Inspectors rate HMP Chelmsford reasonably good for safety, five years after it failed. Staff assaults fell 26%, but health care and time out of cell fall short.
Chelmsford’s prison is now rated reasonably good for safety, five years after inspectors judged it poor and issued an Urgent Notification. HM Inspectorate of Prisons published its latest report on HMP & YOI Chelmsford on Tuesday 20 October (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, inspection report).
Inspectors visited unannounced between 20 and 30 July. The prison on Springfield Road is a category B reception jail for men, which takes prisoners from the courts. It held 661 prisoners at the time.
“Chelmsford is safer, more supportive of prisoners and better led than most of the reception prisons we inspect,” said Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMIP press release).
How the ratings have moved
Inspectors score every prison against four tests. Chelmsford’s results over three inspections:
| Test | 2021 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety | Poor | Not sufficiently good | Reasonably good |
| Respect | Not sufficiently good | Not sufficiently good | Not sufficiently good |
| Purposeful activity | Poor | Not sufficiently good | Not sufficiently good |
| Preparation for release | Not sufficiently good | Not sufficiently good | Reasonably good |
The 2021 and 2024 grades are in the inspectorate’s notes to editors. The 2024 grades for respect and release are in the report’s comparison chart.
What has improved
Since the last inspection in January 2024, the report records:
- assaults on staff down 26%
- fights down 24%
- self-harm down 23%
- assaults on prisoners down 17%
- 16% of random drug tests positive in the year to May, the second lowest rate among comparable prisons
- staff in post for under a year down from 35% to 12.5%, so the workforce is more experienced
- body-worn camera footage available for 73% of incidents, up from 41%
Violence is now below the average for similar prisons. Inspectors praised the governor, Mark Howard, who has been in post since January 2025, and his senior team.
The report singles out a reading strategy that puts the library “at the heart of prison life”. It also praises family support run with the Ormiston Trust charity, and a resettlement centre that helps men leaving with housing, work, benefits and drug treatment. Joint working with Essex Police was described as “very good”. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service is also among the prison’s partners.
What still falls short
Inspectors raised 15 key concerns and flagged the most important as priorities for immediate action. They include:
- Health care. There was poor supervision of medicines, clinical rooms in poor condition and weak record-keeping. Many of these problems were found in 2024 as well. The Care Quality Commission issued warning notices to the provider, HCRG, earlier in 2026.
- Mental health. The team gets between 300 and 400 referrals a month and lacks the capacity to meet demand. Patients waited too long to move to hospital under the Mental Health Act.
- Hospital appointments. Too many were missed because there were not enough officers to escort prisoners.
- Time out of cell. Only about 30% of prisoners are in full-time work. From Friday to Sunday many men are locked up for around 22 hours a day.
- Self-harm. It has fallen, but the rate is still higher than at similar prisons.
- Phone monitoring. Listening to calls for public protection was under-resourced, leaving backlogs. The report notes this was raised at the last two inspections.
There have been four self-inflicted deaths since the 2024 inspection, none of them in the past year.
Ofsted inspected education and work at the same visit. It rated overall effectiveness as requires improvement, with behaviour and attitudes rated good (Ofsted report on education, skills and work).
What it means for you
Most people held at Chelmsford are on remand: 64% at the time of the inspection. They are awaiting trial or sentence. A safer, calmer prison matters to their families and to the staff who work there.
If you visit someone at the prison:
- visits must be booked three weeks ahead, online or on 0808 168 8248 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm)
- visiting slots are 2.15pm and 3.45pm, Monday to Thursday and at weekends
- the visitors centre opens at 12.30pm
The booking details are on the Chelmsford prison page on GOV.UK. Inspectors criticised the rule that remand prisoners get only one visit a week, which is below their full entitlement.
The inspectorate’s report, the Ofsted findings and the full prisoner and staff survey results are all on the inspection report page.
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