United Kingdom · North-East · Durham
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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
Medium
Death-row facility
No
This review visit followed up on the concerns we raised at our last we made the following judgements about outcomes for prisoners. Figure 1: HMP & YOI Deerbolt healthy prison outcomes in 2021 and 2024 disappointing. Safety continued to be a significant concern, with high levels of violence and a deeply embedded drug culture. The response Health care provision had not kept pace with the changing population and demand, which, combined with a staff shortage and insufficient support from prison staff, had led to a fragile health service. — UK IMB Annual Report (2024) — Safety: 4.1 Reception and Induction Reception of prisoners continues to appear thorough and competent. As noted in our previous report, there remains considerable frustration around personal possessions failing to arrive with prisoners, resulting in the inevitable financial loss and the additional time and expense required to resolve these issues. The position has been clearly outlined in the recent Key [...] Respect: As noted from observations during our five previous reporting periods, staff, both individually and collectively, try to do their best to treat the prisoners fairly and humanely. Moreover, the Board also believes that prison staff hold quality one-to-one communication with the most vulnerable prisoners and those with challenging behaviour. However, from our conversations with prisoners, we are [...] Purposeful activity: Staff shortages and absences result in regime restrictions, with areas of the regime unable to proceed as planned with shorter sessions. This is frustrating for prisoners. The prison’s transformation from a young offender institution (YOI) to a category C training prison (where young offenders are now, typically, around 11% of the population), has still not yet been reflected in this area. As [...] Preparation for release: Deerbolt continues to benefit from access to a prison employment lead on a one-day-per-week loan from HMP Durham. Through this arrangement, the team continues to work towards offering every prisoner the opportunity for full-time employment on release. The Board will continue to monitor the long-term effectiveness of this approach. The ‘jobs unlocked’ initiative was closed down and, while a [...] Progression: The main concern for the IMB during the reporting year is the reduction of employment and education in the majority of areas to half-day sessions. Whilst this is in no way a criticism of Deerbolt’s regime and education providers, or the management team, the IMB believes this is a backward step in terms of purposeful activity in a category C training prison. The restriction of movement times [...]
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 seven concerns from our most recent concurrent prison monitoring visit. closed for refurbishment during our visit) and several purpose-built facilities for the country, some serving long sentences. At the time of our visit, just dramatically reduced and only 265 prisoners were held at the time of our visit.
Format: Prisoner Name & Number, HMP Deerbolt, HMP/YOI Deerbolt Bowes Road Barnard Castle County Durham DL12 9BG 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.
Note: rehabilitation and release planning became ‘preparation for release’ in October 2023. a restrictive and poorly structured regime, contributing to frustration and disengagement among prisoners. Education, skills and work provision prison and health care leaders were working well collectively to the intended provision of work and education. were insufficient and regime and activity provision that was poor.
levels of violence and a deeply embedded drug culture. The response to self-harm was inconsistent, with support available for some were noted in segregation and oversight of use of force, they were not use of drugs, progress had been limited. The slight decline in the number of positive drug tests since the inspection was a step in the drug culture will require sustained focus, consistent leadership and the Levels of violence and self-harm were still high overall, but there had violence reduction measures, for example, was poor, which led to a response
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
What the score is responding to:
This facility scores 31. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 27 points above national average.
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
1.1 HMP & YOI Deerbolt, situated near Barnard Castle in County Durham, is a category C training prison for up to 490 adult men. Dating mostly from the 1970s, the prison is a campus-style institution with nine accommodation units. 1.2 This review visit followed up on the concerns we raised at our last inspection of HMP & YOI Deerbolt in December 2024. What we found at our last inspection 1.3 At our previous inspections of HMP & YOI Deerbolt in 2021 and 2024, we made the following judgements about outcomes for prisoners. Figure 1: HMP & YOI Deerbolt healthy prison outcomes in 2021 and 2024 Note: rehabilitation and release planning became ‘preparation for release’ in October 2023. 1.4 At our last inspection of HMP & YOI Deerbolt, we found that while the prison had potential, progress across key areas remained disappointing. Safety continued to be a significant concern, with high levels of violence and a deeply embedded drug culture. The response to self-harm was inconsistent, with support available for some individuals but lacking for many others. Although some improvements were noted in segregation and oversight of use of force, they were not yet robust. 1.5 Health care provision had not kept pace with the changing population and demand, which, combined with a staff shortage and insufficient support from prison staff, had led to a fragile health service. 1.6 Staff–prisoner relationships were undermined by staff inexperience and a restrictive and poorly structured regime, contributing to frustration and disengagement among prisoners. Education, skills and work provision was rated as inadequate by Ofsted. Report of an independent review of progress at HMP & YOI Deerbolt What we found during this review visit 1.7 Overall, leaders (see Glossary) had made good efforts to address the concerns we raised at the last inspection, with all but two concerns receiving a rating of reasonable progress or better. 1.8 While there had been commendable efforts to reduce the supply and use of drugs, progress had been limited. The slight decline in the number of positive drug tests since the inspection was a step in the right direction, but it was far from sufficient. Tackling the entrenched drug culture will require sustained focus, consistent leadership and the allocation of meaningful resources. 