Grave concerns at HMP Pentonville – IMB writes to Dominic Raab
Published:
On 12 December 2022, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) wrote to Dominic Raab expressing their grave concerns about the increasing numbers of prisoners being sent to Pentonville by the local courts in response to the increasing Operational Capacity (OpCap) sanctioned by HMPPS.
When Pentonville was designed in 1842 the OpCap (or then equivalent) was 520. The current OpCap is 1155, and this is due to rise to 1170 over the next few weeks, with a plan ultimately to increase it to 1205. This poses a serious risk to safety, security, the proper running of the planned regime and effective rehabilitation.