Substance Misuse
The problems of drug intoxication and debt also fuel the worryingly high levels of violence and self-harm in the prison.
Safety
The number of reported violent incidents remains static, albeit at a high level, but the instances of the use of force has doubled since 2023 (676 in 2023, 878 in 2024 and 1,296 in 2025) coupled with a 20% increase in adjudications, all of which point to an increasingly unstable prison environment.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The Board continued to be concerned about the standards of maintenance and general repair in the prison, as there is still an issue with work often not being completed in a timely manner.
Healthcare
The Board is concerned about the large number of drug overdoses resulting in ‘code blue’ (serious medical) emergencies and the ongoing ingress of dangerous drugs into the prison.
Mental Health
The Board is also concerned about the long wait for psychological support and therapy, which the Forward Trust do their best to address. A national target is that 95% of referrals begin therapy within 18 weeks but at Highpoint this is achieved for 39% of prisoners.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Funding for education and training has become a significant issue and the empty workshops and lack of instructors in the north site are of great concern to the Board.
Other
Repeated
The Board continues to be concerned about the loss or delay of prisoners’ property transfer between establishments and refers you to Section 5.8.
Other
There has been no improvement in the management of prisoners’ property within the prison, and the Board would also like to see an improvement in the handling of prisoners’ parcels within the prison security framework.
Resettlement/Release
The Board is concerned about the high number of prisoners transferred from other establishments close to end of their sentence, which creates considerable problems for the resettlement staff.
Safety
The Board would like to see greater searches of all persons entering the establishment. This is due to the high level of damage inflicted on the prison population through prison debt, substance misuse and the use of illegally held phones. This is illustrated by the three-fold increase in drug finds (1,135 in 2025) within the prison.
Staffing
The Board is aware of the growing inexperience of prison officer staff.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
As noted in three previous annual reports, the netting around the prison blew down in a storm and was slowly being replaced (in most units). However, it has still not been completely replaced, all this time later. The prison is still vulnerable to ‘throwovers’ (where people from outside the prison throw parcels over the walls, which contain illicit items, to be picked up by prisoners) and drone drops.
Complaints/Property
With respect to prisoner and staff relations, including the complaint process and actions, there is a problem with lack of feedback and information to prisoners at wing level.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
As a Board, we are disappointed there no resources to provide of the award-winning National Prison Radio across the estate.
Resettlement/Release
The Board is concerned about the reductions in resettlement staff numbers, which, coupled with the high number of prisoner releases, means that targets for release planning cannot be met by the staff.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The Board has received numerous complaints concerning cancellation of planned video calls.