1.9 Levels of violence and self-harm were still high overall, but there had been a notable decline through targeted action that had led to meaningful change. 1.10 There had been a marked improvement in the enablement of health services, which were now reliable and consistent overall, and both prison and health care leaders were working well collectively to continue this effort. 1.11 Significant staffing shortfalls remained a barrier to enabling a consistent day-to-day routine for prisoners. While regional and national leaders were providing support by bringing in staff from other establishments, uncertainty about the future visa status of those recruited from overseas was the key risk to future progress. Charlie Taylor HM Chief Inspector of Prisons October 2025 Report of an independent review of progress at HMP & YOI Deerbolt Section 2 Key findings 2.1 At this IRP visit, we followed up seven concerns from our most recent inspection, in December 2024, and Ofsted followed up four themes. 2.2 HMI Prisons judged that there was good progress in two concerns, reasonable progress in three concerns and insufficient progress in two concerns. Figure 2: Progress on HMI Prisons concerns from December 2024 inspection (n=7) 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 significant progress in one theme and reasonable progress in three themes. Figure 3: Progress on Ofsted themes from December 2024 inspection (n=4). Notable positive practice 2.4
Deerbolt, situated near Barnard Castle in County Durham, is a category C training prison for up to 474 adult men. Dating mostly from the 1970s, the prison is a campus style institution with 9 accommodation units (although one was closed for refurbishment during our visit) and several purpose-built facilities for the intended provision of work and education. Historically, Deerbolt had specialised as a prison for young adults, but this function changed when the upper age limit was removed three years ago. Despite that, about a third of the population was under 25 and this age group accounted for 45 of the 59 life sentence or long-term prisoners held. When we last inspected in 2021, we found a prison still emerging from COVID- 19 restrictions that needed to improve. We reported on safety outcomes that were insufficient and regime and activity provision that was poor. Outcomes in
Deerbolt continues to benefit from access to a prison employment lead on a one-day-per-week loan from HMP Durham. Through this arrangement, the team continues to work towards offering every prisoner the opportunity for full-time employment on release. The Board will continue to monitor the long-term effectiveness of this approach. The ‘jobs unlocked’ initiative was closed down and, while a replacement has been expected, it has not yet been established. Ingeus and People Plus staff continue to be proactive in identifying prisoner career options and setting goals. The IMB did not receive any applications regarding a lack of support in this area. --- 8. The work of the IMB Board statistics Recommended complement of Board members 14 --- --- Number of Board members at the start of the reporting period 7 Number of Board members at the end of the reporting period 6 Total number of visits to the establishment 246 Total number of shifts on the 0800 telephone line N/A Total number of segregation reviews attended - If relevant. Applications to the IMB Code Subject Previous reporting year Current reporting year --- --- --- --- A Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions 2 2 B Discipline, including adjudications, incentives schemes, sanctions 0 8 C Equality 0 1 D Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell 7 15 E1 Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions 4 - E2 Finance, including pay, private monies, spends 2 [...]
Staff shortages and absences result in regime restrictions, with areas of the regime unable to proceed as planned with shorter sessions. This is frustrating for prisoners. The prison’s transformation from a young offender institution (YOI) to a category C training prison (where young offenders are now, typically, around 11% of the population), has still not yet been reflected in this area. As highlighted in last year’s report, the Board continues to be concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for the increasingly older prisoner and that the programmes are aimed at the lower end of the ability level. This is as it should be for some of the population, but there are men within Deerbolt who wish to progress to a higher level of education, such as with the Open University, and they have found this difficult. As no prisoner can have two ‘jobs’ (education is classed as paid activity), during his time in Deerbolt, the stark choice can be between ‘earning’ and ‘learning’. More than one prisoner has expressed a wish to study in their own time and it is the Board’s view that this should be facilitated, if possible. As per last year, no more money has been assigned for the change in age profile and prison category. From our observations of the education department, tuition appears to be of a high standard. The statistics suggest that prisoners are succeeding in their core subjects and that standards are being maintained. Prisoners are generally well engaged, and the [...]
4.1 Reception and Induction Reception of prisoners continues to appear thorough and competent. As noted in our previous report, there remains considerable frustration around personal possessions failing to arrive with prisoners, resulting in the inevitable financial loss and the additional time and expense required to resolve these issues. The position has been clearly outlined in the recent Key Findings Paper by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons: ‘Unpacking Prisoner Property: A Hidden Source of Conflict and Complaint.’ In light of this, further comment would add little value. Continuing through 2025, Deerbolt has had an approximate 50% increase in prisoner numbers as part of the transition from a YOI to a prison with a much wider age range. At the time of writing, in October 2025, the prison holds 470 category C men. In this population, 25 prisoners require a personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP), due to medical needs, and around 70 individuals have been identified as representing an assault risk to staff. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody There continues to be a downward trend in the number of assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) plans (used to support those at risk of self-harm and suicide) opened. However, as in previous years, this remains an area of significant concern, albeit one that staff appear to monitor and manage closely. Self-harm rates were slightly up, at on average 45.08 per month, compared with 40.33 per month in the last reporting [...]
