The head of the OMU will attend prison council meetings and give both verbal and written feedback to address concerns and questions. The board would suggest that these explanations are not always communicated in a timely fashion. • Change to accredited ‘programmes’ was communicated to prisoners in February 2025, ensuring that prisoners were aware that there would be some disruption to the provision of ‘programmes’ while staff training took place. • The new suite of ‘programmes’ will include Building Choices medium intensity sexual offending (SO); Building Choices high intensity SO; Building Choices medium intensity plus SO and Building Choices high intensity plus SO. These new ‘programmes’ are more about the prisoner and their needs and will not disadvantage them or affect their sentence as the judiciary, probation and the parole Board are all familiar with them. • Whilst prisoners are often concerned and disappointed about the time it takes to be placed on a ‘programme’, they are then very positive about the experience they have and the way the learning has helped them develop new skills and coping mechanisms. 21 • Regular re-categorisation Boards are held which adhere to the re- categorisation framework. Whilst we have observed that the prison council believes that a local policy is required to explain its objectives and the [...]
Bure is a category C prison for male sex-offenders in rural Norfolk. At this inspection we were pleased to see that it remained a safe and respectful jail in pleasant, well-tended grounds. Levels of violence at Bure were very low, although they were higher than similar prisons. At 9.6% the rate of positive, random drugs tests was surprisingly high, but this had not led to a deterioration in behaviour which was generally good. The prison had recently held a safety summit to understand the causes of violence and was in the process of putting into place an action plan. A small number of men accounted for most of the self-harm at the prison and good efforts were made to help them, although other prisoners received more variable support through the ACCT process. High standards set by staff meant that the jail was kept very clean, and the grounds were full of flower beds and vegetables that were grown by prisoners. Unfortunately, there were hardly any on-wing cooking facilities which, for the many prisoners serving long sentences, was disappointing. Cramped wings meant there was not enough space for prisoners to dine communally, meaning that most had to eat on their own in their cells. Relationships between staff and prisoners were good and we were very pleased to find the comprehensive provision of key work, something we have seen recently in only a handful of prisons. Apart from some cramped double cells, most prisoners were in single cells which were well maintained and reasonably spacious, although many of the showers on the wings needed to be replaced. The prison had a large proportion of elderly prisoners who were well cared for both by the prison and the well-led health provider. Other groups were also generally positive about their treatment, except for those from an ethnic minority background, particularly black prisoners. This was very disappointing because similar concerns had been raised at the last three inspections. The prison will need to consult more effectively with these prisoners, act on their concerns and make sure that the results are monitored and communicated effectively. Our biggest concern at this inspection was the quality of purposeful activity on offer. Although prisoners were unlocked for most of the day, many were bored – particularly the younger men – and the jail was failing to fulfil its remit as a training prison. The analysis of prisoners’ needs had not been comprehensive enough, meaning that provision did not always fit with what the prisoners required. While the quality of teaching was generally good, far too few prisoners were able to get to education, with long waits to get onto the English course. There was a comprehensive reading strategy but it was not well coordinated, particularly with the education provider, which was failing to identify or support those with the highest levels of need. The recruitment of a new lead for the Shannon Trust should help to provide more consistency which had been hampered by not having space from which to run the programme. Ofsted inspectors felt that there were credible plans to improve the education, training and work offer, but they also highlighted an ongoing lack of workshop and classroom space. The prison had made some improvements since our last inspection to support the progression of prisoners, but there was widespread frustration with the offender management unit, often because prisoners did not know what to expect. Although the prison provided a range of accredited programmes, including three for those with learning difficulties, limited resource meant these were only available at the end of their sentences, which meant that many would not get the opportunity to finish their sentence in open conditions. An average of 12 prisoners a month were being released directly from Bure, making their transition into the community far more difficult, particularly those finishing longer sentences.
Scrutiny inspection of HMP Bure (2021-03-23)
How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.
World Prisons. (2026). HMP Bure. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-bure
"HMP Bure." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-bure.
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-bure,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HMP Bure},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-bure},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}