WPIC Newsletter March 2026

7 days ago
5 min read

Come to the next WPIC meeting on 11 April

If you want to find out more about conditions in Wandsworth Prison or get more involved in the Wandsworth Prison Improvement Campaign come to our next meeting on Saturday 11 April 2026, 10am-1pm in the Wandsworth Quaker Meeting House, 59 Wandsworth High Street, SW18 2PT.

WPIC’s third visit to Wandsworth Prison

Members of WPIC made our third visit to Wandsworth Prison on 4 February, almost a year after our first visit. We met several members of staff who showed us everything we had asked to see. The staff we met answered all our questions and we then had an extended meeting with the Governor, Andy Davy. You can read a more detailed report of our visit, with photos, on our website. You can read about our earlier visits here and here.

Overall impressions

Most of the prison was in lockdown when we visited because of staff training. The atmosphere was quiet and calm, despite the possible frustration of being locked up. It was good to see that some of the improvements which had previously just been talked about have now been implemented, in particular the “Scandi” wing and the new neuro-diverse unit. Two mums were part of the group which toured the prison. Their sons were in Wandsworth about 18 months ago. They were impressed and said the prison was better than they had expected.

Time out of cell and access to purposeful activities have improved since our first visit. While we understand that the prison mostly meets the minimum requirement of two hours out of cell per day, we believe this is not enough for a decent and humane environment. Improvements to infrastructure are frustratingly slow due to the age of the buildings (175 years old this year) and central contracting procedures. Some showers are still in a very poor state.

Despite a full complement of staff, there are often staff shortages due partly to the levels of absence. It is extraordinary that staff are recruited centrally with no local involvement and without ever having visited the prison. The new approach on G wing (the Scandi wing) shows what can be achieved when staff are selected locally, adequately trained and given greater autonomy.

An indication of the level of challenges at Wandsworth is that it has the fourth highest churn of prisoners in the country. 13,500 men passed through Wandsworth last year. 50/60 go to court each day, in addition to transfers to other prisons.

Positives

· G-wing is pioneering a new supportive approach to respond to the specific challenges in Wandsworth, with more time out of cell and specially trained staff. The training has been provided by Unlocked Graduates.

· Neuro diverse wing is providing dedicated support and bigger, brighter cells

· Leavers Lounge and Remand Project are now permanent, providing practical assistance and clothes to those leaving the prison

· Reductions in violence and self-harm. Support for ACCTs (plans to support individuals at particular risk of suicide or self-harm) seems better than we hear at inquests (which mostly relate to deaths 2-3 years ago) although the quality of conversations with prisoners on ACCTS needs to improve.

· Access to library has improved, but could still be much better

· Wandsworth is meeting improved nutritional standards for food but we are concerned about the size of portions and the high cost of additional food which men can buy themselves. We have been promised a meal tasting on our next visit.

Improvements still needed

· Repairs and refurbishment are still painfully slow with bureaucratic and opaque contracting processes. Some showers are still in a very bad condition.

· Although the prison was generally clean, we heard some complaints about rats and cockroaches.

· Inadequate staffing remains one of Wandsworth’s major challenges with high levels of absence and centralised recruitment.

· Time out of cell and access to activities is still not good enough.

· More work is needed to reduce demand for drugs and provide support to overcome addiction.

· High cost of canteen and phone calls (both fixed by national contracts)

· Men are still arriving at the prison from the courts late at night.

Next inspection

The next inspection of Wandsworth will be sometime later this year. The Governor told us that his priorities for improvements before the next inspection are to improve decency and provide more access to activities.

Can you help buy a new carpet for the Mosque in HMP Wandsworth?

At the moment, the room used as the Mosque in Wandsworth Prison looks dingy. The floor that men pray on is kept clean, but the 1990s office-style carpet tiles are old, worn and difficult to maintain. In a prison, nothing is colourful or soft, and a new carpet would make a great difference to many men trying to calm themselves, focus and pray. The Wandsworth Prison Welfare Trust (WPWT) have offered to help the Imam raise the money for a carpet. If you could donate, or have any contacts who might donate, they would be very grateful.

You can donate here. Although the donate button is set at £20, you can change it down and up. If you have any contacts with mosques in your area who might donate, or who might appeal to their worshippers, please pass the appeal onto them. WPWT have a donor who will match the funding of the first person who donates £500 or more - please let us know if you find one!

House of Lords debate prisons

On 12 February members of the House of Lords debated the Justice Committee’s report into the leadership, governance and staffing of prisons.Following an excellent speech by Lord Foster, Chairman of the Justice Committee, peers were highly critical of the quality of the Government response to the report. They also criticised the leadership of His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and said that HMPPS is too bureaucratic. Speakers supported the need for a clear statement of the purpose of prisons and added their voices to the many who have argued that prison governors should have more involvement in the recruitment of staff at their prisons. When will HMPPS listen?

Do you want the latest information about our prisons?

The Prison Reform Trust have just published the latest version of their Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile which contains lots of data about sentencing, the state of our prisons, the characteristics of people in prison and rehabilitation and reoffending. It paints a depressing picture of our prisons becoming more overcrowded, less safe and with less access to purposeful activities. It’s no surprise that 44% reoffend within a year of release (60% of those serving sentences of less than a year reoffend).

What does a good prison officer look like?

Unlocked Graduates, who trained the officers on G wing in Wandsworth to have a different approach (see above), have produced a training manual for prison officers Leading Prison Landings: the Unlocked Guide to Jailcraft. It’s a practical book based on Unlocked Graduates’ experience of training over 900 prison officers and evidence about what the best prison officers do and how they behave, transforming prisoners’ lives through relationships.