HMP Grendon

 

Key Contact Details

Name of Prison HMP Grendon
Address: Grendon Underwood Buckinghamshire HP18 0TL
Other contact details:
Web Site:
Email:
Main switchboard: 01296 445000
At Risk hotline:
Fax: 01296 445001
Visits booking number:
Visits booking email: grendon@hmps.gsi.gov.uk
Visits booking web site: www.gov.uk/prison-visits
Type of Prison: Male Cat B

The prison, on the same site as HMP Springhill, is run by HMPS as part of the South Cenrtal Group. It has capacity of 233 and the #1 governor is called Becky Hayward, who has been in charge since January 2019.

Grendon, near Grendon Underwood in Buckinghamshire, opened in 1962 and remains the UK’s only prison dedicated entirely to therapy. Men volunteer to join one of its six therapeutic community wings, where they take part in intensive group therapy and shared community decision-making aimed at addressing the underlying causes of serious violent or sexual offending; research has found that men who stay at least 18 months tend to reoffend less and show fewer incidents of violence and self-harm than in the wider prison system.

The Independent Monitoring Board’s most recent report found real progress in the therapeutic work itself, with the proportion of men successfully completing the programme rising to 35% (up from 25% a few years earlier) and 90% of men saying they felt respected by staff. The board was more concerned about the physical building, flagging cell-bell failures, a significant rat infestation, and night sanitation falling below minimum standards, as well as a bottleneck of 14 to 20 men — some waiting over a year — unable to move on to other prisons once they had completed therapy, which in turn limits how many new men Grendon can admit.

Given Grendon’s distinctive, voluntary approach, families may find it useful to understand how the therapeutic community works alongside using the practical visiting and contact details above.