United Kingdom · Midlands · Staffordshire
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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 7 Jul 2026 · methodology
Operator
HM Prison & Probation ServicePopulation held
male
Opened
—
Region
Midlands
Security level
Medium
Death-row facility
No
Stafford, holding a population of 753 men convicted of sexual offences, 2020. Instability of leadership had previously dogged the prison with the current with a focus on improving the well-being of her staff team while addressing In general, the prison was immaculate, with prisoners and staff taking pride in between prisoners and staff were good and the atmosphere was calm and safe. in mundane tasks such as ripping up sheets to make rags. The pay was poor A fully staffed offender management unit with some well-motivated staff meant prisoners being supported to get to open conditions. — UK IMB Annual Report (2024) — Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction The prison had an active and dedicated team of trusted prisoners, ‘Insiders’, whose role it was to welcome new arrivals and ensure they were given a tour of the prison, made aware of how the prison operated and clarified the expectations around behaviour. They ensured that new arrivals settled into the induction wing and remained available to answer any queries that [...] Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food The establishment was observed to be kept very clean, tidy, and fresh looking, which for one of the oldest operational prisons in England is remarkable and testament to the hard work of both prisoners and officers. There were concerns regarding the condition of some of the roadways within the prison and how these could impact the health and safety of prisoners, [...] Purposeful activity: Novus, the main education contractor, continued to deliver an efficient service with positive outcomes. The focus during the reporting period was on monitoring prisoner progress through the use of both electronic individual learning plans (ILPs) and use of records in the prisons industries workshops (PIWs). End of course surveys showed that over 94% of prisoners were very satisfied with their [...] Preparation for release: The majority of prisoners participated in the Building Choices programme as part of their sentence planning and preparation for release. During the reporting period, Lifers and IPP prisoners expressed concerns that their regular meetings had reduced significantly. After this was raised with SLT the meetings were reinstated, although initial attendance at meetings was poor. Lifers and IPP [...]
meals for families on visits, as well as enrichment activities where prisoners
in mundane tasks such as ripping up sheets to make rags. The pay was poor learnt to play musical instruments. Prisoners were also involved in helping to disappointing that there were delays to telephone monitoring, which meant risky
Attendance at education, skills and work was very good and the prison and education provider worked well together. Our colleagues at Ofsted were particularly impressed by the quality of education, which was much better than they usually see. The workshops were less good with many prisoners engaged and men were not being prepared for the sorts of work opportunities that they could undertake on release. This is a national issue, since people convicted of a encourage more sedentary or older men to use the gym.
With exceptionally low levels of drug taking, the amount of testing the prison oversee random drugs tests that were almost universally negative. While the prisoners living there did not have drug problems, and, as with testing, without
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.
Stafford, holding a population of 753 men convicted of sexual offences, remained a good prison, achieving the same scores as at our last inspection in 2020. Instability of leadership had previously dogged the prison with the current governor being the fourth in four years when she arrived at the jail in July 2023. However, in her short tenure, she had introduced greater stability and rigour to the way this prison operated. In a well-written self-assessment report, she had set out some clear priorities, with a focus on improving the well-being of her staff team while addressing sickness levels that were too high. In general, the prison was immaculate, with prisoners and staff taking pride in maintaining standards despite the age of some parts of the jail. Relationships between prisoners and staff were good and the atmosphere was calm and safe. Attendance at education, skills and work was very good and the prison and education provider worked well together. Our colleagues at Ofsted were particularly impressed by the quality of education, which was much better than they usually see. The workshops were less good with many prisoners engaged in mundane tasks such as ripping up sheets to make rags. The pay was poor and men were not being prepared for the sorts of work opportunities that they could undertake on release. This is a national issue, since people convicted of a sexual offence are often held a long way from home, and the prison service needs to do more to engage with employers across the country. There were lots of peer-led initiatives such as the bistro where prisoners cooked meals for families on visits, as well as enrichment activities where prisoners learnt to play musical instruments. Prisoners were also involved in helping to encourage more sedentary or older men to use the gym. Although prisoners had complained about difficulties with getting appointments (except for mental health services) and some delays in seeing a GP, inspectors assessed health care as being good, with the inpatient specialist care unit providing excellent standards of care. A fully staffed offender management unit with some well-motivated staff meant that there was better oversight of progression than at our last inspection, with prisoners being supported to get to open conditions. It was encouraging to see lots of key work taking place, but the quality was not yet good enough, particularly as officers were often not aware of what offence the prisoner had committed. While most public protection arrangements were reasonable, it was disappointing that there were delays to telephone monitoring, which meant risky contacts were not being picked up quickly. Although not set up or funded as a resettlement prison, Stafford was releasing around 10 prisoners a month. Leaders had allocated resources to this work and those leaving could open a bank account and get identification. There was good liaison between the jail and local probation services. With exceptionally low levels of drug taking, the amount of testing the prison was expected to undertake to fulfil national standards was a waste of resource. Staff, who could have been employed more productively, were having to oversee random drugs tests that were almost universally negative. While the incentivised substance-free living unit was a pleasant environment, many prisoners living there did not have drug problems, and, as with testing, without ringfencing the money could have been better spent elsewhere. My biggest concern at Stafford, as at similar prisons, was that many officers did not want to know the nature of the offences committed by individual prisoners, because they did not want it to affect the way they viewed them. This meant that they often did not understand the nature of the risk the prisoners posed and were unable to identify offence-mirroring behaviour, which is essential
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food The establishment was observed to be kept very clean, tidy, and fresh looking, which for one of the oldest operational prisons in England is remarkable and testament to the hard work of both prisoners and officers. There were concerns regarding the condition of some of the roadways within the prison and how these could impact the health and safety of prisoners, particularly those with mobility issues, including wheelchair users. Some improvement works have been completed but further works remain outstanding. Legionella was an ongoing concern across the establishment with showers being out of commission as testing and flushing works were undertaken. Despite these inconveniences, prison staff worked hard to maintain prisoners' dignity and access to shower facilities. The Board acknowledges that without significant investment, issues with legionella will be ongoing. The installation of in-cell phones in 2024 was well received by prisoners and resulted in reduced queues on the wings for telephones. The Unity 7 charity shop provided prisoners with access to clothing and raised over £10,000 for charity. The quality and choice of food was generally praised by prisoners. With a daily budget of only £3.09 per prisoner, recent inflationary increases in food have impacted on the range of foods available. However, the Board remains impressed at the ability of the catering manager and her team to provide menus that catered for a variety of dietary needs [...]
