Report of an Unannounced Inspection of Magilligan Prison (9-26 September 2025)

One of the best medium to low security prisons in the United Kingdom when inspected

Magilligan Prison is a medium to low security prison that holds male sentenced prisoners who are transferred from Maghaberry Prison and occasionally, Hydebank Wood Secure College. At the time of the Inspection in September 2025, it held just under 500 men, which is close to capacity.  Many prisoners were serving sentences of between two and four years and almost one fifth had been recalled to custody.  The Inspection Team noted that over four‑fifths of prisoners were taking part in education, skills training or work and that around forty men were released into the community each month.

Inspectors found that Magilligan Prison’s performance had improved since our last full Inspection in 2021 and the 2023 Independent Review of Progress.  The outcomes for prisoners in the areas of Safety, Respect, Purposeful Activity and Preparation for Release were assessed as ‘good’.  Overall, the Inspection Team was impressed with the Governor’s leadership and how he had driven improvements across the prison.  Inspectors saw evidence of excellent staff-prisoner relationships which underpinned much of the good work being done across the prison. Levels of violence and use of force was lower than in similar prisons in England and Wales and the amount of time prisoners could spend out of their cells was among the best Inspectors had seen in recent years.

Areas of positive practice

A total of 19 examples of notable positive practice were found, which other prisons could learn from.  They included:

• communication between dads in prison and their children;
• programmes, services and spaces developed to support the wellbeing of prisoners;
• the work and support of the Prisoner Safety and Support Team and the services provided by a Learning Disability Nurse and Speech and Language Therapist;
• a clear pathway for people to progress through the prison; and
• a good range of enrichment activities and work being done to help address trauma, get employment on release and programmes to take part in to improve self-esteem and personal responsibility.

Concerns that require action

While positive findings were identified, there is room for improvement.  Inspectors highlighted 11 concerns, four of which needed immediate action. These were: 

• the supply and misuse of drugs, particularly of medication not prescribed to prisoner who was taking it was the biggest threat to the safety and stability of the prison;
• many of the buildings were old, worn and in need of replacement;
• it was taking too long for prisoners to access substance misuse and addiction services with many resorting to illegitimate drug use to manage their addictions; and
• the need for an overarching employability strategy.

Additional areas needing attention included the underuse use of body-worn video cameras, extended waiting times to see a doctor, adult safeguarding practices, issues concerning the identification and thorough investigation of allegations of discrimination, the absence of a learning strategy tailored for staff to address the needs of a growing neurodivergent population, the lack of enough accredited offending behaviour programmes and psychology resources to meet the needs of the prison population  and robustness of public protection arrangements.

Conclusion:

The Governor and his team at the Northern Ireland Prison Service and their South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and North West Regional College partners at Magilligan were recognised for their work for creating a positive and rehabilitative environment for the people in their care. The Inspection Report encourages them to continue working together to continue to drive improvement by taking action on the concerns identified in this Inspection.