Cockroach-infested jail put into special measures for illegally detaining prisoners
A prison invading the prisoners illegally detained for longer than the release date was taken by a guard for special measures.
A urgent notification about HMP Pentonville in North London was served by the Chief Inspector Charlie Taylor of the prisons after discovering that a examination was held in prison after many prisoners were released, because the staff could not calculate the sentences correctly ”.
The guard said that the data obtained from the prison showed that 130 prisoners – 20 percent of those who are suitable for release – were kept illegally after the release date in the last six months.
The accumulated work in the penalty calculations meant that 10 prisoners were released early between July 2024 and June 2025 as an early “faulty ..
In a letter to the Secretary of Justice, the Chief Inspector said that the arrangements and induction for the first night of the new prisoners in the North London prison were “chaotic and even scary”.
Men, bedding, furniture, telephone and pillow is missing in the dirty cells, he said, the majority of prisoners are locked in their cells more than 22 hours a day, he said.
The report also had many living spaces dirty, where 60% of the prisoners shared cells designed for one person, and a widespread invasion of mice and cockroaches.
Inspectors found that the care of vulnerable prisoners under constant surveillance was “shocking poor ,, a prison officer was asleep, two of them were reading books, and the other was“ completely ”.
While looking at these prisoners, who were thought to have serious self -harm, were a special concern for the inspectors who were given three suicide in prison in 2025.
Bay Taylor said: “Pentonville is an extremely crowded, urban, Victorian prison with bad performance recording for many years.
“Most of the staff were disappointed with the possibility of recovery or change of change. But most shocking failures are in control of leaders.
“The governor will need significant support and investment from HM prison and probation service to strengthen the senior leadership team, to focus on the foundations and to reverse this unsuccessful prison.”
A study of prisoners, 44% of them felt insecure during the audit, the guard dog’s chief inspector was the highest figure recorded during his term of office.
Pentonville, Exeter, Cookham Wood Young Criminal Institution, Woodhill, Bedford, Wandsworth, Rochester, Manchester and Winchester prisons will be published in an emergency statement since November 2022.
In 2017, the emergency measure was introduced as a way to increase concerns after a review of the Justice Secretary within 28 days after a review that requires a response and action plan.
In other places, when the inspector’s report was planned, there were employment that 23% of these prisoners were released on the day they were released and very few were released.
Pia Sinha, General Manager of the Prison Reform Reform Reform Reform Reform Reform, said: “After the need to be released, prisoners or errors kept illegally weaken the effective sentence planning and weakens the trust of the people.
“This emergency notification should be a scream of gathering for action immediately – correct the unsuccessful infrastructure, improve personnel training and treat prisoners with dignity.”
Howard Criminal Reform League Campaigns Director Andrew Neilson said that the findings of the investigation were “ugly ve and that it was“ a new miscarriage için for a crowded public service on the verge of collapse.
“While the government inherited a terrible situation in prisons, it lasted more than a year to change.
“As the report cards progress, such a terrible dysfunction in Pentonville gives little confidence that ministers have the understanding of the situation.”
Prisons Minister Lord James Timpson said that the team had visited the prison on Thursday, where he tried to urgently deal with the concerns of the Chief Inspector.
An action plan will also be published to support efforts in the coming weeks.
Lord Timpson said: “This government will end the chaos we have inherited in our prisons.
“We build 14,000 new prison places and imprisonment, so that our prisons reduce the re -formation, the crime and keep the victims safe.”