4.1 Reception and induction The prison had an active and dedicated team of trusted prisoners, ‘Insiders’, whose role it was to welcome new arrivals and ensure they were given a tour of the prison, made aware of how the prison operated and clarified the expectations around behaviour. They ensured that new arrivals settled into the induction wing and remained available to answer any queries that arose during the first few weeks. The Insiders request all new arrivals at HMP Stafford complete an anonymous questionnaire about their experience. The overall feedback from the Insiders, and the prisoner questionnaire, was overwhelmingly positive. This was supported by feedback obtained during Board monitoring visits and discussion with prisoners who explained that they felt much safer in HMP Stafford when compared to other establishments. However, prisoners consistently fed back that although HMP Stafford was a category C prison, it felt more like a category B due to its age and infrastructure. 4.2 Ongoing prisoner support HMP Stafford has a well-developed system of designated Listeners, prisoners who received training from the Samaritans and who provided support and guidance to other prisoners about a range of issues including mental health, family, bereavement, prison regime, problems with other prisoners and staff. Listeners dealt with approximately 85% of prisoner calls, with prison staff dealing with the remaining calls. 4.3 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody During the [...]
Novus, the main education contractor, continued to deliver an efficient service with positive outcomes. The focus during the reporting period was on monitoring prisoner progress through the use of both electronic individual learning plans (ILPs) and use of records in the prisons industries workshops (PIWs). End of course surveys showed that over 94% of prisoners were very satisfied with their courses and 99% agreed that the lessons and training sessions supported their needs. 100% of learners felt that they received feedback which enabled them to know when they were doing well and where they needed to improve. The learning walks were used to improve practice and enrichment skills around employability. All education and functional skills functional skills outreach peer mentors had been trained in facilitating the reading screener and this was used with all learners on education programmes and under the functional skills outreach provision. Progress was also recorded in purposeful activity booklets for wing workers, carers, and those attending the SSG. The Shannon Trust and Storybook dads enhanced reading skills of targeted cohorts and added value to the promotion of family life. The Board was disappointed to note that the library was unable to fully open due to staffing issues. This did improve during the reporting year as Staffordshire County Council was able to recruit new staff. Staff were supported by prison orderlies who helped prisoners to access the library and select [...]
The majority of prisoners participated in the Building Choices programme as part of their sentence planning and preparation for release. During the reporting period, Lifers and IPP prisoners expressed concerns that their regular meetings had reduced significantly. After this was raised with SLT the meetings were reinstated, although initial attendance at meetings was poor. Lifers and IPP prisoners also expressed concern that they were being denied access to the rehabilitation programmes such as Building Choices. It was explained that whilst this was not a deliberate measure, these programmes are undertaken when a prisoner is within their ‘parole window’ and it is difficult to define this for prisoners with no agreed release date. The Board will continue to monitor the impact of the prison regime on Lifers and IPP prisoners. The Board observed that the Visits Centre and experiences of visiting families continued to be good. This was enhanced by the family forum, which took place in the visits centre and enabled families to meet with the Governor and other members of the SLT. There was an ongoing issue with the central booking line, and the Governor sought to improve the arrangement by meeting directly with the booking line team and reported her findings back to the forum. Families continued to be pleased with the activities organised for children who visited family members in the prison. This included regular family visits events aimed at prisoners who were permitted and [...]
Full inspection of HMP Stafford (2020-01-13)
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World Prisons. (2026). HMP Stafford. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-stafford
"HMP Stafford." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-stafford.
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-stafford,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HMP Stafford},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-stafford},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}