2 days ago
Improvements at HMP Rochester despite 'challenging' year
A Kent prison has made improvements in reducing violence and self-harm despite an "extremely challenging" year, a report has Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) found that HMP Rochester saw a "gradual decline in violence" from August to March, but said gang violence was becoming "an increasing trigger" for improvements come after the prison was issued with an "urgent notification" by the HM Inspectorate for Prisons in 2024, which found "endemic" drug use and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has been approached for comment.
The prison, which has been without a permanent governor since Spring 2025, also faced challenges after losing a drug rehabilitation unit which was instead used to house prisoners convicted of sexual report, released on 12 August, said violence peaked in August 2024, when 29 incidents were reported, but has since declined to 12 incidents in March said that "throwovers" of illegal substances and mobile phone use also continued to persist, including contraband delivered via drones.
'Commendable flexibility'
Issues with vermin declined but continued to persist, the IMB found, including one prisoner who saw a mouse giving birth in his concerns include limited accommodation for prisoners and failing infrastructure such as mould IMB Rochester spokesperson said: "This reporting year has been exceptionally challenging for HMP Rochester."Progress is being made due to the commendable flexibility shown by all working at the prison, but there is still some way to go before things settle down."The IMB said it was "particularly concerned" by the lack of offender behaviour programmes for prisoners convicted of sexual offences, but said it understood this would improve in IMB report also called for the MoJ to ensure a "period of stability" at the prison and provide the resources necessary to make HM Inspectorate for Prisons revisited the site in June 2025, inspectors found it had "made commendable efforts in reducing recorded levels of self-harm and violence".
