HMP & YOI Hull

An inner-city reception prison with Victorian roots

In shortHull is a large, publicly run inner-city reception prison serving local courts, with wings from the late 19th century onwards.

• Reception prisonLocal courtsLarge and inner-city

A reception prison takes men straight from the courts, so Hull works mainly with remand prisoners and people serving short sentences, while also holding a smaller group serving longer terms. HMIP's 2024 report calls it an unusually constituted prison for exactly this reason.

It is operated by the public sector and sits in the HMPPS Yorkshire group. The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) describes it as a category B local prison, while HMPPS's 2025/26 performance ratings place it in the Reception functional group.

Who is held and how the wings are used

In shortHull held 954 men at the 2024 inspection, with very high churn and a mix of general and specialist wings.

• Held (2024)954 / 968Men against operational capacity
• MoJ bulletin, 24 August 2026984 / 1,017Held against operational capacity
• New arrivals320 a monthMore than double the figure at the previous inspection in 2021; about 95 releases a month
• Remanded or unsentenced48%1,300 men recalled to custody in the previous year
• Sentenced at high risk of serious harmTwo-thirdsAbout 9% were foreign national prisoners

HMIP lists specialist provision alongside the general wings, including a well-being unit for men awaiting assessment or transfer to a secure mental health hospital. HMIP notes that two-thirds of the population lived in cells designed for one person.

What inspectors found in 2024

In shortHMIP rated safety, respect and release preparation reasonably good and purposeful activity poor, which had declined since 2021.

• SafetyReasonably good
• RespectReasonably good
• Release preparationReasonably good
• Purposeful activityPoor
• Felt unsafe29%Compared with 15% in 2021; 40% said drugs were easy to get

HMIP inspected Hull without notice from 17 June to 4 July 2024. The Chief Inspector said the prison had improved despite a population that had shifted towards a more volatile remand mix, and that oversight of the segregation unit, use of force, release preparation and health care were all better.

He also said staff had coped well with a much larger number of men passing through.

The independent review of progress in April 2025

In shortHMIP found reasonable progress on three of five concerns followed up, but insufficient progress on overcrowding and men released without somewhere to live.

• Reasonable progress3 of 5Drugs, use of data, and time out of cell
• Insufficient progress2 of 5Overcrowding and men released without somewhere to live
• Unemployed men37% to 16%December 2024 to February 2025
• Positive random drug tests28%Against 25% before the full inspection; self-harm was increasing
• Releases to no accommodationAbout 26%Only about a third went to sustainable housing

HMIP returned for a three-day independent review of progress (IRP) from 14 to 16 April 2025, and the report was published on 27 May 2025. An IRP follows up selected concerns and does not re-score the four healthy prison tests. Ofsted judged significant progress on two themes and reasonable progress on two.

Activity places had increased by about 15%. Men in full-time work gained an extra 20 minutes out of cell a day and unemployed men an extra 45 minutes, though many were still locked up for over 21 hours.

What the Independent Monitoring Board reported for 2023 to 2024

In shortThe IMB recorded sharp rises in violence and self-harm as throughput nearly doubled, while praising staff.

• Men passing through4,000 to 7,800About 4,000 in early 2022, 6,600 in early 2023 and 7,800 by early 2024
• Self-harmUp 44.48%
• Prisoner-on-prisoner assaultsUp 33.22%
• Assaults on staffUp 50%No batons or PAVA incapacitant spray were recorded as used

The IMB's annual report for 1 March 2023 to 29 February 2024 was published in July 2025. It said drones delivering illicit items were a significant issue.

The Board praised staff, saying it regularly saw officers giving exemplary care in difficult circumstances and relationships it described as positive, with detailed knowledge of the men in their care.

• Very concerned about double cells that were inadequate in size and design, and ongoing vermin problems
• Repeated funding bids for better gate security and outward-facing window grilles
• The Board was down to three established members, so its monitoring was largely limited to applications and visits to the segregation unit

Working at Hull

In shortHull is on standard national Band 3 pay with no market supplement as at 3 October 2026, and HMPPS rated its 2025/26 performance 3, good.

• Band 3 to 5 officers (FTE)291 / 300Band 3 to 5 officers against target, nine below; 30 June 2026
• HMPPS rating3: good2025/26 performance rating, overall score 58.4%

See our prison officer pay bands page and the pay hub for current figures.

• HMIP's 2024 report says the governor had commissioned an independent review of staff culture and introduced a female support network and a promotion scheme
• There were many experienced and effective officers, and newer staff had good support, with two training days a month used to build skills
• GOV.UK gives Paragon Station, Hull, as the nearest railway station, and free visitor parking is available on Southcoates Lane
• Read our guide to prison officer jobs by region and how to become a prison officer for the application route