Rochester prison given urgent notification after ‘systemic failure and decline’

It is the first time such notification has been given to a category C prison focusing on training and resettlement

A Kent prison has become the first of its kind to be issued with an urgent notification after a decade of systemic failure and decline", the chief inspector of prisons has confirmed.

HMP Rochester is the seventh prison to have received such a notification since November 2022, but has become the first category C prison, which focuses on training and resettlement, to receive one. The urgent notification process was introduced in 2017 and is a means of raising immediate concerns following an inspection and requires a response and action plan from the secretary of state within 28 days.