HMP Exeter

A Victorian local prison in Exeter city

In shortHMP Exeter, built in 1853, is a Victorian category B reception prison in Exeter city centre, with accommodation that is partly under refurbishment.

• Built1853Radial design with three wings around the centre
• Nearest stationsExeter Central300 metres away; Exeter St Davids is 2 kilometres away

HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) records that D wing was added in the late twentieth century, and education blocks and a new visits building with official video conferencing have been added more recently.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) describes it as an all-male and young offender category B reception prison, a local with a small resettlement function, operating within the Devon and North Dorset prison group.

The purpose-built video conferencing centre allows some men to appear in court and at parole hearings remotely.

A wing

Under refurbishment.

B wing

Vulnerable prisoners.

C wing

Induction and main location.

D wing

Enhanced and incentivised substance-free living.

F wing

Temporarily housing reception and health care (HMIP’s 2025 report).

Who is held: constant turnover

In shortExeter holds men on remand, newly sentenced, recalled or awaiting transfer, with turnover of 99.97% and an average stay of 90 days.

• Received, 12 months to inspection2,021New prisoners received in the 12 months to the inspection; 981 released into the community (HMIP)
• Turnover, calendar 202599.97%IMB report published May 2026
• Average length of stay90 days
• Through reception a dayAbout 40To or from court, transfer or discharge

As a local prison, Exeter holds men who are on remand, newly sentenced, recalled, awaiting sentence or awaiting transfer. The IMB says 431 prisoners were received on remand and 534 recalled.

Capacity is constrained: the IMB says operational capacity stayed at 310 because A wing, with 194 places, remained temporarily closed alongside part of F wing.

• HMIP recorded 307 men at inspection, with 84% of prisoners sharing a cell designed for one.
• HMPPS’s monthly figures for 24 August 2026 show 301 prisoners against an operational capacity of 310.
• The IMB reports 53% of prisoners with an identified neurodiverse need and 55% with mental health issues who were on the Change Grow Live caseload.

What inspectors found: November to December 2025

In shortHMIP found the prison ‘no longer overwhelmed’ since the 2022 Urgent Notification, but safety was still not sufficiently good and conditions remained unacceptably poor.

• SafetyNot sufficiently good
• RespectReasonably good
• Purposeful activityNot sufficiently good
• Preparation for releaseGood

HMIP inspected on 18 November to 4 December 2025 and published its report on 9 March 2026. When it last inspected in 2022 the prison had received an Urgent Notification, a formal escalation to the Secretary of State over grave weaknesses in safety and decency.

This time the Chief Inspector wrote that it was ‘no longer overwhelmed’, and credited the governor, in post since 2023, a more stable staff group and more consistent frontline officers.

• Conditions: HMIP said conditions across much of the prison remained unacceptably poor, with broken windows, mould and inadequate toilet screening in many cells on C and D wings, and said refurbishment had been delayed by weak project management.
• Release planning: offender management was called a strength, with early contact, joint work with courts and probation, and a weekly board for men likely to be released straight from court.
• Notable practice: inspectors found nine examples, including involving families in suicide-prevention reviews, an on-site Hepatitis C testing machine, and a pre-release visit by the resettlement team the day before release.

Leadership, staffing and the IMB’s 2025 report

In shortLeadership is far more stable and attrition has been addressed, and Exeter is three officers short of target.

• Band 3 to 5 officers (FTE), 30 June 2026170Full-time-equivalent Band 3 to 5 officers against a target of 173, a shortfall of three
• HMPPS performance rating3 of 42025/26; overall score 59.9%; published 30 July 2026

On staffing, HMIP wrote that senior leadership was far more stable and that the previously high attrition among frontline staff had been addressed. The report also describes a pilot embedding a service designer in the senior team, which led to an automated legal visits booking system.

The IMB says Exeter moved out of Urgent Notification status in April 2025 after an inspection support visit and into the targeted support cohort, and that fortnightly staff training sessions had expanded after earlier disruption from Covid and staff shortages.

Working at Exeter

In shortExeter is a public-sector prison on the Band 3 scale in the national pay zone, and we found no dedicated recruitment page.

Exeter is a public-sector prison, so officers are employed by HMPPS on the Band 3 scale and apply via the national prison and probation jobs service.

It is in the national pay zone and was not on the HMPPS Band 3 market supplement list we checked on 3 October 2026, so the standard figures on our pay and prison officer pay bands pages apply.

We found no dedicated HMPPS recruitment page for Exeter.

• A reception prison, with its churn of arrivals and releases, differs from a training prison; our guide to prison categories explained sets out how.
• The prison officer jobs by region guide and the prison finder can help you compare Exeter with other south-west sites.