Recommendation 1
When will the new CCTV system be installed?
Response
Work was not yet started on the new system and although the work is programmed for 2026-27 there is no start date and no way can be found to obtain one.
Source · IMB Annual Report
Thorn Cross
AI-generated report summary HMP/YOI Thorn Cross operates as an open, Category D establishment focused on rehabilitation, reporting low levels of violence and self-harm, alongside good staff-prisoner relationships and strong resettlement outcomes. However, the report highlights significant concerns regarding the estate's condition, including an inadequate kitchen and tired residential units, and the ongoing absence of a new CCTV system. Challenges persist in healthcare, particularly mental health engagement and delayed screenings for late arrivals, as well as limitations in regime opportunities due to education cuts and restricted sports facilities.
Year: 2026
Published: 27 Aug 2026
Type: Prison · Cat Open, YOI, Category D
Recommendations: 9
Key concerns
Positive findings
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 1 | 0 |
| Self-harm incidents | 4 | 0 |
| ACCT cases opened | 10 | 5 |
| Prisoner assaults | 4 | 4 |
| Assaults on staff | 0 | 0 |
| Use of force | 21 | 25 |
| Drug finds | 96 | 111 |
Positive findings
AI-generated summaryThorn Cross remains a safe environment with low levels of violence and self-harm, supported by positive staff-prisoner relationships and a strong rehabilitative culture. Healthcare provision is generally good, with excellent support for drug and alcohol addictions and a prioritisation of mental health. The prison maintains strong resettlement figures, with excellent accommodation and employment rates on release, and has seen success in improving English and mathematics attainment. The kitchen staff were even nominated for a national catering award.
Key concerns
Illicit items continued to be brought in and found, with a new trend of unregulated weight loss injections.
The kitchen is inadequate for the size of the prison and experienced problems with equipment failures.
The residential units would benefit from investment.
Some education courses have been cut because of cuts to the provision.
There was a significant increase in the number of men needing support, reflecting the change in the cohort of men being deemed suitable for the open estate.
Hot water and showers continue to be an issue across all units with frequent failures that appear slow to resolve.
There has been no progress on a new kitchen, which is linked to the provision of extra accommodation being provided with the arrival of rapid deployment cells.
Unfortunately, there has been an issue with the supply of the drug testing kits and as a result the men have not been tested regularly.
There have been numerous requests from the prison over the last few years for a review of and refit of CCTV cameras, this is on hold due to financial constraints.
The number of late transfers is increasing. Men arriving outside of healthcare’s normal opening hours do not receive their first screening until the following day. This can put men at risk, as exemplified by one man who arrived with pneumonia and deep vein thrombosis and was urgently sent to hospital the following day.
The mental health team moved to an office based in one of the residential units over a year ago and are still without a telephone, making communication difficult.
With 50% of the sports hall used for fitness equipment, the range of team sporting activities available to the men is limited, and therefore so is participation.
The long awaited new OMU building was built, however shortly after it had to be demolished as there were so many faults with it, leaving staff continuing to work in totally unsuitable conditions. The replacement building was complete and then sat empty for months as there were protracted disputes over the warranty.
As of mid-March, nearly 25% of the prison population had been in prison for less than six months before being transferred to the open estate. This means that they have had very little intervention and education and there are concerns that the men who are transferring may not be ready for open conditions and may not have completed courses and programmes only available in the closed estate, which are designed to aid and support rehabilitation.
The prison has a single shared phone on each wing with regular queuing and many men missing the opportunity to speak to their loved ones.
Recommendations
Recommendation 2
Will a smoking ban be implemented across the open estate?
Recommendation 3
Will a minimum time be introduced that a prisoner must serve in a closed prison before transfer to the open estate?
Recommendation 4
When will the results of the trial of in-cell phones in the open estate be known?
Response
A trial at another open prison is being closely followed but the outcomes are not yet known and this remains an aspiration at Thorn Cross.
Recommendation 5
How will the effectiveness of the increased use of CSIPS (Challenge, Support, and Intervention Plans, used to support and manage prisoners who pose an increased risk of violence) be assessed?
Recommendation 6
What steps will be taken to ensure the prison does not run out of drug testing kits?
Recommendation 7
What steps are to be taken to reduce the number of late arrivals, considering the associated health risks?
Recommendation 8
When will the mental health team be given a telephone?
Recommendation 9
Is there a costed plan to return the gym/sports hall to full use and to promote team sports?
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 1 | 5 |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 0 | 0 |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 0 | 0 |
| Equality | 1 | 0 |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 1 | 0 |
| Food and kitchens | 0 | 1 |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 0 | 1 |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 2 | 0 |
| Miscellaneous | 1 | 0 |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 1 | 4 |
| Property within the establishment | 0 | 1 |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 1 | 3 |
| Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, recategorisation | 9 | 8 |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 0 | 0 |
| Transfers | 1 | 1 |
Related inspections & investigations
Safety 4
· Respect 3
· Activity 4
· Release 4
Andrew Bullough · Natural causes
Paul David Horrocks · Other non-natural
Carl Russell · Homicide
Other reports for Thorn Cross
· Self-harm 0
· Concerns
· Self-harm 0
· Concerns
· Self-harm 1
· Concerns
· Self-harm 1
· Concerns
· Self-harm 3
· Concerns
· Self-harm 0
· Concerns