HMP Gartree

Role in the long-term high security estate

In shortA category B high security men's prison run by HMPPS, holding men on indeterminate sentences since it joined the long-term high security estate in 2017.

• Prisoners held, 2023594All serving indeterminate sentences; 94% presented a high or very high risk of harm
• Released in previous 12 monthsTwoInto the community (HMIP, 2023)

Gartree is a high security men's prison in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, run by HMPPS. The IMB's 2024/25 report confirms it remains a category B prison in the long-term high security estate (LTHSE) for prisoners serving indeterminate and life sentences.

At the 2023 inspection all of the 594 prisoners held were serving indeterminate sentences, 94% presented a high or very high risk of harm, and only two had been released into the community in the previous 12 months.

• A 25-bed therapeutic community
• A 12-bed therapeutic community plus for men with learning difficulties or disabilities
• A psychologically informed planned environment (PIPE) unit and an over-50s wing on H wing
• A small wing for men who struggle in larger settings
• An 11-bed segregation unit

What HMIP found in 2023

In shortSafety, respect and rehabilitation and release planning were reasonably good and purposeful activity not sufficiently good; the buildings and activity were the main concerns.

• SafetyReasonably good
• RespectReasonably good
• Purposeful activityNot sufficiently good
• Rehabilitation and release planningReasonably good

HMIP's unannounced inspection ran from 16 to 26 January 2023 and the report was published on 16 May 2023. The Chief Inspector called it a "very encouraging report" about a well-led institution.

HMIP noted that major staffing shortfalls were being mitigated by the temporary closure of one main unit for fire-safety work, which helped leaders provide good time out of cell.

What the IMB reported for 2024/25

In shortThe Board's tone is more cautious: violence, self-harm and use of force are up, with ageing buildings and illicit items, though staffing was stable.

• Recorded violenceUp 35%
• Self-harm46 a monthCompared with 21 the previous year
• Use of forceUp 21%To 422 incidents
• Deaths in custodyTenDuring the year, six apparently by natural causes

The IMB's annual report for 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025 (published June 2026) is more recent.

It says the fire-safety refurbishment of the older wings, which had cut operational capacity to 608 from July 2020, was completed in summer 2025 and the population rose above 650 as a result, with D wing becoming the induction wing.

Taken together, the reports give a candid picture: a prison with a stable long-term population, a settled leadership approach and good specialist units, operating in an ageing building and under rising pressure from illicit items and violence.

• Prisoners reporting feeling less safe as violence grows
• Illicit items delivered by drones
• The ageing fabric, including heating, leaking roofs and showers
• Cutbacks to education and high levels of segregation
• The large number of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) prisoners
• Staffing: officer and operational support grade levels remained stable, with new staff still being recruited and trained and some attrition from retirement and resignations

Working at Gartree

In shortHMPPS publishes a Gartree recruitment page; pay is the national Band 3 scale with no market supplement, and staffing was 235 against a target of 268.

• Band 3 to 5 staffing235 FTEBand 3 to 5 staffing against a target of 268 at 30 June 2026 (HMPPS workforce statistics)
• Prison holds up to700Per the HMPPS recruitment page

HMPPS publishes a recruitment page for prison officers at Gartree. It says the prison is three miles outside Market Harborough, holds up to 700 prisoners, many serving long-term or life sentences, and offers rehabilitation programmes, work in on-site workshops (textiles, recycling, woodwork and plastic injection moulding) and a Prison IT Academy with CISCO-accredited training.

Pay is on the national Band 3 scale with no market supplement on the HMPPS list (checked 3 October 2026): see prison officer pay bands.

• Staff benefits listed: a free on-site gym and free parking, with training and career progression
• Recruitment page: 20 minutes from Corby, 30 minutes from Leicester and 40 minutes from Northampton, with local buses and a free taxi from the train station on Saturdays and Sundays
• GOV.UK: the nearest station is Market Harborough, about four miles away, with buses except on Sundays