HMP Ford

From naval air station to open prison

In shortFord is a category D open prison for adult men on a former Fleet Air Arm station, converted to a prison in 1960.

• Operational capacity389October 2025; increased from 349 in March 2025 when 40 of the pods were brought back into operation (IMB)
• Held (Aug 2026)378At 24 August 2026 against 389 (HMPPS)
• Planned expansion709Capacity the expansion project would have reached; it had yet to receive planning permission (IMB)

HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) records that HMP Ford was formerly a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm station and converted to an open prison in 1960. Some areas were rebuilt after a major disturbance on 1 January 2011.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) describes the site as two miles from the coast and three miles south of Arundel in West Sussex, covering 110 acres bisected by a busy class B public road, with Ford railway station a mile away.

The IMB says its main aim is rehabilitation and resettlement, with men encouraged to take up education, vocational training and full-time work in the community. Our categories guide explains what open conditions mean.

Who is held and what they do

In shortA settled open population where about 80% of men accessed release on temporary licence in 2023 and 136 went out to work or study on a typical day.

• Accessing ROTL80%Of the population
• BAME50%Of prisoners
• Age profile65%Aged 21 to 39; 68% were serving a sentence of over four years to less than 10 years
• Out to work or study136Men on a typical day

At the April 2023 inspection 382 men were held. HMIP records 423 received in the previous year, 258 released and 145 transferred out, an average of 38 receptions a month, and about 37,000 release on temporary licence (ROTL) events between April 2022 and March 2023.

On site, education is provided by Milton Keynes College, and Practice Plus Group provides health care. HMIP praised a partnership with Chichester College Group that provided workshops such as bricklaying, drywalling, carpentry and painting and decorating, and places on college courses.

A block

Built in 1956, with six wings and 214 single rooms.

B block

Two brick-built units from the late 1990s with 55 rooms, plus 120 single-storey ‘pods’ with their own sanitation. All accommodation is single occupancy.

Work (IMB)

The school of construction closed in March 2025 and a new social enterprise workshop opened in October 2025; paid on-site work includes the prison café and a reduced DHL warehouse.

• Category: D, open, adult men (HMIP)
• Operational capacity: 389; 378 held at 24 August 2026 (HMPPS)
• ROTL: about 80% of men accessing it in 2023; around 37,000 events in 2022/23 (HMIP)

What inspectors found in April 2023

In shortSafety and release planning were good and respect and activity reasonably good, with a transformed culture but no working key worker scheme.

• SafetyGood
• RespectReasonably good
• Purposeful activityReasonably good
• Rehabilitation and release planningGood

HMIP’s unannounced inspection took place from 4 to 20 April 2023, and the report was published in July 2023.

The Chief Inspector said the governor, appointed in April 2022, had used a lower roll and a full complement of staff to make excellent progress in transforming the culture, building the confidence of officers and improving staff-prisoner relationships.

He described the health care provider as one of the best inspectors had seen. Ofsted rated overall effectiveness as ‘requires improvement’, although quality of education was graded good.

The monitors’ view of 2024 to 2025

In shortThe IMB found a generally safe prison with excellent health care but a changing population, failing infrastructure and falling education budgets.

• Core education budgetDown 20%
• Discretionary education budgetDown 40%

The IMB’s report for 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025, published in March 2026, is more recent than HMIP’s inspection.

It says the prison is generally safe, but that churn in the population had risen because of the early release schemes and because prisoners with up to five years to serve can now qualify for open conditions, changing the mix of men.

These findings are relevant to anyone considering a role, since an open prison’s core business is progression and release.

• Health care cover was seen as excellent.
• The Board criticised the Ministry of Justice and HMPPS over estate management, citing failing infrastructure, intermittent loss of hot water and showers and lavatories in an unacceptable condition on the wings housing incoming prisoners, while praising the commitment to caring for the open grounds.
• The number of men out at work decreased, and delays in approving ROTL and a higher-risk profile of arrivals slowed progression.

Working here

In shortNational pay zone with no market supplement and an ‘outstanding performance’ rating of 87.0%.

• HMPPS 2025/26 rating87.0%‘Outstanding performance’ (rating 4 of 4)
• Officers in post64 FTEBand 3 to 5 officers against a target of 65, one below target (30 June 2026)

Ford is in the national pay zone and is not on HMPPS’s Band 3 market supplement list (checked 3 October 2026). We found no Prison and Probation Jobs page specific to Ford, so there is no official local pay range or benefits list; the national figures in prison officer pay apply.

Apply through become a prison officer and see the regional jobs guide for other Sussex options.

• HMIP’s 2023 survey found staff were more positive than usual about the support they received and engagement from leaders, and officers’ interactions with prisoners were relaxed and professional.
• Staff intervened early to address poor behaviour and gave advice on life in open conditions, to help prisoners avoid being returned to closed prisons.