As noted from observations during our five previous reporting periods, staff, both individually and collectively, try to do their best to treat the prisoners fairly and humanely. Moreover, the Board also believes that prison staff hold quality one-to-one communication with the most vulnerable prisoners and those with challenging behaviour. However, from our conversations with prisoners, we are concerned about the interaction between the staff and the wider population and with individuals who often do not comply with the prison regime. There may also be an issue with how this message is coherently relayed to the prisoners via some staff. As a result of this, on multiple occasions, the now more experienced and ‘savvy’ prisoners have complained to the Board about how, on some days, staff have not completed basic tasks, such as facilitating medications to wings or giving prisoners adequate yard time. The IMB would like to, again, praise Deerbolt staff in the care and separation unit (CSU) for their organisation and compassion. They show commitment to prisoners with more complex needs, particularly when they often have to manage challenging behaviour. Whilst the prison still does not have suitable facilities to deal with many of those with complex needs, the staff have continued to try to understand the challenges by developing relationships and showing patience. The CSU staff have continued to communicate with the IMB and keep us informed of prisoners’ circumstances. 5.1 [...]
The main concern for the IMB during the reporting year is the reduction of employment and education in the majority of areas to half-day sessions. Whilst this is in no way a criticism of Deerbolt’s regime and education providers, or the management team, the IMB believes this is a backward step in terms of purposeful activity in a category C training prison. The restriction of movement times within the prison has always impacted how much actual time is spent in workshops/ classrooms, and it is felt by both prisoners and staff that only being able to access part-time activity affects morale. Some areas of the regime still have full-time work, including the gardens, the kitchen, the Orbio cleaning team, and waste management.
1.1 Located near Barnard Castle in County Durham, HMP/YOI Deerbolt is a closed male young offender institution (YOI) and category C training prison for young adults aged 18 to 24. It receives prisoners from across the country, some serving long sentences. At the time of our visit, just as at the July 2021 inspection, Deerbolt held about 270 prisoners, which was much lower than its usual occupational capacity due to the ongoing refurbishment of some wings. 1.2 At our previous inspections of HMP/YOI Deerbolt in 2018 and 2021 we made the following judgements about outcomes for prisoners. Figure 1: HMP/YOI Deerbolt healthy prison outcomes in 2018 and 2021 Good Reasonably good Not sufficiently good Poor
Deerbolt is a prison and young offender institution located near to Barnard Castle in County Durham. The establishment is normally capable of holding more than 500 young adult prisoners aged 18 to 24 years old, but a rolling programme of refurbishment and upgrades meant that this number had been dramatically reduced and only 265 prisoners were held at the time of our visit. Of these, nearly two-thirds were under the age of 21. When we last inspected Deerbolt in 2018 we found a prison that was reasonably safe and respectful, but one that surprisingly, bearing in mind the resources available, needed to improve the regime experienced by those detained and its approach to the rehabilitation and resettlement of prisoners about to be released. At this inspection we again found a mixed picture, showing a deterioration in safety outcomes and the quality of regime, but improvement in work towards resettlement. Deerbolt had been impacted significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic which partly explained the deterioration of the regime. Leaders and managers had taken effective action to minimise the spread of the virus, although at the time of our visit the prison had been declared an outbreak site for the third time in recent months. One prisoner and six members of staff had tested positive and a larger group of staff were isolating after being contacted by NHS test and trace. All prisoners and staff had been offered the vaccine and regular testing was available. This is important context, but it remained the case that the experience was very poor for these young prisoners who were typically spending 23 hours a day locked in cell with little structured activity. The impact of this on prisoners was stark and much more needed to be done, and greater ambition shown, in making sure that more work, education and recreational activity was reintroduced as a priority. This was particularly disappointing given the large amounts of outdoor space at the prison. In contrast, the prison had made commendable improvements to sentence planning and risk management arrangements and we were confident there were plans in place to develop this work further. Similarly, we noted some good work to support care leavers and the introduction of a new and interesting initiative to support young people as they transitioned to Deerbolt from juvenile facilities during their sentence. Outcomes in health care, mental health care and social care were likewise much improved and ensured some positive outcomes. It was clear to us that the governor had a vision for Deerbolt’s future, but it was perhaps less clear how progress would be measured or how and when the vision could be realised. During the inspection itself, leaders did make some improvements in response to our feedback and findings. While welcome, this confirmed to us a somewhat reactive approach to issues and the absence of a useful plan which identified priorities and timeframes for progress. Oversight of violence reduction measures, for example, was poor, which led to a response that was reactive and limited rather than one which dealt with the underlying conflict and issues. This will need to be addressed as the regime improves. Deerbolt is a prison which retains great potential. We encourage leaders and managers to show greater confidence in the restoration and development of the regime and make better use of the extensive space. We also encourage them to develop a more consultative and ambitious approach with prisoners that expects more of them and incentivises their engagement with what the prison is able to offer. Charlie Taylor HM Chief Inspector of Prisons July 2021
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World Prisons. (2026). HMP Deerbolt. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-deerbolt
"HMP Deerbolt." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-deerbolt.
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-deerbolt,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HMP Deerbolt},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-deerbolt},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}