HM Inspectorate of Prisons

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales (HMIP) has a responsibility to report on the conditions and treatment of those in prisons and other places of detention. This includes immigration detention.

The Chief Inspector is appointed by the Justice Secretary. The Inspectorate's team is expected to provide independent scrutiny of detention using a human rights based framework based on the concept of ‘healthy establishments’.

'Several obviously mentally ill women had been detained before being sectioned and released to a more appropriate medical facility; it was difficult to understand why they had been detained in the first place'

HMIP on Yarl’s Wood, 2013

The Inspectorate team carry out unannounced inspections of each detention facility every two to three years, and produce a report of their findings. They also make a series of recommendations to the Home Office and centre management. These recommendations form the basis of a service improvement plan, detailing how recommendations will be implemented, or rejected. We’ve collated the full list of reports below. You can find out more on the HMIP website. 

Here you will find the most recent inspection reports on each detention centre. 

Thematic Inspection Reports: 

Inspection during COVID-19

  • Report: HMIP carried out these short  inspection on four Immigration Removal Centres (Harmondsworth, Brook House, Morton Hall and Yarl’s Wood) on the 12 May 2020.