HMP high down is a male prison on the outskirts of Banstead, it is a category B prison, meaning the prisoners do not need to be held in the highest security conditions but, for category B prisoners, the potential for escape should be made very difficult.
There has been many problems at this prison, it is now ranked as “poor” which is the lowest possible ranking. There is a major problem with overcrowded cells of the 1,130 men held there, 400 were in overcrowded cells. Crime is rampant in the prison, there was 264 reported incidents of violence between prisoners, up by 43 on the previous year. Added to that, there were 79 assaults on staff, a number the board assesses as “unacceptably high”. Drugs use is so rife some prisoners opt to stay in segregation to get away from them.
There was a shortfall of about 550 activity places and attendance was only around 55%. Only two of 14 recommendations relating to "purposeful activity" - an area of prison life that includes training and education - had been implemented in 2018. Inspector also flagged the high number of prison with mental health issues that are not revising the proper treatment, even though there an in-house mental health service.
There are plans to convert the prison for as category B to C in august 2018, but it has still not happened, and it seems as if it will never be converted to a category B prison. A prison service spokesmen says the prison has introduced new initiatives to tackle drugs, violence and mental health
