Prison
Cat Category B training prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Dovegate
IMB Annual Report 2025 · Published 17 February 2026
HMP Dovegate, a Category B training prison, experienced an increase in self-harm incidents and use of force during the reporting period, alongside five deaths in custody. Key concerns include a lack of specialist resources and exit plans for prisoners with personality disorders, significant pressure on offender management due to policy changes, and disruptions to the Therapeutic Community. Positively, education attendance and achievements are strong, and the Board notes improvements in property management, healthcare access, and various purposeful activity initiatives.
Positive Findings
The Board commends the digitalisation of property recording, which has reduced complaints, and notes that PAVA is used sparingly. Staff often display exceptional compassion, empathy, and professionalism despite their relative inexperience. Education attendance averaged 85%, making Dovegate the highest performing privately run prison for education since February 2025. Significant academic achievements, vocational successes, and employment efforts have been noted, including 50 job offers in the last year. The complaints team is experienced, and property issues have reduced due to improved systems. Healthcare waiting times are adequate, and various well-being initiatives, including health champions and peer-led programs, are actively in place.
Key Concerns
Safety
505 individuals self-harmed during the reporting period, many of them on more than one occasion, resulting in 1018 instances of self-harm, an increase from 814 previous year, largely attributed to overpopulation.
Safety
Use of force has increased during the reporting year, partly due to a policy requiring rigid bar handcuffs for prisoners who repeatedly refuse to move wings or transfer, for safety and to prevent escalation.
Mental Health
More specialist resources are needed to manage prisoners with personality disorders, as even experienced CSU staff do not have the expertise to properly support these prisoners with highly complex needs.
Mental Health
The lack of exit plans for those with personality disorders, often resulting in transfer to another prison before a specialist unit place is found, due to pressure to avoid surpassing segregation time limits.
Resettlement/Release
The changing policies relating to the calculation of sentences and release dates have put significant pressure on the offender management unit (OMU) resource.
Resettlement/Release
Increased numbers of recalls (the return of individuals to custody for breaching their licence conditions) have a significant impact on the workload of the OMU, requiring all calculations to be completed again.
Resettlement/Release
Sentence plans have been impacted, and work is ongoing to improve these areas.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
A significant number of prisoners continue to arrive at HMP Dovegate late into the evening, with reception staff not leaving the establishment until around 12 midnight, meaning prisoners sometimes don’t arrive on the wings until late.
Safety
Violence is higher than in previous years, which the board believes is due to a more challenging mix of prisoners and increased prisoners related to organised crime gangs.
Mental Health
Waiting times to transfer mentally ill prisoners to specialised units remain lengthy, causing frustration for the prisoner and staff.
Staffing
Employing mental health staff continues to be a challenge, and vacancies are covered with agency staff, which impacts service stability.
Staffing
Cross-deployment of prison officers to main locations does happen, leaving the TC under-manned or locked down, which is frustrating for all concerned.
Resettlement/Release
Lack of suitable long-term accommodation for those who need it, and near to their work if they have been successful in being offered a job, hindering successful resettlement.
Resettlement/Release
There is a significant backlog in the formalising the Oasys sentence plans (offender assessment system, used to assess the risks and needs of prisoners), which is currently being focused on.
Resettlement/Release
The set time frame for recalls (28 days or 14 days) is believed by probation and OMU staff to be insufficient to ensure prisoners are effectively supported in the community upon release.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Therapeutic Community (TC) stability disrupted by policy changes (SDS40, Sentencing Review) leading many men to leave therapy early to take advantage of new release policies, increasing churn and destabilising community culture.
Substance Misuse
Increased drug availability and use on the TC, despite encouragement for prisoners to speak to staff and use therapy, is an ongoing and complex issue.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
For some of the reporting year there has been a lack of activities for prisoners on the TC, which has now been addressed, but highlights a past issue.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The majority of staff are relatively new and lack experience, though a development and support officer role was created to aid their growth. Despite this, many demonstrate exceptional compassion and professionalism. However, some long-term prisoners have expressed frustration with staff inexperience. Recruitment of clinical staff is ongoing, but employing mental health staff remains a challenge, with vacancies often covered by agency staff.
Healthcare
The Board finds GP and other healthcare waiting times adequate. Recruitment of clinical staff continues, and nurses and a pharmacy technician are currently being inducted. The inpatient unit is supported by a registered nurse day and night, though it lacks dedicated mental health provision despite many admissions being for mental health reasons. Mental health screenings are conducted on arrival, and referrals are seen promptly, but employing mental health staff remains a challenge, with vacancies covered by agency staff.
Regime & Daily Life
Time out of cell is generally good, however, staffing pressures, especially during holiday periods, have led to some restrictions on activities and exercise times. When the regime is restricted, it is observed to be done fairly and communicated to prisoners in a timely fashion. Despite this, some new prisoners experienced frustrations due to delays in processing family phone numbers. The Therapeutic Community regime has been destabilised by policy changes leading to increased churn and, at times, a lack of activities, though this is now being addressed.
Applications to the IMB
Prisoners can apply to their IMB about any aspect of their treatment. This table shows application counts by category.
| Category | Current | Previous | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 4 | 3 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 0 | 1 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 6 | 7 | |
| Equality | 2 | 2 | — |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 5 | 4 | |
| Food and kitchens | 2 | 4 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 21 | 23 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 10 | 9 | |
| Miscellaneous | 11 | 6 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 15 | 13 | |
| Property within the establishment | 19 | 15 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 3 | 27 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 3 | 11 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 13 | 7 | |
| Transfers | 1 | 0 |
Recommendations (7)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 3
Recommendation 1
When making changes to sentence timings, please ensure that the offender management system has the capacity and capability to implement these changes efficiently and effectively. How will the Minister ensure OMUs have sufficient resources to manage any future changes?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Public perception of prisoners and prisons negatively impacts on prisoners ability to achieve acceptance back into civilian life upon release. This appears to be driven by the mass media: how does the Minister plan to showcase the positive results of prisoner outcomes to the general public?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Will the Prison Service increase the provision for suitable long-term accommodation for those who need it, and near to their work if they have been successful in being offered a job through the work of the prisons relevant departments?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 4
The demand for specialised provision for prisoners with mental health and/or personality disorders needs remains higher than the provision available. Will the Prison Service create a structured plan to increase both spaces and staff to support them, with clinical staff as well as administrative?
HMPPS
Mental Health
Recommendation 5
The Board asks that the Director ensures the culture of continuous improvement becomes permanently ingrained at Dovegate.
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 6
The Board recommends that the Director remains vigilant of staff complacency and take measures to minimise it.
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 7
The Board requests that the Director ensures the improvements made in purposeful activity, education and links with outside employers continue, even when the staff who have driven these improvements move on.
Governor / Director
Education
Other IMB Reports for Dovegate
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
18 Sep 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 3
Respect: 3
Activity: 1
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports
Coroner PFD reports issued to this establishment.