HMP & YOI Chelmsford

An Essex local prison with a long history

In shortA public sector, category B local reception and resettlement prison holding adult men and a small number of young adults, with a fast-moving, mostly remand population.

• Operational capacity639HMPPS August 2026 bulletin
• Prisoners held624On 24 August 2026
• New prisoners received2,326In the previous year, about 200 a month; an average of 110 released each month
• On remand70%Up from 60% at the 2021 inspection

HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) records that HMP & YOI Chelmsford was built in the 1830s, with E and F residential units added in 1996 and G wing opened in 2006. It serves local courts and holds both sentenced and remanded prisoners. HMIP places it in the Hertfordshire, Essex and Suffolk prison group.

With more remand prisoners, fewer longer-term prisoners were in the jail.

A wing

Includes the segregation unit.

B wing

Includes the first-night and induction units.

C, D and F wings

The general population.

E wing

A drug interventions unit with an incentivised substance-free living unit.

G wing

Vulnerable and enhanced prisoners.

Enhanced care unit

A 12-bed unit that looks after unwell prisoners, including those with mental health needs (HMIP 2024 profile).

From Urgent Notification to progress

In shortChelmsford went from an Urgent Notification in 2021 to a prison HMIP called transformed in 2024, though all four tests were still not sufficiently good.

The Chief Inspector's introduction to the 2024 report said the strong governor and his team had continued to improve even though the level of national support had been reduced. He wrote that Chelmsford had been transformed since the Urgent Notification and was a much happier, safer and more productive place than at the last inspection.

What inspectors said about staff and morale

In shortLeaders had improved staff morale and retention, though many inexperienced officers worked on wings supervised by colleagues with only a few years' experience.

Staffing is the part of the report most relevant to candidates.

• Leaders had worked hard to improve staff morale and retention, reflected in lower sickness absence.
• Good support and training had been put in place for a large number of inexperienced officers.
• Many of those officers were working on wings supervised by colleagues with only a few years of experience themselves.
• Prisoners were going to education, training and work in free flow, with mostly good access to the library and gym, achieved without significant increases in drug use or violence.
• Inspectors concluded that higher levels of activity can help reduce the demand for drugs.
• In its 2025 report the prison's Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) also called the gym facilities very good and the staff excellent.

Independent Monitoring Board 2024/25 and HMPPS data

In shortThe IMB called Chelmsford a safe place for most prisoners most of the time, with overcrowding the main issue; HMPPS rated it 3 of 4.

• HMPPS rating 2025/263 of 4"Good performance"; scored 59.2%
• Officers, 30 June 2026230 FTEBand 3 to 5, hours adjusted; target 235
• Self-harm incidents (IMB)884Lower than the previous year, but still high
• Deaths in custody3In the year

The IMB's report for 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025, published in January 2026, said the prison was a safe place for most prisoners most of the time. Violent incidents had fallen for the third year running.

Applications to the Board fell by 23%, which it linked to the Launchpad digital system, fewer damp-cell issues, better laundry and more training.

The Board said overcrowding was the main issue, with two prisoners in a cell designed for one.